Joe Calzage Retires!

Joe Calzaghe you aint done yet.

Joe Calzaghe world light heavyweight champion of the world, who gained American fame by beating Roy Jones Junior and Bernard Hopkins in 2008, has retired from boxing. Calzaghe leaves the ring at age 36 with a 46-0 record, and the title "Retired undefeated champion" to put on his resume. He joins Rocky Marciano, as the only champion boxer to retire undefeated. Before I get people calling for my head, it has been reported, Floyd Mayweather Junior, undefeated former pound for pound king of boxing, is coming out of retirement to fight the winner of the Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton matchup scheduled for May 2, 2009. So we can't include himjust yet.

This retirement comes as a shocker since reports had him fighting light heavyweight, Chad Dawson in his next fight. In 2008 Chad Dawson defeated Antonio Tarver and Glenn Johnson, via unanimous decisions, respectively. After beating Roy Jones Junior last November Calzaghe mentioned fighting, one or two more times. If he does indeed keep his word, something many boxers fail to do, he ends a nice career fighting weak opposition and fighters, way past their prime.

Calzage fails to realize retiring undefeated doesn't necessarily make you a great fighter. Fighters in the past, who are considered great today, constantly took up challenges to prove their worth something Joe did not do. He constantly mentions his victory over Jeff Lacy as one of the shining moments in his career. The future has shown Jeff Lacy to be nothing more than a hype job. Mikkel Kessler was another overhyped undefeated fighter that never had anyone on his record worth mentioning. He then fights Bernard Hopkins who has no business fighting at age 43 regardless if he beat Kelly Pavlik or not. One thing, Joe Calzage has going for him is hand speed something Kelly Pavlik does not have. Hand speed is something that will trouble a person of any age, more so for a 43-year-old. Benard Hopkins' win over Kelley Pavlik shouldn't be used to elevate Calzage's status because styles make fights. Roy Jones Junior hasn't been himself for over five years and stated if he couldn't knock Felix Trinidad out he would retire, something he failed to do in a disappointing decision victory. Despite the obvious deterioration of the once great fighter, Joe Calzage insisted on fighting him. Who wouldn't? My problem is, if you're seeking greatness why not call them out when they had something left in the tank? There's nothing worse than a fighter building a name off of worn-out veterans and acting as if he really accomplished something great. So when the opportunity presents itself to fight a young and hungry fighter in Chad Dawson. Why not jump at the opportunity? He doesn't jump at the opportunity because he realizes that "Bad" Chad Dawson is no easy test. In my personal opinion, Chad Dawson has the tools not only to defeat Joe Calzage but to seriously, humiliate him beyond repair. Something the Welshman's ego could not take. If it lasts, good riddance.


Source: www.mintarticles.com
Author: Manar Abdalla
I'm a freelance writer in my free time. I cover a variety of subjects and speak my mind without sugar coating nothing. I absolutely love boxing, so you will see a lot of articles pertaining to it. I hope to write great articles and build a viewer ship.