For the Brits: How big was Joe C's win???

Was it announced in every network? R they planning a parade or something??

 

No and No.

 

I thought he was BIG over there. Who's bigger? Hatton or Joe?

 

To boxing fans Joe is up there with Hatton even though he has much the better record, but to the general public Hatton is the biggest.

 

Unless of course you are Welsh, then Joe is the man.

 

not big. it's on all the sports news, but boxing coverage is so rare and myopic, it can't really make an imprint on the national consciousness.

 

Surely you didn't really think Joe was as big as Hatton in the UK?

It's obvious hatton is the much, much bigger draw and more popular fighter.

 

TKO - not even close. He was big in the UK long before the Mayweather fight, LONG before.

He's had droves of supporters and more coverage and hype in the UK since he was a novice. Long before he fought Tszyu, he had a bigger fanbase and more coverage than Calzaghe even though Calzaghe was a world champ.

Don't mistake Calzaghe being the better fighter with him being popular.

He'll be remembered as a better fighter, undoubtedly.

But in a popularity contest, Hatton wins hands down. Calzaghe has never been particularly popular, or a prominent figure outside of his area of Wales.

 

So it's a regional thing? Because Calzaghe is welsh, he's not that popular?

 

Partly, and to be honest nobody likes him that much in England, whether it's because he's Welsh or not.

His fights have never been that exciting, he's not that charismatic, and somehow he's just not someone that people warm to like Hatton.

Being a good fighter has never been enough to be popular and be a draw, just like at Hopkins, Winky and many others.

Most people I know in real life that have any interest in boxing - like Hatton and don't like Calzaghe.

 

Don't think the difference in popularity between Hatton and Calzaghe is that big, at all. I'd give the edge to Hatton, but only by a slight margin. Ricky's way more likable which plays much better on television, but in terms of general fame and name recognition they are both on the same level. Depressingly, Amir Khan is probably right up there with them.

MWS, where in Britain are you? If it's the North West that might skew things a bit.

 

it's not slight at all.

hatton is by far the most liked fighter.

most of my non boxing friends will stay up till the early hours to watch hatton.

they wouldn't even dream of doing that for cal.

 

yeah, no doubt Hatton is more liked. What I mean is that in terms of general fame and name recognition they're at the same level.

You go out and ask 100 people on the street 'who is Joe Calzaghe' and 'who is Ricky Hatton' you'd probably get similar numbers.

 

Not a chance Hut Hut, Hatton is a lot more well known. Try this yourself and see.

I live on the South Coast by the way, and I've also lived in London.

The furthest North I've ever been in England is Camden Town, or Enfield.

 

Joe C proved he is a welsh bum and should go sell cars

 

Hatton is a country MILE more popular and more recognisable in this country.

Most UK boxing fans appreciate that Joe is the better of the two, but outside of that group, Hatton is much the more feted. He is a regular fixture in newspapers and TV (news and other shows generally). Calzaghe is mainly restricted to sports programmes and media appearances when he is due to fight.

That might seem strange considering that Joe won the BBC Sports gong, but be under no illusions- that was mainly because the event was held the day after Floyd beat the shit out of Hatton. If Hatton had won or even come close to winning, he would have won by a landslide.

Ironically, the fact that Hatton was fighting the night before the BBC bash probably helped Joe win the award. It helped to focus people's attentions on the sport, and even more focused people to note that when Joe stepped up to fight Kessler a few weeks before, unlike Hatton, he won.

And agreed on Khan. All his fights are on Saturday night on ITV. He is, oddly, probably more recognisable than Joe and perhaps even Hatton. Almost everyone knows who is he.

MTF

 

Is Frankie Gavin big in England (2007 world am lightweight champion) or does it take the olympics to make an impact?

 

He is a complete unknown (beyond the boxing fraternity) thus far, though I imagine that will change when the Olympics come around. Successful UK Olympic boxers become very recognised, very quickly.

 

consider the national tabloids - ricky's had so much more coverage than slappy, for years. he's done stuff like question of sport, that sportsmens' challenge show (can't remember the name), been a commentator on itv broadcasts, got a popular biography. ricky was headlining sky sports shows for years, before he even got close to zoo. compare the traffic on hatton's official website with slappy's. ricky is and has been a cut above for a long time, long before floyd.

the bbc award last year was cos slappy won his fights.

my nan knows ricky hatton, but not slappy.

 

Yep all true. And that was my point, even earlier in his career, way before Tszyu, he was more of a draw and had more coverage than Calzaghe.

To be honest it's not even close.

It's like asking who's more popular in America, Oscar or Hopkins.

 

he's not as popular as Hatton....Ricky has more charisma, and puts himself in the public eye more often. Also, a lot of Ricky's support over the years has been driven by the Man City fans.....they see Ricky as one of them, and give his fights that football match atmosphere

Amir Khan's popularity stems from the olympics, and that he achieved success in Athens at such a young age.....and of course, his ethnicity....there are very few top British-Asian sport stars


Calzaghe's fight and win did get a lot of coverage though. There was a lot of british media in Vegas, and Joe's victory was all over the back pages of the mainstream press today

 

But is it because of Hatton's personality? or because of his fighting style?
Both seem like nice down to earth guys....or is it a regional thing?

In the case of Trinidad and Miguel Cotto, Trinidad was more popular because of his personality. Of course his highlight reel KO's helped, but he was more the people's champ. Cotto is not on his level, when it comes to bringing the country together.

 

they both suck

 

PR's not a country

 

No, we're a continent