Joe Calzaghe: The Legacy
by Scott Christ on Feb 5, 2009 8:11 PM EST
in Boxing News Analysis
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Now that Joe Calzaghe has given his notice of retirement and I've done the impartial thing below, it's time to really reflect on what Calzaghe's career meant, who he was as a fighter, and how he'll remembered.
Keep in mind I am not a Calzaghe hater. In his latter days as an active boxer, he did annoy me greatly with all his moronic "boxing is dying" talk, as if it was the fault of the sport that no one wanted to pay to see his pathetic exhibition against a washed-up Roy Jones.
Calzaghe has credentials. 46-0 record, inarguably the greatest super middleweight of all-time to this point, great natural gifts with his speed and reflexes, and a brilliant mind. He was 100% a ring general. Six months before Bernard Hopkins wore out Kelly Pavlik and wailed on him for 12 rounds, Calzaghe had mentally pushed Hopkins around for much of their fight and sent the then-light heavyweight world champion into the reserve tanks, no easy task against infamous fitness freak Hopkins.
But the greatest question is this. Now that he's retired at just shy of 37 years of age, will boxing really miss Joe Calzaghe?
I can't help but say that the sport won't miss him at all.
It's not a knock on Calzaghe as a guy or as a fighter. He was very talented and during those years people knocked him for not fighting anyone, you can certainly say that Roy Jones or whoever certainly weren't looking actively to make a fight with Joe, either. Of course, there's always two sides to the argument. Why would they have wanted to? Calzaghe never made an attempt to become a bigger star than just British celebrity. He never meant money in the States -- not once. Not for any single fight of his career.
You can blame Frank Warren all you want, but Joe never made a real effort to become a star. Warren has said that is/was the main difference between Calzaghe and Ricky Hatton. Hatton went the extra mile for publicity. Calzaghe didn't.
Calzaghe's five "biggest" wins (Hopkins, Jones, Kessler, Lacy and Eubank) are mostly fairly easy to pick apart, though I'd give him full credit for Hopkins and Kessler. The Jones fight was a farce and the boxing public's apathy toward it sealed that belief, Lacy proved to not be what many believed of him, and Eubank was on his last legs.
Will there soon be another fighter like Calzaghe? Highly unlikely. Joe was rather one of a kind stylistically -- that might be a good or bad thing, depending on your view of Calzaghe.
But I can say with all respect to what he did accomplish in the sport, and as someone that considered him one of the best in the world pound-for-pound for the latter portion of his career, that I'm not sad or anything that I won't see Joe fight again if this retirement proves real. I almost hate to say that, but I'm not going to be dishonest. He was a hell of a boxer, he won all his fights, but I feel no regret with his retirement. It was a great career, and now it's over. The world keeps spinnin'.
He was polarizing. He had a great legion of fans that really loved him, though he was not Ricky Hatton or anything in that regard. He also had scores of people who doubted him every step of the way, and questioned his greatness no matter what he did. His career is shrouded by questions about his opposition, his desire to really fight the best the sport had to offer, and that stuff will never go away. History may not be terribly kind to Calzaghe, but he did earn what was his. He had a Hall of Fame career, and he'll be remembered. How fondly, I don't know.
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Bullseye!
I can’t help but say that the sport won’t miss him at all.
When you mess with the bull you get the horns. I’ve never seen a fight with a where you find yourself wanting to leave after the 5th round because you are either bored or just plain and simple the match is no longer exciting. The first time was with Mayweather-DLH. Then Hopkins-Calzaghe. Then finally Calzaghe-Jones Jr. [I won’t add Jones Jr.-Trinidad—plain and simple I did not bother watching.]
A lot of people here probably know that I am a big time Mayweather hatter, but I got to respect the guy as a fighter. He had [has] and outstanding career and there is no argument against that. But for this guy—not a chance. I tell you I would not give this guy’s career [Calzaghe] to a monkey on a rock. And quite honestly, even if you are a boxing fan, you will probably if not most definetly forget about this guy. I won’t, but I can guarantee down the long run I will probably be asking Joe who? Or just look on boxrec.com to refresh my mind. And quite frankly, I won’t even give a shit. As hot as the welterweight devision is now, I am down on my knees desiring for Money May to come back so that he can fight with the top Ivy Leaguers of that division. And that’s a lot coming from this end.
Anyone that has any decency... please let me know if the Urango-Ngoudjo's 10th round fight is over.
well said
Im a calzaghe fan but he never made a big mark on the boxing scene realy. He was a star in the uk but never was a big draw out side of that. Thats why i dont think the boxing world will miss him. It was time for him to go. I hope he will stay retired
The sport probably won't miss him...
… but will he miss the sport? One thing about Joe is that, despite the horrible 6 year lull in his career where he barnstormed non-issues like Veit and Merkatian, you could TELL he was addicted to winning. You could just tell.
As for his debatable legacy, I think there is plenty of blame to shovel around. You could blame some stuff on Warren, some on Joe, some on the awkward environment of the 168-lb divsion. I think you could actually blame a lot of it on the belt cartels that started forming in the 90’s and kept going full-steam into the ‘00s. ("You say Joe wants to fight Ottke? No way, dude, he’s our champion.“)
I think Joe’s career was designed around winning – not money, not legacy. And so that’s what he did. But Joe also has one of the most bizarre and imitable styles I’ve ever seen in a ring, at any division. The first time I ever saw it, I was like, "Whoa. Who would even want to fight that guy? A lightening fast southpaw general who could make you miss? I’ll pass, thanks.” Not saying guys were afraid of him or ducking him, either… just that Joe’s negotiating position was probably piss-poor from day one. And knowing Joe’s ego, I doubt he helped matters.
At the end of the day, I don’t know if boxing will miss him. I’m not even sure if I will. I counted myself as a pretty interested spectator – if not an outright fan – early in his career. But during that “long, cold winter” of his career, I just gradually lost interest, tuned out. An exciting style is fun to watch, but only against guys who had well-matched styles and a prayer of winning.
The Lacy and Kessler fights showed the best of Joe, and I will remember them. The Hopkins and Roy Jones fights will be memorable to me for a different reason.
So long Joe.
"I want to see ocean. I want to see black people. I want to see palms." - Wladimir Klitschko
“I can’t help but say that the sport won’t miss him at all.”
Well, I certainly will, and so will a whole lot of British fans. Doesn’t your point in the final paragraph sort of contradict this? As you correctly state, Joe is polarizing. But those on the other side of the pole are a part of the world of boxing too.
They are, at the least, a lot less vocal. He was a great fighter, but I think the minority of boxing fans ever really took to him.
"I was trying to rob him. And he took my gun from me. And the gun was full of blanks. And he shot a blank into my eye. And now I cannot see from this eye ever again, the doctors say."
"Well to be honest it sounds like it's all your fault."
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