Q: In 20 years will Calzaghes career be looked upon with the same fondness as Rocky Marcianos, i mean they both fought deep into their careers without any great challenges and then fought a couple of alltime greats who were on the way down and then strolled into retirement whilst undefeated. I can see some comparisons between the two careers. I still believe that Joe will have to go after Pavlik to really prove himself but i keep hearing rumours of retirement after this one. I think we will be robbed of a great piece of boxing history if Joe does retire.
A: Maybe by British fight-fans, but not by American fight fans. First of all Joe Calzaghe is a British fighter who is on top at the moment, headlining in the top US venues against America's finest. Many American boxing fans seem to be rather hostile toward British fighters for some reason and Joe Calzaghe is no exception. British fighter's are all "overrated" and have only ever fought bums; in their eyes and have to fight American boxers in America to prove themselves. When they do just this and win the opposition was "over the hill" or "shot" it seems. In short, it is very difficult for a British boxer to impress American fight fans regardless on how well they perform. Secondly, many people will look at Marciano through rose-tinted glasses. People will "remember" Marciano as one of the all time best's purely because of the era he fought in, even though if he fought from 1980-present he would be very average indeed. I really do hope Joe doesn't retire after the RJJ fight as he still has another fight or two in him, and if he does chase Pavlik i think he is more than capable of pulling off a huge upset if he is at the top of his game (something he wasn't against Hopkins) Yes there are paralles in the two fighters careers but i don't think many will look back so fondly on Calzaghe's, it all depends if he beats RJJ and chases Pavlik in my opinion. Retiring before facing Pavlik will make people think he doesn't want to fight him and people will remember that, I think Joe want's to retire because he doesn't have the love of boxing anymore like he used to.