Joe Calzaghe rumored to be considering a comeback

Glen Johnson or Jean Pascal might be interesting opponents if he’s really serious about this.

I don’t see the point in him returning, unless he has a lot less money saved from his career than he should.

There’s no obvious match-up that people will pay to see. The only ones I could see doing good business here in the UK are with Froch, Dirrell, Ward or Abraham are all involved in the Super Six.

but if this does turn out to be true….

Does Enzo follow him out of retirement and trains him? He only retired last month?

It was only a matter of time. I wouldn’t be surprised if it came out Joe is low on money. Looks like his connects are no longer fronting him.

I was just having a quick sus before the missus gets home and I saw your post , you Canuck legend . Your Super Six picks have been kicking arse mate . Hope the big deepfreeze is treating you well Ghosty and your bloke Butes looking the goods . Great to have another one of my old esb mates in here .

i see a fate similar to dariusz michalczewski for joe in his comeback. if he decides to fight someone with a pulse

Calzaghe’s one big advantage has always been his fast hands and legs. That advantage goes away with age. Now, he would be at a DISADVANTAGE against Bute, Ward or Dirrell at SMW, so he’d better stay away from them. He also has little power in his punches anymore due to bad hands….then he’d better stay away from heavy hitters like Glenn Johnson at LW. I suppose if he picks his opponents carefully he can come back and have a couple competitive bouts and make some dough, but seriously, he needs to find a financial advisor and something else to do. Otherwise his unblemished record will get blemished in a hurry.

Greet news

A return fight against a relatively soft option later in the year to set him up for a match with Froch. That would be great.

This is going to be an ill-advised comeback. A 38 year old fighter who got by on his speed and reflexes? Sounds like Roy Jones when he fought Calzaghe, and at least Roy was active. Or Ali when he fought Holmes, who was also coming off a two year retirement.

Seems like an all round terrible idea. His attachment to the unbeaten record and what it means for his psyche is approaching Mayweather levels. Its a little frustrating to hear someone say it wouldn’t be worth throwing their ‘0’ away for just another payday (becuase they don’t have the desire) and then consider doing just that. He has spent the last 18 months making statement along these lines.

Also, if he is not willing to ‘risk’ his unbeaten record fighting top contenders then nobody should bother to watch the fights. I am having visions of a BHop rematch or Tarver as you suggested. Either of which is a pretty depressing prospect. To echo what jrok said, the natural edge he had previously will have dissipated to some extent if not completely so fighting a Dawson, Froch or even Cleverly seems very far fetched.

Reid’s been retired since 07 and he’s 39. Calzaghe can come back the same way he went out (against past it boxers) and give Reid the rematch he’s been after for donkey’s years.

The prospect of fighting a comebacking Calzaghe should give Froch even more motivation to beat up Kessler and win the whole tournament.

If Calzaghe knows ‘eff all about this rumour. OR it could just be his way of grabbing the attention before what should be "Frochy’s Big Night" LOL!

Money is money, especially if its the easy kind. Boxing is the ultimate Hustlers sport. Those who can take the least amount of punishment and rake in the doe and are then smart enough to know when it’s time to leave will profit. The come back is easy.

Don’t laugh so quick, a Clazaghe-Pavlik match-up could work! Let Pavlik fight and whip a nobody at 168 real quick and I’m sure they’d be in line with the stupid belt dispensers as mandatories for each other.

If Joe does comeback, it should be to fight Froch, however with the Super Six not ending anytime soon for Froch (in my opinion) that is not likely. I think Bute would be a good matchup. I would prefer Chad Dawson, but for whatever reason I don’t see that working out. Dawson does not have a good enough name across the world yet. Maybe a Hopkins rematch UGHHHHHHHHHHH!

theres plenty of fights out there for the arrogant snow blower. question is will he take or even consider them?

i think not.

 Frochy in his last 4 fights faces Pascal , Jermaine Taylor , Andre Dirrell and now Kessler while being bagged by half the pom online fight crowd . Calzaghe in his last 4 fights faced Peter Manfredo jr ( snicker) , Kessler , Hopkins ( 43 years old) and Jones jr who had been outpointed and knocked out by Tarver , knocked cold by Johnson and then defeated Prince Ajamu ( who?), Hamshaw ( who?) and Felix ( old and fat) Trinidad in his last 5 fights. Roy then did a Calzaghe and defeated club fighters Sheika and Lacey before Danny Green kayoed him in one round and 45 year old BHop beat him easily on points proving that what everyone thought is true and that Jones has been a has been since the Ruiz fight . Robin Reid or BHops sound like typical Calzaghe opponents. Perhaps Joe thought Hopkins looked bad enough against Jones that the Welshman is finally going to give him a rematch . If Calzaghe is fair dinkum it has to be Dawson .He’s the 175 pound champ and has twice beat Glenn Johnson and beat Adamek. If not Dawson the winner of the supersix . Anything else is a joke.

I thought Dirrell won by 3 or 4 rounds myself DC . My only point is that Froch has fought the best available opposition from the get go while Calzaghe cynically picked obviously weakened opponents like a hyena . Pascal now hold a 175 pound title . I wonder if anyone Calzaghe then went on to win a world title . Everyone gave Abraham credit for beating Taylor . The Taylor that Froch beat was better than the one the Armenian defeated for obvious reasons. Dirrell was an unknown but is a 6 ft 2 southpaw speedster with good power and fast feet . Calzaghe has never fought someone with that much size , youth and ability . Id back the current version of Pascal to easily beat the shell of Jones that Calzaghe fought . Shit Roy hasnt beaten a world class fighter since Ruiz . Cheers DC .

LOOK, THE ONE EVERYONE WOULD PAY TO SEE IS FROCH-JC., BUT IF I WERE JC, I DO AN EASY ONE FIRST, MAYBE AGAINST PAVLIK OR GREEN, AND THEN TAKE ON FROCH. I SAY EASY BECUASE JC’S STY;E WOULD SLICE AND DICE PAVLIK LIKE A BUTCHER WORKS A SPRING LAMB.

Cant argue with that Ted . After watching southpaw Martinez chop Pavlik up I cant imagine him doing very well against a bigger rougher southpaw cutie like the Welshman . Pavs toast in my opinion . He should have gone up in weight ages ago but his team shit themselves after the Hops blowout . He’s lost the edge he had before he won the title . Against Miranda and Taylor Pavlik gave the impression he was willing to die in the ring to win . Post then with the big money and then the soul destroying beating he was given by BHops he’s lost that extra edge of desire and ferocity that a face first stalker – bomber needs . Put a fork in him , he’s done .

The smack talk would be world class.

Yes, Froch-Calzaghe sells big in the UK. And I think even a 50% reduced Joe C wins. But please no rematch with Reid or BHop. Those two bouts I would not respect or pay for. Joe loses to Dawson at this point, sorry to say. But he can take Pavlik; also sorry to say. But at what weight? Can JC get down to 168? Depends if his retirement has been like Hatton between bouts or if it’s been active.

I don’t want to see Joe looking like RJJ.

He just wants $$$… spent it all on blow…

Oh yeah… he should fight Okkte… they ducked each other for years…

Will it never end? Aren’t there enough TV jobs for these guys?

Brings out the mongrel in em.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/apr/28/joe-calzaghe-carl-froch

For the first eight rounds against Taylor he was like a goalkeeper with no defence, he was being outclassed and outfought by a middleweight who has seen better days. To be honest, it would be frightening what I could do to him if we fought. He doesn’t seem to realise that holding your hands up and defending yourself is a pretty vital part of boxing.

I have seen absolutely nothing whatsoever from him that makes me think I should fight him. I couldn’t motivate myself knowing how easily I could beat him and possibly hurt him badly. I wouldn’t fight him even if I did come back. What would be the point?

On the other hand, Calzaghe didn’t always keep his hands up either.

will never be more highly regarded than he is right now…in retirement. If he comes back, he will shit the bed and lose the overblown image he has made for himself by beating old men and pure Euros.

Also, I’ve seen words on this thread like “annihilate” and “hurt him badly” in reference to what Joe Cal could potentially do to another man, inside the ring, without a gun, knife or other weapon. Let’s remember that this is Joe Calzaghe – a man who punches without power nor intent to be powerful. He is the Al Newman of boxing. Maybe he could punch once upon a time, maybe he got some KOs because of the cans he was fighting, but by the end of his career, he could not punch, and he did not try to punch.

Please come back Joe. I hope you lead a happy life outside the ring, but I would like to see you get absolutely demolished in the ring because I hate the way you fight. And I’m tired of hearing MMA folk say that we cannot call what you do “fighting” – and I agree with them.

I think Calzaghe should stay out of the ring and be happy with it. I liked him as a fighter for his unorthodox style and intelligence, and even went to see him fight, but I don’t think it’s safe for his health or his record to face any serious opponent. Risk outweighing benefit at this point. Someone like Chad Dawson, who I don’t find exceptional, could still hurt the guy if he connected cleanly.

As for his arrogance, I think it goes with being undefeated. Look what that’s done for Floyd. It might also be a tactic to make guys want to come at you and hit you hard which he plays well against.

He also doesn’t get much credit as BristolOne pointed out with that great quote from Naazim’s recent interview because we don’t see fighters like that here. He might not have devastating, one-punch knockout power because of his injuries, and slap with his punches, but that didn’t stop him from turning Jeff Lacy into burger or beating Kessler. He’s quick for an older guy, throws combos constantly, clinches to stop momentum, is good at slipping punches, frustrates opponents, and is very intelligent; adapting to opponents styles and exploiting their flaws as he sees them. Mediocre fighters can’t do that. It would be like calling Hopkins a mediocre fighter because he doesn’t knock people out anymore.

The only flaw in his credentials might be that he never fought the tough fights over here and stayed in his comfort zone and his two fight in the USA were with the old versions of the fighters. But that doesn’t mean the guys he fought over there were all pushovers. Maybe people just don’t like him over here because we tend to like knockouts more than skill that leas to a victory.

One thing I can say from experience is that it looks more skillful when seeing the guy fight in person, which is probably true of any fighter. Somehow TV seems to diminish some of what’s actually happening. I personally think that Roy Jones would have destroyed him when back in his prime, but watching Calzaghe dismantle what was left of him was still something to behold. Power or no power, odd style or not, Roy looked like he got shot in his eye socket.