The problem with Calzaghe is he runs out of steam, you can clearly see he throws 500 punches in the first round and he work rate is down in the 12th to 499.
And he beat fighters that could have been great fighters. Thing is , with Joe , you weren't worried about losing as much as personally being exposed to yourself about the weaknesses that you did not even think that you had. I have never seen a fighter that was more tireless.
I find Calzaghe an enigma. He often doesn't seem to be punching properly almost like rabbit punches if you know what I mean? But very quick hands and reactions. A great boxer.
Cus he's not American. And if an American champion doesn't fight a champion from elsewhere, they never say the American is scared, or the American can't be considered great unless he proves himself against the outside world; they only see it the other way around. And if you're too dominant in a division and they have nobody to compete, they just say it's a dead division and you haven't proved yourself unless you move up....except if it's an American in that exact position. Then they just say he's the best. Anyone else has to keep moving up in weight until they lose. Then, when the US has barely any champions left, they declare boxing dead, and invent the UFC
@@ashscott6068 Bro you nailed it on the head, they cry "boxing is dead" these days because they've been beaten out thoroughly. Imagine if Wladimir Klitschko was an American during his long title reign prime!
no he’s not overrated he’s known for fighting has beans The reason he’s never given recognition is his personality nobody outside Miles likes him. And yes he is a slapper have you got away is it for all those years I’ll never know. even slaps the punchbowl.
One thing I have found about American commentators is they are so neutral and fair. I love Big George Foreman as a commentator. Love his accent - like rich coffee. He was so pro Prince Naseem Hamed. Even against American fighters. Mind you I remember my dad was always a fan of Mohamed Ali. Even when he demolished Richard Dunn, a Brit guy from nowhere who should never have been in the same ring as "The Legend." My dad was laughing!
@@simondelaney6483 fantastic boxing from joe Calzaghe but no power 8 punchers on the button man still standing he just fights for points, may look good punching like that but no ways should a man be standing, good fighters one punch may be to and that will be it
@@carlkeywood9584 i agree, but he did at least have legit KO power during amateur and early pro careers. After his hands gave up on him, he had to adapt to scoring like this is guess.
I remember watching this and thinking that Calzaghe was going to get crushed. After three rounds, my friends who came over to watch the fight were as speechless as I was. We had no idea Joe was such a talent. We instantly became fans.
Chris Acosta No kidding. Everyone who knew boxing saw the unorthodox motion of Joes punches. He would slap a bit but no one realized those were only stay busy punches and that every 3rd or 4th punch actually had some heat behind it. It's a very good style that wins rounds and still does damage. Boxing purists look down on those throw away stay busy punches but it worked for him and Joe proved me and everyone else wrong. Lacys corner should have stopped the fight Joe beat the confidence right out of Lacy.
My favorite boxer. Period. Most underrated boxer of my generation. I’m an American and I absolutely loved watching him fight ANYBODY! What he did to destroy both Lacey and Jones was a clinic. And how he overcame adversity and defeated Hopkins was a demonstration of brilliance and pure heart. I miss Joe. Boxing hasn’t been the same since he retired.
Jake Best all respect to Lacy he famously said 'one day you're going to meet than man who will physically outbox outfight and out manouvere you and he'll do it in front of the whole world.'
Jake Best what I love about this fight is that you can see how utterly deadly, and dangerous Lacy was in the first four rounds. He was extremely close to landing very serious punches at the start. All this nonsense that Lacy was a hype job is just that NONSENSE. Odds do not lie. This was one of the greatest performances of all time in this era of boxing. Lacy was NOT a hype job. That he went the full 12 shows you how great a chin Lacy had. This version of Lacy sparks out most of the current super middleweights today. He was f*cking dangerous and heavily avoided. Joe was the only one who 'wanted' to fight him.
Destroyed Jeff's career that night, Calzaghe proved what a great fighter he was. Give Lacy props he took that beating like a man & didn't look for a way out like some do or have.
Out of reach look at 1.30 of the first round lacy hits him with a body shot so hard it overpowers the commentary and then barely misses with his attack follow up. People keep saying Lacy was overhyped but that's bullshit. He was a beast heavily avoided when Calzaghe fought him. THe heart, the chin, the engine, the skill the toughness. This is one of the best performances of all time hands down
When my life is shit and i'm on the floor emotionally and badly in need of a wake up i watch Joe fight. He always raises my spirits and shocks me out of my gloom. His courage and spirit just shines through. The Best from UK imo. EVER.
They always said, Calzaghe kept his good looks because he rarely got hit.... I was never sure why he actually had a cut man to be honest..😉 I'd forgotten how good this display was, I watched it live on TV and was jumping in the air constantly as Joe was taking Lacy to pieces. I say, Joe Calzaghe is an absolute Legend and we, here in 🇬🇧 are massively proud of him. Big up Joe Calzaghe!!!!🇬🇧✌️
Ruined a man who said he would knock him out he also said his a slapper wonder if he felt the same way after a pounding his corner could have pulled him out threw the towel in
@@paulhllrn79 he fought some big names afterwards like jermain taylor and roy jones jr, but he never reached elite level again after joe "slapped" the shit outta him.
He never reached elite level PERIOD. The guy had 21 fights and only got a vacant title. What makes you think he was ever elite level ?? Elite fighters dont get “ruined” by losing one fight. Did Canelo get ruined by losing to Mayweather ?? Of course not. Lacy was a prospect that never panned out. Boxing full of them. It’s just that Calzaghe apologists need Lacy to be something he’s not
He has lots of things working against him. 1. He's Welsh, if he was English or Irish he would have had a bigger built in fan base. 2. He should have come to America sooner. 3. The only belt he really held for an extended period was WBO. 4. Strength of schedule not great but that's not totally his fault. Came right after such a great era.
a fine wine takes years for people to realise the longer you wait the taste and potetncy just gets better.the taste for joe just keeps getting better.but his fire in the ring is hard to bottle.
It's sad that no one in the UK talks about Calzaghe as one of the greats, well other than Boxing afficionados anyway. He fought on TV channels that weren't available to all. It was almost as if Calzaghe was from another country for all the coverage he got. I'm glad things like TH-cam exist so that I can go back through his career and watch how good he was.
yes its strange how some fighters seem to get forgotten. Although not as good as Calzaghe, Steve Collins beat Eubank and Benn yet all I hear is "the great era of Benn and Eubank".
He was, the UK media is 99.8% percent English, anyone Welsh or Scottish is often Seen as Foreign. All the while pretending they are all the same to fool them into being pro union (England in reality)
The Great Hadoken. He never got the fights he really wanted, and I think should've changed romoters and accepted lower deals for Americanexposure earlier. However this was a fight the bookies picked against him, he was supposed to be an ageing protected Welsh fighter defending against easier opponents. This was THE defining fight and it's so sad when people now say lacy was a hype job. That's the most criminal aspect of boxing. It's like when Vitali Klitschko after 4 lng years off obliterated, then champion, Samuel Peter. Just like Joe taking his heart his reutation and his title. It's so easy to asay AFTER a fight like this well that guy clearly wasn't any good to begin with. Believe me no one wanted anything to do with Lacy before this besides Joe, just like Haye Povetkin didn't want anything to do with Peter before Vitali's masterclass. Any defeat like this will ruin a fighter.
@@taffyducks544 You're not wrong. Hatton and Fury were/are huge names in the UK, and neither of them are even close to the level of Calzaghe. For me, he's better than Lennox. If his hand was completely healed, I don't think there's a boxer he couldn't beat.
I love how every opponent called the Welsh Dragon a "Slapper", yet nobody could just walk through his punches. Joe Calzaghe is an all time Great.........Enjoy your retirement Champ.
Fury had a similar rap "pillow hands" but he clearly always hit hard enough and accurate enough that opponents knew they had to work for it and couldn't just take risks
Check and Balance no one cared about him after he won this fight and became the unified champion, no one cared about him when he moved up in weight and became the light heavy weight champion, or when he retired 46-0 at the time only bested by Rocky’s record... it’s almost as if you validated Sam Rc’s argument
im an American and for anyone who tries to discredit calzaghe and say he isn't an all time great is a fool or doesn't know boxing.he has the same skill set as Floyd but yet he would trade and make exciting fights trust me he could have been a very boring fighter like Floyd if he wanted and looked untouchable in the process.roy jones and Hopkins even in their primes couldn't have beat him on his work rate alone the 1 guy during that time who I think could have given him his toughest fight would have been winky wright because of his style and work rate.if joe was an American he definitely would have gotten way more credit.he was far and away the best british fighter that ive ever seen.
You know, my 2 favourite fighters of all time are Calzaghe and Winky Wright. Neither got the global fame and credit they deserved, but both are still, in my mind, the 2 fighters I respect the most. Calzaghe came on to the world stage as an underdog when Steve Collins decided he wanted to retire, so he fought Eubank, as he has fought everyone put in front of him. And I've always been a fan of Eubank because despite his showmanship he was always a warrior. I also remember when Eubank said, on his way back to the changing rooms after this fight "Now I know why Collins didn't want to fight him...". For Eubank, that was respect. As for Winky Wright, he was just this US fighter that came to the UK for a couple of fights, or so we were led to believe. The 2 fights of his I saw were a masterclass in boxing. I know one of them was Ensley Bingham, and I wish I could remember the other. He absolutely destroyed both, and with different styles. I think Ensley was just jabbed until he couldn't see any more, and the other fight was a body shot overload and led to a TKO because the opponent couldn't stand because he couldn't breathe. It was clinical, it was beautiful, and it was boxing art.
philly flyer Great comments mate. People overlook Joe's chin too. Whenever he did get tagged, he just shook it off and came back swinging. I agree...JC v Winky Wright would have been the fight of all fights
This fight made folk in the U.S respect Joe. The Kessler fight, he proved to the world he was the best. Pound for pound one of the worlds best ever boxers.
Had the privilege of meeting the man last year. The intensity and speed he fought at from round 1 right through to round 12 is overlooked. World class. Legend.
Best fight I've ever seen. Watched it multiple times. Credit goes to Lacy for having such a tough chin and big heart to not quit and take such punishment for 12 rounds.
@@timothyayers8596 wow... a country the size of a continent even having a debate with a country the size of a pin head. if you weren't "superior" in every way, itd be utterly embarrassing. the fact Britain can compete is an embarrassment to the US. ps Russia won the war. not sure what youre taught in your schools... no doubt that America won the war and it was all America... truth is it was Russia. itd have been lost without them.
@@timothyayers8596 Just think, if Lacy had been British he wouldn't have had to pay for the neurology afterwards. Every single area except looking after your own people.
Joe Calzaghe the man the Legend. Why he was so under rated in the boxing world is a mystery to me. I loved watching him box and this fight was one of the best. Retired undefeated and a legend. Joe I can't thank you enough for the entertainment over the years that you gave me and all boxing fans. I wish nothing but the best in your life ahead. Take care and enjoy your retirement sir.
He isn’t underrated. He had a fairly timid resume and that’s why he’s not rated as high as some in the UK think he should be. He got plenty of credit for what he accomplished, especially from uk fans
+Sean Sheep, There are quite a few Americans that are honest about British fighters, it's only when their critique is negative is when British boxing fans call foul. To be honest I saw this fight back in 2006, before then I'd never even heard of Calzaghe. But, I've been a fan of his ever since.
I'd guess that the 32 fighters Calzaghe knocked out, were less inclined to think of him as a weak puncher. Jeff Lacy got hit 1006 times, and was never the same. This was a boxing masterclass. A superb example of conditioning as well.
TranceClassics x Seriously? He had a ton of fights including Roy Jones Jr, as a matter of fact a Cuban monster named Savinge just beat him in 2 rounds.
It's funny because even the British press and pundits wrote Calzaghe off. This was probably the best boxing match I have ever seen just for the complete opposite of what was supposed to happen.
An absolute masterclass in boxing, Lacy was the real deal, Joe took him apart like a surgeon. He turned him and absolutely beat him up. One of the best fights in middleweight history.
joe, was one of the greatest boxers of all time, no one could catch him, and when they did he had a good jaw, got up and gave them a lesson in boxing. thank you joe, you were amazing.
+Thom B I give him credit for actually coming to the uk and fight the great roy jones jr never had the bottle to do that when eubank benn n collins were all big money fights boxers always have to go to the states to 'prove' themselves yet yank fighters hardly ever leave their hometown
+Thom B Calzaghe gave him a complete masterclass in boxing and I agree this bout ended Lacy's career, however, his corner and the referee should have gotten Lacy out of there!
@Dee Maguire Amen. Funny that you only commented this 6 hours ago, first comment after a year, and I just clicked it to comment too. Just got the urge to search this fight tonight. Warrior 🙏🏼
avantgardevegan I could NOT have been more wrong about Calzaghe when I was younger. This fight took place when I was a young teenager when I first entered ABA gyms and started loving boxing. When I was on holiday in America me and my uncle got near free give away tickets in the back to watch Lacy beat Syd Vanderpool. Couldn't see much. People forget just how red hot Lacy was at this time. As I look back the more I realuise this was one of if not the greatest win of a British fighter besides Benn Mcclellan Lewis TYson or Fury Wilder II. I never appreciated Calzaghe when he was active. This was a fight that has never been surpassed in terms of a 12 round demolition of a powerful talented hard punching champion, with the world at his feet, who never stopped trying. From bell one to the end. This IS the definition of a legacy fight. Lacy was odds on favorite. Everyone says he was overhyped and just forget whatCalzaghe did to him plus shoulder surgery neutralising his left arm ended him as an elite fighter.
I must of watched this fight at least a dozen times and have so much respect for Jeff Lacy for never quitting . Jeff always came forward throughout despite the barrage and verity of punches that Joe unleashed from start to finish. A master class in skill from Joe and a Master class of Guts from Jeff.
Exactly. I hate people clowning him. He was just confident in himself before the fight (Lacey) Which you want. People clowning Lacey only takes away Joe's performance and victory.
Totally agree Lacey was as game as they come ,his corner should have shown some compassion and pulled him out ,anyone know if Lacey did much after this fight?.
Roy Jones JR did the same thing to lacy about 2year after this 1 sided beat down Roy did the very same to Lacey, he was mentally broke after Joe nevermind what Roy did to him, The fight with Roy was billed as "The Battle of the Left Hookers ".
@@Asshole88 I agree, what's Lacy supposed to say, he's got to have self belief, and think he is going to knock Joe out. Or do people expect him to say " I'm going to try my best but I'm not as good as Joe so I think I'm going to loose"
Followed Calzaghe his whole career and the fact that half his career he had to ease off on the power punches because of his fragile hands proves his boxing ability.
I'm English and Loved Clazaghe. rumours he ducked this fella or that I couldn't care less, I could say Jones Jnr ducked Collins for years and Hopkins ducked a fair few as well. doesn't mean anything, Calzaghe when he got in the ring beat everyone he fought, pace, skill, stamina, chin, heart, passion. The fella deserves every credit that comes his way
For your info mate..Something they like to keep quiet...In 2002, Bernard Hopkins agreed to fight Joe Calzaghe in America, agreed a $3m dollar purse...then the following day pulled out with no explanation...and went on to fight a bum for $300k!!! But shhhhhhhhhh... America loves shouting "coward" and "ducker" - but dont you dare point the finger at one of their ATGs
You'll recall Hopkins and Calzaghe did fight in 2008 when they were ranked #3 and #4 P4P respectively. Hop was older but still a Light Heavyweight champion and Joe was SMW champion. Out here talking about Hopkings "ducked" Calzaghe because he didn't move up as a middleweight but I don't see anything about Joe fighting Roy Jones in his prime. Nah not a young Jones. Eubank, Benn, Joe they were all set staying in the UK and never wanted a fight with young Roy Jones or James Toney. Just stay in the UK and wait for age to hit and see what can be done. See, anyone can make foolish statements too.
My favorite thing is the fact that everyone calls Joe a "Slapper", And yet none of them can walk through the slaps to deliver a punch,,....Joe Calzaghe ATG!!
What impressed me besides his domination of Lacy, was Calzaghe's use of his underrated jab. He used it sparingly in previous fights but in this fight, it made a big difference and it kept Lacy at an appropriate distance. This is probably Calzaghe's greatest performance overall.
I've seen an interview with Joe where he says he had again hurt his hand in the build up to this fight and wanted to postpone, he said his father told him if you cancel this fight you will never recover from it and he ended up producing one of the best performances of his amazing career. It was great to see this live too!
It was also his father who persuaded him to take the fight at all. Joe wasn't sure and his dad said this guy is tailor made for you. He moves 4 or 5 times to throw one shot. You'll box his head off as you're too fast for him. I think that was the gist of it anyway...
C'mon Ronald, only a very few fighters could have taken that kind of beating and still behaved in a dignified way after the fight. Even Calzaghe said that he himself would have quit the fight after seven rounds if he took such a beating. Lacy was brave, a true warrior, just outmatched.
You're so right; Jeff Lacy's career was effectively derailed with this thorough domination by Calzaghe. I watched all of Lacy's previous fights (that were televised) and he basically destroyed every one of his opponents, and thought that he would demolish the Welshman - whom I had erroneously thought was a paper champion. I couldn't have been more wrong, as he went on to become one of the very few champions who retired undefeated. Roy Jones Junior, in an interview, when asked who was the greatest fighter he had ever faced, said it was Joe Calzaghe.
if calzaghe had superstar status from the begining (olympics etc) on the fame side of things and did exactly as he has done with 46-0 he would of been regarded now as the best boxer ever in and around his weight.
You know how good Calzaghe is when all his critics have to constantly downgrade his opponents when he made them look poor. Just as well Joe beat a few legends along the way, just to shut the critics down and also make a few legends look like yesterdays boxers. That was how good this guy was. He made great boxers look bad. Maybe he was too good and should have made a few look better than they were. Maybe then, he would have gained the respect and admiration he deserves.
Jank man he wasn’t in his prime but he wasn’t washed. He was far closer to his prime than Rjj. Age isn’t the only factor in prime. Prime for prime rjj whoops calzaghe.
Wutang you talk alot of shit calzaghe wanted to fight rjj when he was in his prime and rjj ducked him because calzaghe was a big risk factor and it was the same with the racist Hopkins he also ducked calzaghe. Your just a jealous bum lol
Dwayne watts but at least I know a little grammar. “Your” lmao fucking idiot. You’re right, they both ducked calzaghe just to fight him when they were washed lol sick logic kid. Rjj would’ve beaten the fuck out of calzaghe had they fought prime for prime. Understand the difference between talking shit and being honest. I already said calzaghe is a great fighter but if you think calzaghes resume is anything good you don’t know shit about boxing.
David Moss, nice try. Educated boxing fans properly discount Calzaghe for padding his record. The “legends” he beat were all good and old and no one rated those fights. He struggled against a 43 year old Hopkins and got dropped... it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see he would not have done well against these guys 5 years earlier. Sorry Calzaghe was a carefully managed cherry picker and sorry were all not living in the Calzaghe fan fantasy world.
Man Calzaghe has some seriously delusional fans. I mean I like the guy but some of your are nuts. It is rather clear Roy Jones was badly shot when Calzaghe finally fought him. You guys mythologized Calzaghe lol.. come on man his biggest win was a SD OVER A 43 year old !!! And he hit the deck in that fight. I mean come on man !!! Stop blowing this guy out of all proportion
Joe Calzaghe is Britain's Best Boxer, Ever. I've not seen this fight for years, and I forgot how good it was and how one-sided it was. Calzaghe was phenomenal. He was the best pound for pound boxer at the time. The ref should have stopped the fight several times from round 10. Thanks for uploading!!
Underground906 Jeff Lacey was no mug and was expected to smash the Limey!, but Joe taught him a lesson, which he could not have done unless he was exceptionally talented..There aint nothing like an undefeated fighter, and Joe is ours.....
Underground906 Three points: Pavlik is more accomplished than Lacy, secondly Pavlik wasn't Hopkin's defining fight. Furthermore, Hopkins was in his forties putting the smack down on a young bull. Huge difference.
I just want to say, this is why noone made the jump to fight Calzaghe. Everyone is quick to point the finger and say that Calzaghe ducked everyone in his career. But, until this fight, noone would have made a big enough payday to challenge Calzaghe, so they didn't want to risk being his scapegoat. Lacy was the first person man enough to test Calzaghe, and looked what happened. Calzaghe is a true great, watching all of his fights, I don't know how people can discredit him. Judge with your eyes, not with stats from Wiki. If you watch his fights, you can see that he would have given any of the all time greats one of the hardest fights of their career.
I remain amazed that people say that Calzaghe ducked people when he showed every time that he was always up for a fight. I missed most of his fight live and as a (half) Well type I say he's the best fighter Wales has produced, with Howard Winstone (who oozed class too and was also brave). Best wishes.
Man you can’t just say that. The only HOF level fighter joe face that wasn’t coming pleyely washed up was Hopkins... and that didn’t go super well for Joe. He got dropped and barely got a SD....so where do you get this idea he would give Sugar Ray Robinson ect the toughest fight of there career ?? I think your wearing rose colored glasses.
A volvo engine who never took a step backwards, one of the all time greats & fought most of his career with one hand, fantastic fighter with the heart of a lion. 🥊 🥊 ✌️ 🇮🇪
I grew up watching Tommy Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvin Hagler. I loved watching Collins, Benn and Eubanks. What legends. Joe Calzaghe was the best. He destroyed Lacey. He was scheduled for a big career too! Had Lacey won he may have gone on to greatness. I reckon if you ran joe over in your car at 50mph he would still get 8 punches in on your exhaust pipe and you'd see him in the rear view mirror goading you to do it again. Best fighter ever.
Canelo and Ward are much better Super middleweights than Joe Calzage he isn't the "best" he was in a shitty era he retired undefeated good for him but he isn't the best😂
Best fighter ever ??? That’s a bit ridiculous. He cracks the top 100 for longevity but we’re not talking top 50..way to weak a resume. It’s easy to look good against 2nd rate fighters. He looked pretty ordinary against a 43 year old Hopkins, getting dropped and neutralised most of the fight. A spectre of how he would have done against the top tier in their prime.
for those who say calzaghe ducked fighters...considering lacy was undefeated dubbed as the "mini mike tyson" he didnt duck him and he absolutly boxed his yankee head clean off
When did you ever see anything like this in a title fight let alone a unification fight, calzaghe is one of the greatest fighters of all time and the evidence is here to see.
One of the all time beat downs in boxing history. I have very rarely seen a beat up face to the extent that Lacy was beaten. And Lacy was a big favorite
Calzaghe is an all time great. This was def his defining moment. Well, that and retiring undefeated. Im almost glad he retired when he had to with his hands always breaking on peoples faces.
did you see meldrick taylor vs julio cesar chavez .? tayler was way ahead on points but his face looked like he was beat every round . Chavez looked like he didn't even fight not a mark on his face . of course Chavez knocked Tayler out with just seconds left in the fight. i think Richard Steel was the ref
Technically speaking Calzaghe was prob the UK's best fighter - accuracy, stamina, technique, defence, speed, he pretty much had it all. His style was a bit awkward, and there was little reward in fighting him, but he could have beaten anyone at his weight in his prime. I saw this in a hotel in London, about 2am, was out of bed standing next to the TV amazed by his performance. His best win was prob against a prime Kessler, but this was a great performance - he nullified Lacy from the opening bell.
Joe calzaghe is without a doubt Britain's best ever boxer finishing his career undefeated 46 & 0 and even to this day remains the longest raining world champion in British history of any weight devision and though many claim he ducked fighters is far from the truth he was a huge risk factor to American fighters and they wouldn't fight him and his promotor Frank Warren let him down in getting him big fights because he was more concerned with promoting Lenox Lewis and other English fighters.
Pretty much the complete boxer. With the exception of devastating power perhaps, and his hand issues, Calzaghe had it all. Hand speed, footwork, gas tank, his boxing intelligence was phenomenal and he had an answer to everything an opponent ever threw at him, not to mention an inexhaustible supply of heart. He was right - the better the opponent the better he got. For pure boxing, it doesn’t get much better than watching Calzaghe.
Every young boxer should study Calzaghe. Punch volume, work rate, head movement, footwork. Everything to be the best boxer and, he was. Very few move this way now.
What a guy miss him TBH. Watching this I just realised Enzo had passed. Joe Is my Favourite Boxer of all time. Rest in peace Enzo, what an achievement and legacy you left good sir. Congratulations!! Legendary stuff here.
After having grown up watching Tyson, Leonard, Hagler, Hearns, Toney, Jones...the list is almost too long to remember at 50 years old. All were awesome to watch in their heyday, but for me, it has always been a close tie between Joe and Lennox. So much heart and skill its unbelievable. Joe will ALWAYS be an icon and legend to me!
Joe is one of the top 10 greatest fighters of all time, it's too bad he never got the recognition he deserved.. but if you want to be a boxer study his methods and techniques. Look high he created a fake distance to draw opponents in to s counter punch.
Joe destroyed his career, he was undefeated before he met Joe, afterwards he became a shadow of his former self. Joe is without doubt the most underrated British boxer of all time. I think he never got the credit he deserved! The greatest British boxer of all time!
woke up at 6 a.m. this morning, a Saturday so no work today, and this popped up on my feed - haven't seen it in years - Joe, my favourite boxer ever. What a man. What a way to start my day, brilliant! :)
Yeah maybe he just showed a little too much respect for him, and mentally wasn't giving it his all in fear of getting countered, calzaghe was and is very underrated but amongst the other boxers he definitely had their respect (im assuming)
Eubank considers him the best middleweight (or super middleweight?) of all time. I wouldn't go that far, but he's definitely up there. I think Lacy was used to fighting bums who would let him T off on them, and Joe was just so far away from being a bum.
+Dr.Mainiac fascinating fight this. so one sided it reminds me of Paul Ingle v Botile without the tragic ending. It's kind of the other side to the "stoppage too early". In retrospect that could have been stopped after five rounds but there would have been uproar.
+Dr.Mainiac I watched this live and me and my mates were very nervous because of the hype of Lacy. After the 2nd round, I knew my worries were over. Calzaghe is one of the greatest fighters in boxing history. 46-0 longest reigning undefeated world champion of all time.
Lacy's corner ruined the career of a young fighter. It would have been better if he'd have suffered a Round 1 KO. It does no fighter any favours taking a 12 round battering.
Never seen any of his fight's,due to them not being on normal TV ,but now I watch them on you tube,what an amazing talent he has ,up there with the best
Have not ready many of the comments below but I know, after watching this fight it just gave my love for boxing much more and have followed boxing ever since. One of the greatest performances by a British boxer, ever.
I remember watching Jeff Lacy come up from his first pro appearance on a championship card. He was destroying his competition and didn’t really see anything impressive until this fight. Calzaghe is a boxing great and this was such an amazing display against a heavy hitter at that time.
Calzaghe simply doesn’t appear tough or strong and that’s why he’s underrated and under appreciated in America. But to any American who truly loves the sport, they see the same greatness and ability that any Welshman sees. Calzaghe’s name deserves to be said in the same breath as any WEIGHT CLASS GOAT🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
When you watch this, it's difficult to argue that he isn't in line for the best ever, let alone British. Im adding in excitement, style, showmanship along with boxing skills
As a calzaghe fan I was on edge with this fight because of Lacy's power. I still strongly believed Joe would win because of his speed and skill I just never imagined he would make lacy look like an amateur and not a rival world champ. The sheer difference of ability was massive.
“I just kept thinking to myself that if I can just hang in there he’s gotta slow down eventually! [turns to Calzaghe] But you never did!” Jeff Lacey with a star struck look in his eye in an interview years later.
One of the best beatings ever it was so one side it was so dominant from Joe when people thought Lacy was the big favourite but Joe didn't read the script and produced a masterpiece
This guy also went against all the skeptics who after each meeting did nothing but stimulate Calzaghe to do even better to convince them too, with his tenacity he managed to convert several, the few remaining probably have other kinds of prejudices that transcend the ring! Congratulations to this guy who has earned his sweat and sacrifices, and with the positive and stimulating presence of his father (always present) all the good he has collected, Hall of fame for him, he deserves, not only as a boxer but also as a man, as an example of how we should approach this wonderful and hard sport! Bravo Calzaghe!
Those aren't slaps. They're baby hooks(super short). That's why he could throw so many. The real beauty is having those and the ability to sit down on his punches as well. His defense was underrated. Calzaghe's little makeshift philly-shell is awesome. He looked like James Toney in those corners.
12 rounds on in round 12 Joe calzaghe is superhuman 12 rounds on able to go like that, if you've ever done 12 rounds you know what I'm talking about to still be fresh and looks like a million years would never wear him out or stop his invincibility and energy. It's like a boxing lesson between a boxer and precision and a stereotypical American body builder.
Im a filipino.never heard about calzaghe before. But he is one of the best boxer for me after seing all his fights.He box as good as my idols like Ali and Pacquiao. or maybe he is a half step better than my idols.hehehe.
I remember this fight.. they built Lacy up to be the Tyson of the lighter division.. And got his has ass Whooped.. I instantly was a fan of Joe Calzaghe...
The problem with Calzaghe is he runs out of steam, you can clearly see he throws 500 punches in the first round and he work rate is down in the 12th to 499.
hahahshaaha
Lol. Best comment EVER
talking utter shit
Jesus the idiots that dont get the joke lmao.
Great comment for those of us that get it ;)
A knockout is more merciful than a beating like this.
kdalrymple22 for real tho
100%
Absolutely
I’d rather serve a 6 month prison sentence than go 12 rounds with joe
His team should have pulled him out after 5
Joe Calzaghe 46-0, WBO, IBF, WBC, WBA Champion,
21 Defences and Ring Champ (x2) - Legend.
And he beat fighters that could have been great fighters. Thing is , with Joe , you weren't worried about losing as much as personally being exposed to yourself about the weaknesses that you did not even think that you had. I have never seen a fighter that was more tireless.
Welsh Wizard
@@GHOST-ig6bi Why isn't he mentioned with the greats?
@@DocKaosBeats because he's not trans. Lol
@@GHOST-ig6bi Hopkins not a great no?
As an avid Boxing fan it's simply mind blowing how underrated Calzaghe is. Absolutely 💯 brilliance in the ring.
I find Calzaghe an enigma. He often doesn't seem to be punching properly almost like rabbit punches if you know what I mean? But very quick hands and reactions. A great boxer.
Cus he's not American. And if an American champion doesn't fight a champion from elsewhere, they never say the American is scared, or the American can't be considered great unless he proves himself against the outside world; they only see it the other way around. And if you're too dominant in a division and they have nobody to compete, they just say it's a dead division and you haven't proved yourself unless you move up....except if it's an American in that exact position. Then they just say he's the best. Anyone else has to keep moving up in weight until they lose. Then, when the US has barely any champions left, they declare boxing dead, and invent the UFC
@@ashscott6068 Bro you nailed it on the head, they cry "boxing is dead" these days because they've been beaten out thoroughly. Imagine if Wladimir Klitschko was an American during his long title reign prime!
no he’s not overrated he’s known for fighting has beans The reason he’s never given recognition is his personality nobody outside Miles likes him. And yes he is a slapper have you got away is it for all those years I’ll never know. even slaps the punchbowl.
He is great
I love watching Joe fight and I'm an American. If you like boxing, you love Joe
One thing I have found about American commentators is they are so neutral and fair. I love Big George Foreman as a commentator. Love his accent - like rich coffee. He was so pro Prince Naseem Hamed. Even against American fighters. Mind you I remember my dad was always a fan of Mohamed Ali. Even when he demolished Richard Dunn, a Brit guy from nowhere who should never have been in the same ring as "The Legend." My dad was laughing!
Well said sir
@@simondelaney6483 fantastic boxing from joe Calzaghe but no power 8 punchers on the button man still standing he just fights for points, may look good punching like that but no ways should a man be standing, good fighters one punch may be to and that will be it
@@carlkeywood9584 i agree, but he did at least have legit KO power during amateur and early pro careers. After his hands gave up on him, he had to adapt to scoring like this is guess.
@@carlkeywood9584 getting an injury to your wrist should reduce that though and it was his left
I remember watching this and thinking that Calzaghe was going to get crushed. After three rounds, my friends who came over to watch the fight were as speechless as I was. We had no idea Joe was such a talent. We instantly became fans.
You must have been living on mars if you hadn't heard of calzaghe or a total boxing casaul joe was a true warrior
He didn't say he had no theard of Joe Calzaghe.
sam...e
Chris Acosta No kidding. Everyone who knew boxing saw the unorthodox motion of Joes punches. He would slap a bit but no one realized those were only stay busy punches and that every 3rd or 4th punch actually had some heat behind it. It's a very good style that wins rounds and still does damage. Boxing purists look down on those throw away stay busy punches but it worked for him and Joe proved me and everyone else wrong. Lacys corner should have stopped the fight Joe beat the confidence right out of Lacy.
THATS WHY IGNORENT IS ALWAYS INFRONT OF THE WORD yank ignorent yanks
My favorite boxer. Period. Most underrated boxer of my generation. I’m an American and I absolutely loved watching him fight ANYBODY! What he did to destroy both Lacey and Jones was a clinic. And how he overcame adversity and defeated Hopkins was a demonstration of brilliance and pure heart. I miss Joe. Boxing hasn’t been the same since he retired.
Never beat hopkins. Gift decision. Watch the fight again
casey bramley I’ve watched it dozens of times. Joe won every time. Let me guess, you’re....oh never mind.
@@equalopportunitygadfly5908 you got it no guess necessary…
Well I'm you know what.... And Joe beat him
@@Uberstrib what's that American lol 😆
As soon as calzaghe drops his hands into that stance you know its game over
Hahaha me and my mates always said the same Jake. 👍🏽👍🏽
Jake Best all respect to Lacy he famously said 'one day you're going to meet than man who will physically outbox outfight and out manouvere you and he'll do it in front of the whole world.'
Jake Best what I love about this fight is that you can see how utterly deadly, and dangerous Lacy was in the first four rounds. He was extremely close to landing very serious punches at the start. All this nonsense that Lacy was a hype job is just that NONSENSE. Odds do not lie. This was one of the greatest performances of all time in this era of boxing. Lacy was NOT a hype job. That he went the full 12 shows you how great a chin Lacy had. This version of Lacy sparks out most of the current super middleweights today. He was f*cking dangerous and heavily avoided. Joe was the only one who 'wanted' to fight him.
@@patriceaqa288 well said
@@patriceaqa288 👏 well said
Destroyed Jeff's career that night, Calzaghe proved what a great fighter he was. Give Lacy props he took that beating like a man & didn't look for a way out like some do or have.
His corner should have showed him mercy and thrown the towel in
if he had of swallowed it early he would have had a longer and more lucrative career
Lacy's got a heart the size of a mountain he never stopped throwing hooks
Out of reach look at 1.30 of the first round lacy hits him with a body shot so hard it overpowers the commentary and then barely misses with his attack follow up. People keep saying Lacy was overhyped but that's bullshit. He was a beast heavily avoided when Calzaghe fought him. THe heart, the chin, the engine, the skill the toughness. This is one of the best performances of all time hands down
Fight was over by round 5.
Calzaghe is so underrated. Best british boxer ever for me.
I thought he was from Wales...
Jesus Lomas he is. Wales is in Britain
I agree and would argue that with anyone
@@samt1982 lewis may be
i think the same ^^
Never seen a boxer with the endurance of Calzaghe.
he did this with a badly injured hand! Unreal!
Tyler Durden Thats because he slaps which uses less energy lol
Maybe, but he does end up drawing blood from his opponent's faces.
Great boxer very underated
Manny pacquiao has it, but it ends there. Exceptional.
When my life is shit and i'm on the floor emotionally and badly in need of a wake up i watch Joe fight. He always raises my spirits and shocks me out of my gloom. His courage and spirit just shines through. The Best from UK imo. EVER.
Such a great comment, I totally get you 👍
😂😂😂 Best comment I've ever seen!! Fact 👍🏼
To right bro ! I thought that was just me Nice.
That's the greatness of Boxing
If he was from the USA they'd never stop talking about how he was.. the lads was a real one off.
They always said, Calzaghe kept his good looks because he rarely got hit.... I was never sure why he actually had a cut man to be honest..😉
I'd forgotten how good this display was, I watched it live on TV and was jumping in the air constantly as Joe was taking Lacy to pieces.
I say, Joe Calzaghe is an absolute Legend and we, here in 🇬🇧 are massively proud of him. Big up Joe Calzaghe!!!!🇬🇧✌️
In Britain they never gave him enough credit but he was worldclass
Who’s here in 2020 for this master class
Yep.
👍🏻
Me
Yes watched it over 100 times at least
Remember when the pubs were packed and everyone loved watching fights like this...
Remember when.
And welcome to "How to ruin a man's career in 36 minutes"
Ruined a man who said he would knock him out he also said his a slapper wonder if he felt the same way after a pounding his corner could have pulled him out threw the towel in
He never came back did he x
Slap on, slap off.
@@paulhllrn79 he fought some big names afterwards like jermain taylor and roy jones jr, but he never reached elite level again after joe "slapped" the shit outta him.
He never reached elite level PERIOD. The guy had 21 fights and only got a vacant title. What makes you think he was ever elite level ?? Elite fighters dont get “ruined” by losing one fight. Did Canelo get ruined by losing to Mayweather ?? Of course not. Lacy was a prospect that never panned out. Boxing full of them. It’s just that Calzaghe apologists need Lacy to be something he’s not
Calzaghe was an unbelievable fighter and one of the best of all time! It’s a shame he doesn’t get as much of the recognition he deserves!
He has lots of things working against him.
1. He's Welsh, if he was English or Irish he would have had a bigger built in fan base.
2. He should have come to America sooner.
3. The only belt he really held for an extended period was WBO.
4. Strength of schedule not great but that's not totally his fault. Came right after such a great era.
He’s welsh 😂 was on every major channel everytime he fought when I was a kid
@@tommcglough14he is right. If Joe was English, he would be deemed to be the best super middleweight of all time and worth about 30 million.
He was a little Britain fighter for a very long time. It is only in the latter part of his career he fought the best.
a fine wine takes years for people to realise the longer you wait the taste and potetncy just gets better.the taste for joe just keeps getting better.but his fire in the ring is hard to bottle.
‘The man on decline’ the man who retired a boxing legend 46-0
Bottled.....it not retired
@@coops9871 Haha, what!?
Haha he looks like a bottlejob doesnt he...the way he goes after every single opponent like a man possessed!
@@coops9871stay off the smack FFS 😂😂😂
It's sad that no one in the UK talks about Calzaghe as one of the greats, well other than Boxing afficionados anyway. He fought on TV channels that weren't available to all. It was almost as if Calzaghe was from another country for all the coverage he got.
I'm glad things like TH-cam exist so that I can go back through his career and watch how good he was.
This was on itv
yes its strange how some fighters seem to get forgotten. Although not as good as Calzaghe, Steve Collins beat Eubank and Benn yet all I hear is "the great era of Benn and Eubank".
He was, the UK media is 99.8% percent English, anyone Welsh or Scottish is often Seen as Foreign. All the while pretending they are all the same to fool them into being pro union (England in reality)
The Great Hadoken. He never got the fights he really wanted, and I think should've changed romoters and accepted lower deals for Americanexposure earlier. However this was a fight the bookies picked against him, he was supposed to be an ageing protected Welsh fighter defending against easier opponents. This was THE defining fight and it's so sad when people now say lacy was a hype job. That's the most criminal aspect of boxing. It's like when Vitali Klitschko after 4 lng years off obliterated, then champion, Samuel Peter. Just like Joe taking his heart his reutation and his title. It's so easy to asay AFTER a fight like this well that guy clearly wasn't any good to begin with. Believe me no one wanted anything to do with Lacy before this besides Joe, just like Haye Povetkin didn't want anything to do with Peter before Vitali's masterclass. Any defeat like this will ruin a fighter.
@@taffyducks544 You're not wrong. Hatton and Fury were/are huge names in the UK, and neither of them are even close to the level of Calzaghe. For me, he's better than Lennox. If his hand was completely healed, I don't think there's a boxer he couldn't beat.
Jeff Lacy didn’t quit, kept fighting like a man should. Props to him.
Great performance by Calzaghe.
Aye, but somebody in his corner should have stopped it after 7-8. The ref should have stopped it too.
@@SteveNoverini at the end he wasn't even trying to punch, he was just rushing at Joe to try and pin him on the ropes so he could tie him up
@@SteveNoverinicorrect
Timing and footwork. And then he wasn't afraid of anyone.
He is tough as nails
What a performance this was. Never seen anything like it. His workrate was phenomenal.
Unbelievable.
Joe Calzaghe = Legend.
You have seen the like….in many of Calzaghe’s other fights.
I love how every opponent called the Welsh Dragon a "Slapper", yet nobody could just walk through his punches. Joe Calzaghe is an all time Great.........Enjoy your retirement Champ.
He Bitch slapped the bitches!!
Hit slapped the shit outta em.
Fury had a similar rap "pillow hands" but he clearly always hit hard enough and accurate enough that opponents knew they had to work for it and couldn't just take risks
Apparent slaps or not . . . they knocked people silly.
Fact: Joe whopped everybody.
American commentators: Joe’s an okay boxer
Yeah ok bro.. America plotting to keep Calzaghe down. Lol. I do t think anyone even cares enough about him to do that
Check and Balance no one cared about him after he won this fight and became the unified champion, no one cared about him when he moved up in weight and became the light heavy weight champion, or when he retired 46-0 at the time only bested by Rocky’s record... it’s almost as if you validated Sam Rc’s argument
Robert DeVito Mayweather 50-0
Easy
FMG Mack he only wins through corruption
im an American and for anyone who tries to discredit calzaghe and say he isn't an all time great is a fool or doesn't know boxing.he has the same skill set as Floyd but yet he would trade and make exciting fights trust me he could have been a very boring fighter like Floyd if he wanted and looked untouchable in the process.roy jones and Hopkins even in their primes couldn't have beat him on his work rate alone the 1 guy during that time who I think could have given him his toughest fight would have been winky wright because of his style and work rate.if joe was an American he definitely would have gotten way more credit.he was far and away the best british fighter that ive ever seen.
You know, my 2 favourite fighters of all time are Calzaghe and Winky Wright. Neither got the global fame and credit they deserved, but both are still, in my mind, the 2 fighters I respect the most.
Calzaghe came on to the world stage as an underdog when Steve Collins decided he wanted to retire, so he fought Eubank, as he has fought everyone put in front of him. And I've always been a fan of Eubank because despite his showmanship he was always a warrior. I also remember when Eubank said, on his way back to the changing rooms after this fight "Now I know why Collins didn't want to fight him...". For Eubank, that was respect.
As for Winky Wright, he was just this US fighter that came to the UK for a couple of fights, or so we were led to believe. The 2 fights of his I saw were a masterclass in boxing. I know one of them was Ensley Bingham, and I wish I could remember the other. He absolutely destroyed both, and with different styles. I think Ensley was just jabbed until he couldn't see any more, and the other fight was a body shot overload and led to a TKO because the opponent couldn't stand because he couldn't breathe. It was clinical, it was beautiful, and it was boxing art.
No one beats Jones in his prime.
philly flyer Finally, an American that isn't bitter towards Calzaghe! Have a word with the rest of them!...
philly flyer Great comments mate. People overlook Joe's chin too. Whenever he did get tagged, he just shook it off and came back swinging. I agree...JC v Winky Wright would have been the fight of all fights
+1Saul8 ye but roy was only in uis prime for 4 years max. Calzaghe was in his prime for 14years. thats why he is better in my opinion
30:44 "he cannot keep that pace"... Bruh has his coach never seen Calzaghe fight before?
That was the most retarded advice I ever heard in my life.
This fight made folk in the U.S respect Joe. The Kessler fight, he proved to the world he was the best. Pound for pound one of the worlds best ever boxers.
Ehhh very good…pound for pound EVER. No lol. Way to weak a resume.
Had the privilege of meeting the man last year.
The intensity and speed he fought at from round 1 right through to round 12 is overlooked. World class.
Legend.
Best fight I've ever seen. Watched it multiple times. Credit goes to Lacy for having such a tough chin and big heart to not quit and take such punishment for 12 rounds.
Wise up dickhead. Yank spanked. Deal with it.
@@timothyayers8596 wow... a country the size of a continent even having a debate with a country the size of a pin head.
if you weren't "superior" in every way, itd be utterly embarrassing. the fact Britain can compete is an embarrassment to the US.
ps Russia won the war. not sure what youre taught in your schools... no doubt that America won the war and it was all America... truth is it was Russia. itd have been lost without them.
Timothy Ayers must be a troll
@@samt1982 I hope to god hes not serious, but you can honestly never tell
@@timothyayers8596 Just think, if Lacy had been British he wouldn't have had to pay for the neurology afterwards. Every single area except looking after your own people.
Joe Calzaghe the man the Legend. Why he was so under rated in the boxing world is a mystery to me. I loved watching him box and this fight was one of the best. Retired undefeated and a legend. Joe I can't thank you enough for the entertainment over the years that you gave me and all boxing fans. I wish nothing but the best in your life ahead. Take care and enjoy your retirement sir.
Totally agree
You're right just imagine if he had the same hype and marketing strategy like some of the boxers today
He isn’t underrated. He had a fairly timid resume and that’s why he’s not rated as high as some in the UK think he should be. He got plenty of credit for what he accomplished, especially from uk fans
@@MarkAnthony-x3bthen it wouldn't take him 41 fights to unify lmao
legendary performance from Calzaghe!! as an American Joe is still a living legend and one of my favorite fighters
well said sir👍
More importantly, Who's that picture you use.
Simon Taylor haha that was Meisha Tate. I'm very attracted to her.
+Sean Sheep, There are quite a few Americans that are honest about British fighters, it's only when their critique is negative is when British boxing fans call foul.
To be honest I saw this fight back in 2006, before then I'd never even heard of Calzaghe.
But, I've been a fan of his ever since.
Adrian Lagos better than amir khan ???
I'd guess that the 32 fighters Calzaghe knocked out, were less inclined to think of him as a weak puncher. Jeff Lacy got hit 1006 times, and was never the same. This was a boxing masterclass. A superb example of conditioning as well.
Damn right!
Yup Joe "slapped" him into retirement!
John Moriarty he didn't retire
TranceClassics x Seriously? He had a ton of fights including Roy Jones Jr, as a matter of fact a Cuban monster named Savinge just beat him in 2 rounds.
Spot on haga
It's funny because even the British press and pundits wrote Calzaghe off. This was probably the best boxing match I have ever seen just for the complete opposite of what was supposed to happen.
That's because of all the trash calzaghe has cherry picked before this
Watching this 17 years later and still getting goosebumps
17 years? Bloody hell.
An absolute masterclass in boxing, Lacy was the real deal, Joe took him apart like a surgeon. He turned him and absolutely beat him up. One of the best fights in middleweight history.
joe, was one of the greatest boxers of all time, no one could catch him, and when they did he had a good jaw, got up and gave them a lesson in boxing. thank you joe, you were amazing.
Give credit to Lacey, he fought to the bitter end and never quit. If he hadnt faced Calzaghe he may well have had a long and more successful career.
+Thom B I give him credit for actually coming to the uk and fight the great roy jones jr never had the bottle to do that when eubank benn n collins were all big money fights boxers always have to go to the states to 'prove' themselves yet yank fighters hardly ever leave their hometown
+Thom B agreed full respect to lacy he stuck in there
+Thom B Calzaghe gave him a complete masterclass in boxing and I agree this bout ended Lacy's career, however, his corner and the referee should have gotten Lacy out of there!
+Chris McAteer 100% agreed.
+Thom B I am assuming you're all Yanks. Lacy was useless.
Joe Calzaghe a genius
@Dee Maguire Amen. Funny that you only commented this 6 hours ago, first comment after a year, and I just clicked it to comment too. Just got the urge to search this fight tonight. Warrior 🙏🏼
@Dee Maguire totally agree
@Dee Maguire
Froch definitely could’ve beaten Calzaghe, just depends how many limbs Joe is allowed.
And massively underrated!!🙌🙌
avantgardevegan I could NOT have been more wrong about Calzaghe when I was younger. This fight took place when I was a young teenager when I first entered ABA gyms and started loving boxing. When I was on holiday in America me and my uncle got near free give away tickets in the back to watch Lacy beat Syd Vanderpool. Couldn't see much. People forget just how red hot Lacy was at this time. As I look back the more I realuise this was one of if not the greatest win of a British fighter besides Benn Mcclellan Lewis TYson or Fury Wilder II. I never appreciated Calzaghe when he was active. This was a fight that has never been surpassed in terms of a 12 round demolition of a powerful talented hard punching champion, with the world at his feet, who never stopped trying. From bell one to the end. This IS the definition of a legacy fight. Lacy was odds on favorite. Everyone says he was overhyped and just forget whatCalzaghe did to him plus shoulder surgery neutralising his left arm ended him as an elite fighter.
Pure master class. So underrated it’s really unbelievable that he never got the recognition he deserved him and his dad .
joes not underrated at all.for most people it takes a while for them to soak up what they,ve just witnessed.
absolutely! after lacy and kessler he became one of boxings superstars. Cant listen to this "didnt get the recognition" bs. @@combatshox
R.I.P Enzo 🏴🇮🇹
Did he die?
@@siok4375 yes
@@Tom-uv7ry thanks. Do you know how?
@@siok4375 no I dont no but he got taken ill whilst on holiday and died in hospital
@@Tom-uv7ry Joe must be devastated, they had a very enviable farther son relationship
I must of watched this fight at least a dozen times and have so much respect for Jeff Lacy for never quitting .
Jeff always came forward throughout despite the barrage and verity of punches that Joe unleashed from start to finish.
A master class in skill from Joe and a Master class of Guts from Jeff.
Exactly. I hate people clowning him. He was just confident in himself before the fight (Lacey) Which you want. People clowning Lacey only takes away Joe's performance and victory.
Totally agree Lacey was as game as they come ,his corner should have shown some compassion and pulled him out ,anyone know if Lacey did much after this fight?.
Roy Jones JR did the same thing to lacy about 2year after this 1 sided beat down Roy did the very same to Lacey, he was mentally broke after Joe nevermind what Roy did to him, The fight with Roy was billed as "The Battle of the Left Hookers ".
@@CC-ff7ft I remember that well. Got me nostalgic about a prime Roy similar to the way I got excited after a good Tyson performance past his prime.
@@Asshole88 I agree, what's Lacy supposed to say, he's got to have self belief, and think he is going to knock Joe out.
Or do people expect him to say " I'm going to try my best but I'm not as good as Joe so I think I'm going to loose"
Credit to Calzaghe, it's the only time I've seen Adelaide Byrd give an accurate score!
Nice one
Great point!
😂 couldn’t get this one wrong surely
She is a criminal.
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Followed Calzaghe his whole career and the fact that half his career he had to ease off on the power punches because of his fragile hands proves his boxing ability.
I'm English and Loved Clazaghe. rumours he ducked this fella or that I couldn't care less, I could say Jones Jnr ducked Collins for years and Hopkins ducked a fair few as well. doesn't mean anything, Calzaghe when he got in the ring beat everyone he fought, pace, skill, stamina, chin, heart, passion. The fella deserves every credit that comes his way
Well said
For your info mate..Something they like to keep quiet...In 2002, Bernard Hopkins agreed to fight Joe Calzaghe in America, agreed a $3m dollar purse...then the following day pulled out with no explanation...and went on to fight a bum for $300k!!!
But shhhhhhhhhh...
America loves shouting "coward" and "ducker" - but dont you dare point the finger at one of their ATGs
You'll recall Hopkins and Calzaghe did fight in 2008 when they were ranked #3 and #4 P4P respectively. Hop was older but still a Light Heavyweight champion and Joe was SMW champion.
Out here talking about Hopkings "ducked" Calzaghe because he didn't move up as a middleweight but I don't see anything about Joe fighting Roy Jones in his prime. Nah not a young Jones.
Eubank, Benn, Joe they were all set staying in the UK and never wanted a fight with young Roy Jones or James Toney. Just stay in the UK and wait for age to hit and see what can be done.
See, anyone can make foolish statements too.
Another fan boy! Hopkins beat him but was robbed.
lol no
My favorite thing is the fact that everyone calls Joe a "Slapper", And yet none of them can walk through the slaps to deliver a punch,,....Joe Calzaghe ATG!!
What impressed me besides his domination of Lacy, was Calzaghe's use of his underrated jab. He used it sparingly in previous fights but in this fight, it made a big difference and it kept Lacy at an appropriate distance. This is probably Calzaghe's greatest performance overall.
I've seen an interview with Joe where he says he had again hurt his hand in the build up to this fight and wanted to postpone, he said his father told him if you cancel this fight you will never recover from it and he ended up producing one of the best performances of his amazing career. It was great to see this live too!
It was also his father who persuaded him to take the fight at all. Joe wasn't sure and his dad said this guy is tailor made for you. He moves 4 or 5 times to throw one shot. You'll box his head off as you're too fast for him. I think that was the gist of it anyway...
i think lacey deserves some credit, as he took his lumps like a champ.
High praise indeed coming from the great Sugar Ray.
No he took his lumps like a chump.
C'mon Ronald, only a very few fighters could have taken that kind of beating and still behaved in a dignified way after the fight. Even Calzaghe said that he himself would have quit the fight after seven rounds if he took such a beating. Lacy was brave, a true warrior, just outmatched.
Lacy totally disrespected joe before the fight saying he was going to knock him out. I still stick by my original comment lacy got fucked bye bye.
Bollocks
I hope Lacy paid Calzaghe for that lesson.
He did with his career.
+RegEnaldinho LOL!! that was funny
You're so right; Jeff Lacy's career was effectively derailed with this thorough domination by Calzaghe. I watched all of Lacy's previous fights (that were televised) and he basically destroyed every one of his opponents, and thought that he would demolish the Welshman - whom I had erroneously thought was a paper champion. I couldn't have been more wrong, as he went on to become one of the very few champions who retired undefeated. Roy Jones Junior, in an interview, when asked who was the greatest fighter he had ever faced, said it was Joe Calzaghe.
if calzaghe had superstar status from the begining (olympics etc) on the fame side of things and did exactly as he has done with 46-0 he would of been regarded now as the best boxer ever in and around his weight.
I thought lacy won the fight
You know how good Calzaghe is when all his critics have to constantly downgrade his opponents when he made them look poor. Just as well Joe beat a few legends along the way, just to shut the critics down and also make a few legends look like yesterdays boxers. That was how good this guy was. He made great boxers look bad. Maybe he was too good and should have made a few look better than they were. Maybe then, he would have gained the respect and admiration he deserves.
Jank man he wasn’t in his prime but he wasn’t washed. He was far closer to his prime than Rjj. Age isn’t the only factor in prime. Prime for prime rjj whoops calzaghe.
Wutang you talk alot of shit calzaghe wanted to fight rjj when he was in his prime and rjj ducked him because calzaghe was a big risk factor and it was the same with the racist Hopkins he also ducked calzaghe. Your just a jealous bum lol
Dwayne watts but at least I know a little grammar. “Your” lmao fucking idiot. You’re right, they both ducked calzaghe just to fight him when they were washed lol sick logic kid. Rjj would’ve beaten the fuck out of calzaghe had they fought prime for prime. Understand the difference between talking shit and being honest. I already said calzaghe is a great fighter but if you think calzaghes resume is anything good you don’t know shit about boxing.
David Moss, nice try. Educated boxing fans properly discount Calzaghe for padding his record. The “legends” he beat were all good and old and no one rated those fights. He struggled against a 43 year old Hopkins and got dropped... it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see he would not have done well against these guys 5 years earlier. Sorry Calzaghe was a carefully managed cherry picker and sorry were all not living in the Calzaghe fan fantasy world.
Man Calzaghe has some seriously delusional fans. I mean I like the guy but some of your are nuts. It is rather clear Roy Jones was badly shot when Calzaghe finally fought him. You guys mythologized Calzaghe lol.. come on man his biggest win was a SD OVER A 43 year old !!! And he hit the deck in that fight. I mean come on man !!! Stop blowing this guy out of all proportion
Joe Calzaghe is Britain's Best Boxer, Ever.
I've not seen this fight for years, and I forgot how good it was and how one-sided it was. Calzaghe was phenomenal. He was the best pound for pound boxer at the time.
The ref should have stopped the fight several times from round 10.
Thanks for uploading!!
Never seen a boxer with so much endurance, work rate and stamina!
This proves one thing just because u got big six pack and ur a muscle man it don't mean u will be the best fighter
Joe is the most underrated boxer ever!. I say this as one of those that underrated him....brilliant!.
Underground906 Jeff Lacey was no mug and was expected to smash the Limey!, but Joe taught him a lesson, which he could not have done unless he was exceptionally talented..There aint nothing like an undefeated fighter, and Joe is ours.....
Underground906 Three points: Pavlik is more accomplished than Lacy, secondly Pavlik wasn't Hopkin's defining fight. Furthermore, Hopkins was in his forties putting the smack down on a young bull. Huge difference.
"He cannot keep that pace!" ... Lacy's trainers were clowns. They should have thrown in the towel and saved their fighter a lot of unnecessary damage.
Fuck no, if they did we’d lose the majority of this spectacular fight
@@Clarity_Control that's mean, I love it.
I just want to say, this is why noone made the jump to fight Calzaghe. Everyone is quick to point the finger and say that Calzaghe ducked everyone in his career. But, until this fight, noone would have made a big enough payday to challenge Calzaghe, so they didn't want to risk being his scapegoat. Lacy was the first person man enough to test Calzaghe, and looked what happened.
Calzaghe is a true great, watching all of his fights, I don't know how people can discredit him. Judge with your eyes, not with stats from Wiki. If you watch his fights, you can see that he would have given any of the all time greats one of the hardest fights of their career.
Well said.
I only agree with your last statement
I remain amazed that people say that Calzaghe ducked people when he showed every time that he was always up for a fight. I missed most of his fight live and as a (half) Well type I say he's the best fighter Wales has produced, with Howard Winstone (who oozed class too and was also brave). Best wishes.
Man you can’t just say that. The only HOF level fighter joe face that wasn’t coming pleyely washed up was Hopkins... and that didn’t go super well for Joe. He got dropped and barely got a SD....so where do you get this idea he would give Sugar Ray Robinson ect the toughest fight of there career ?? I think your wearing rose colored glasses.
@@timothyayers8596 he got dropped still got up and won
Lacy showed what a defensive master he was the way he stopped those punches from calazaghy with his face and head was just magnificent
LOL,HE DIDNT DO NOTHING
@@djbillye4943you didnt get the joke?
yet again your sentence went over the heads of some like a 747
A volvo engine who never took a step backwards, one of the all time greats & fought most of his career with one hand, fantastic fighter with the heart of a lion. 🥊 🥊 ✌️ 🇮🇪
I grew up watching Tommy Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvin Hagler. I loved watching Collins, Benn and Eubanks. What legends. Joe Calzaghe was the best. He destroyed Lacey. He was scheduled for a big career too! Had Lacey won he may have gone on to greatness. I reckon if you ran joe over in your car at 50mph he would still get 8 punches in on your exhaust pipe and you'd see him in the rear view mirror goading you to do it again. Best fighter ever.
Class comment! 😂
Canelo and Ward are much better Super middleweights than Joe Calzage he isn't the "best" he was in a shitty era he retired undefeated good for him but he isn't the best😂
well that made me laugh a lot 🤣 i can picture joe swinging at the car hahaha
@@jamesvick6070 Joe would have bashed both of them one after the other.
Best fighter ever ??? That’s a bit ridiculous. He cracks the top 100 for longevity but we’re not talking top 50..way to weak a resume. It’s easy to look good against 2nd rate fighters. He looked pretty ordinary against a 43 year old Hopkins, getting dropped and neutralised most of the fight. A spectre of how he would have done against the top tier in their prime.
Joe has Never got the recognition in the UK he deserves one of the best boxers ever end of.
for those who say calzaghe ducked fighters...considering lacy was undefeated dubbed as the "mini mike tyson" he didnt duck him and he absolutly boxed his yankee head clean off
Unreal display...
I'm English and the Welsh lad smashed the yank! ❤❤ great fight
When did you ever see anything like this in a title fight let alone a unification fight, calzaghe is one of the greatest fighters of all time and the evidence is here to see.
One of the all time beat downs in boxing history. I have very rarely seen a beat up face to the extent that Lacy was beaten. And Lacy was a big favorite
Eric Matterson the only fight I can compare to this is the fight between pacqiao and margarito....
Calzaghe is an all time great. This was def his defining moment. Well, that and retiring undefeated. Im almost glad he retired when he had to with his hands always breaking on peoples faces.
did you see meldrick taylor vs julio cesar chavez .? tayler was way ahead on points but his face looked like he was beat every round . Chavez looked like he didn't even fight not a mark on his face . of course Chavez knocked Tayler out with just seconds left in the fight. i think Richard Steel was the ref
Eric Matterso
DaveBox G ya, I remember feelin bad for Gatti cause that was brutal
Technically speaking Calzaghe was prob the UK's best fighter - accuracy, stamina, technique, defence, speed, he pretty much had it all. His style was a bit awkward, and there was little reward in fighting him, but he could have beaten anyone at his weight in his prime. I saw this in a hotel in London, about 2am, was out of bed standing next to the TV amazed by his performance. His best win was prob against a prime Kessler, but this was a great performance - he nullified Lacy from the opening bell.
Joe calzaghe is without a doubt Britain's best ever boxer finishing his career undefeated 46 & 0 and even to this day remains the longest raining world champion in British history of any weight devision and though many claim he ducked fighters is far from the truth he was a huge risk factor to American fighters and they wouldn't fight him and his promotor Frank Warren let him down in getting him big fights because he was more concerned with promoting Lenox Lewis and other English fighters.
I remember the Kessler fight, had to adapt his style on the fly, another example of the multitude of skill he possessed.
Pretty much the complete boxer. With the exception of devastating power perhaps, and his hand issues, Calzaghe had it all. Hand speed, footwork, gas tank, his boxing intelligence was phenomenal and he had an answer to everything an opponent ever threw at him, not to mention an inexhaustible supply of heart. He was right - the better the opponent the better he got.
For pure boxing, it doesn’t get much better than watching Calzaghe.
Every young boxer should study Calzaghe. Punch volume, work rate, head movement, footwork. Everything to be the best boxer and, he was. Very few move this way now.
dont for the heart of a whale.
Joe Calzaghe, what a legend! Never tire of watching him fight!!!
What a guy miss him TBH. Watching this I just realised Enzo had passed. Joe Is my Favourite Boxer of all time. Rest in peace Enzo, what an achievement and legacy you left good sir. Congratulations!! Legendary stuff here.
20:52 ....the moment Lacy realized, as Eubank said, "Those "slaps" were actually hard punches!"
I remember this, the press were saying Joe would come unstuck but it was a first class lesson in boxing.
After having grown up watching Tyson, Leonard, Hagler, Hearns, Toney, Jones...the list is almost too long to remember at 50 years old. All were awesome to watch in their heyday, but for me, it has always been a close tie between Joe and Lennox. So much heart and skill its unbelievable. Joe will ALWAYS be an icon and legend to me!
Lennox is skilled but a boring boxer
Joe is one of the top 10 greatest fighters of all time, it's too bad he never got the recognition he deserved.. but if you want to be a boxer study his methods and techniques. Look high he created a fake distance to draw opponents in to s counter punch.
Joe destroyed his career, he was undefeated before he met Joe, afterwards he became a shadow of his former self. Joe is without doubt the most underrated British boxer of all time. I think he never got the credit he deserved! The greatest British boxer of all time!
woke up at 6 a.m. this morning, a Saturday so no work today, and this popped up on my feed - haven't seen it in years - Joe, my favourite boxer ever. What a man. What a way to start my day, brilliant! :)
I expected more from Lacy. But Joe is and was underrated.
Yeah maybe he just showed a little too much respect for him, and mentally wasn't giving it his all in fear of getting countered, calzaghe was and is very underrated but amongst the other boxers he definitely had their respect (im assuming)
Eubank considers him the best middleweight (or super middleweight?) of all time. I wouldn't go that far, but he's definitely up there. I think Lacy was used to fighting bums who would let him T off on them, and Joe was just so far away from being a bum.
goochsurfer calzaghe underated ? He's a hall of famer .
CaptainJamesTKirk007 he was only underrated by Americans because he was fighting one. The rest of the world knew how good he was
Everyone did. Joe was the massive under dog.
Calzaghe is the best pound for pound British boxer ever
+Dr.Mainiac fascinating fight this. so one sided it reminds me of Paul Ingle v Botile without the tragic ending. It's kind of the other side to the "stoppage too early". In retrospect that could have been stopped after five rounds but there would have been uproar.
+Chris Birch It was a masterclass in how to box but fair play to lacey showed an iron chin
+HMRC I pay my taxes I swear
+Dr.Mainiac I watched this live and me and my mates were very nervous because of the hype of Lacy. After the 2nd round, I knew my worries were over. Calzaghe is one of the greatest fighters in boxing history. 46-0 longest reigning undefeated world champion of all time.
HMRC Depends who is asking? What is HMRC? You not after me for money are you?
Ref clearly had cash on it going the distance. That glove did NOT need lacing up.
🤣🤣🤣You may be right!
Calzaghe literally punched the soul out of Lacy in this fight.
also smashed his brain and gave him an early CTE
Lacy's corner ruined the career of a young fighter. It would have been better if he'd have suffered a Round 1 KO.
It does no fighter any favours taking a 12 round battering.
Never seen any of his fight's,due to them not being on normal TV ,but now I watch them on you tube,what an amazing talent he has ,up there with the best
They were on its you mug
Itv not normal!
Have not ready many of the comments below but I know, after watching this fight it just gave my love for boxing much more and have followed boxing ever since. One of the greatest performances by a British boxer, ever.
Jeff wanted a career defining fight. A great example of 'be careful what you wish for'. 👊
Fantastic Calzaghe.
I remember watching Jeff Lacy come up from his first pro appearance on a championship card. He was destroying his competition and didn’t really see anything impressive until this fight. Calzaghe is a boxing great and this was such an amazing display against a heavy hitter at that time.
'he can't keep that pace for 12 rounds'... LOVE THAT!
Calzaghe simply doesn’t appear tough or strong and that’s why he’s underrated and under appreciated in America. But to any American who truly loves the sport, they see the same greatness and ability that any Welshman sees. Calzaghe’s name deserves to be said in the same breath as any WEIGHT CLASS GOAT🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
When you watch this, it's difficult to argue that he isn't in line for the best ever, let alone British. Im adding in excitement, style, showmanship along with boxing skills
I agree
Easily possible
The best ever ??? Because he beat a hype job who accomplished nothing ?? Get off the crack mate
As a calzaghe fan I was on edge with this fight because of Lacy's power. I still strongly believed Joe would win because of his speed and skill I just never imagined he would make lacy look like an amateur and not a rival world champ. The sheer difference of ability was massive.
“I just kept thinking to myself that if I can just hang in there he’s gotta slow down eventually! [turns to Calzaghe] But you never did!”
Jeff Lacey with a star struck look in his eye in an interview years later.
One of the best beatings ever it was so one side it was so dominant from Joe when people thought Lacy was the big favourite but Joe didn't read the script and produced a masterpiece
This guy also went against all the skeptics who after each meeting did nothing but stimulate Calzaghe to do even better to convince them too, with his tenacity he managed to convert several, the few remaining probably have other kinds of prejudices that transcend the ring! Congratulations to this guy who has earned his sweat and sacrifices, and with the positive and stimulating presence of his father (always present) all the good he has collected, Hall of fame for him, he deserves, not only as a boxer but also as a man, as an example of how we should approach this wonderful and hard sport! Bravo Calzaghe!
Well said 👏👏👏
One of the best performances by any boxer I've ever seen ,totally out boxed every round
Just a masterclass! 1 of the best Joe! A great boxer who proved time and time again the doubters wrong. Hall of fame simple as. Joe Calzaghe 👑🥊
Those aren't slaps. They're baby hooks(super short). That's why he could throw so many. The real beauty is having those and the ability to sit down on his punches as well. His defense was underrated. Calzaghe's little makeshift philly-shell is awesome. He looked like James Toney in those corners.
so many are so eager to talk Joe down, but he unified all the belts, this alone is so rare. This guy IS LEGEND.
Thanks for the upload. Not seen this fight for years. Excellent!
12 rounds on in round 12 Joe calzaghe is superhuman 12 rounds on able to go like that, if you've ever done 12 rounds you know what I'm talking about to still be fresh and looks like a million years would never wear him out or stop his invincibility and energy. It's like a boxing lesson between a boxer and precision and a stereotypical American body builder.
Calzaghe is like silk in the ring. The perfect combination of Italian flair and Celtic Welsh heart.
Left hook, left his left hook at home apparently.
Pokerclown 79
Well no. Lacy actually hit Joe with the hook. Except that Calzaghe took the hook and said to his corner "He can't hit for shit!"
The ref should of stopped this rounds earlier, it's dangerous letting someone taking such a beating.
Indeed yes.
Agreed.
Agreed
Im a filipino.never heard about calzaghe before. But he is one of the best boxer for me after seing all his fights.He box as good as my idols like Ali and Pacquiao. or maybe he is a half step better than my idols.hehehe.
pacquiao overrated
@ Mayweather is overrated
b g you're stupid ass hell
Jake Dooley you're stupid ass hell too
Jake Dooley yeah they are both overrated especially pacquaio tho
This and Tyson Fury dismantling Wilder are among the best performances of British boxers in recent years. Lacy was never the same after this.
"He can not keep that pace!" Lol. Joe a real man. One of the all time greats.
I remember this fight..
they built Lacy up to be the Tyson of the lighter division..
And got his has ass Whooped..
I instantly was a fan of Joe Calzaghe...