Thread: Is Taylor the most realistic choice for Calzaghe?

It seems to me this fight is going to happen. Calzaghe and Taylor were put on HBO on consecutive weeks. In the past, Calzaghe has called out Taylor as the kind of big fight that he's after, and after last night, Taylor stock is way up. Taylor vs Calzaghe would be a bigger money fight than a Dawson fight, and if he could make 168 for the fight, it would a pretty impressive thing to defend his Ring title in two divisions on consecutive fights.

It's a no-brainer for Taylor at this point, if Calzaghe is willing to take the fight. He can lose to Calzaghe and still get good fights at 168 with Kessler, Bute, or Froch. Nobody will think less of him for losing to Joe. From Joe's standpoint, it's great final payday and it's a fight he should win.

The only question is does Joe want to see Taylor go out and pick up a soup belt at 168 before giving him a shot, but I think the timing is perfect.

What would it mean, hes beaten Lacy who was battered by Calzaghe, before that he lost to Pavlik who lost to Hopkins who Taylor beat

Taylor neads to clarify his own standing by fighting a top supermiddle.

I think the better choices for Calzaghe are Chad Dawson, Carl Froch, Clinton Woods, and Glen Johnson.

Chad Dawson 27 (17 KO)-0-0, young undefeated title holder...not much power to worry about and maybe a little chinny.

Carl Froch 23(19 KO)-0-0, he's a young cocky bastard who thinks he's God's gift to boxing.

Clinton Woods 41 (24 KO)-4-1 he's British, he's the same age as Joe and well he's still boxing.

Glen Johnson 48 (33 KO)-12-2, he's older but he's tough and won't quit on a fight. He does have a good chin and good solid power even at his old age.


Jermain might be a good choice considering those guys but I think it may be too early for Taylor to take on such a good supermiddleweight. Tavoris Cloud is just too young at this point, wouldn't want him to be another Jeff Lacey

Originally Posted by ross

What would it mean, hes beaten Lacy who was battered by Calzaghe, before that he lost to Pavlik who lost to Hopkins who Taylor beat

Taylor neads to clarify his own standing by fighting a top supermiddle.

In a perfect world, yes, but considering the way the business of boxing works, I think it's more likely he will fight Taylor.

I would like to see him fight Dawson or Froch, but I'm not holding my breath. Dawson is higher risk, lower (financial) reward.

I have very little interest in seeing Calzaghe-Taylor, I couldn't understand why HBO was pushing it last night. Taylor needs to redefine himself at the new weight class, beating Lacy was a good step, but by no means does it propel him to a Calzaghe fight. There are way bigger, and better, fights out there for Calzaghe. I like Taylor, but Calzaghe would exhaust and frusterate him all night long. The few times Lacy managed to put effective pressure on Taylor, he looked very uncomfortable, Calzaghe would absolutely befuddle Taylor.

Easy win for JC IMO.

Originally Posted by Lyle

I think the better choices for Calzaghe are Chad Dawson, Carl Froch, Clinton Woods, and Glen Johnson.

Chad Dawson 27 (17 KO)-0-0, young undefeated title holder...not much power to worry about and maybe a little chinny.

Carl Froch 23(19 KO)-0-0, he's a young cocky bastard who thinks he's God's gift to boxing.

Clinton Woods 41 (24 KO)-4-1 he's British, he's the same age as Joe and well he's still boxing.

Glen Johnson 48 (33 KO)-12-2, he's older but he's tough and won't quit on a fight. He does have a good chin and good solid power even at his old age.


Jermain might be a good choice considering those guys but I think it may be too early for Taylor to take on such a good supermiddleweight. Tavoris Cloud is just too young at this point, wouldn't want him to be another Jeff Lacey

If I was Joe I'd fight Froch and Dawson and retire he beats them both IMO in tough fights and by UD.

Originally Posted by Lyle

I think the better choices for Calzaghe are Chad Dawson, Carl Froch, Clinton Woods, and Glen Johnson.

Chad Dawson 27 (17 KO)-0-0, young undefeated title holder...not much power to worry about and maybe a little chinny.

Carl Froch 23(19 KO)-0-0, he's a young cocky bastard who thinks he's God's gift to boxing.

Clinton Woods 41 (24 KO)-4-1 he's British, he's the same age as Joe and well he's still boxing.

Glen Johnson 48 (33 KO)-12-2, he's older but he's tough and won't quit on a fight. He does have a good chin and good solid power even at his old age.


Jermain might be a good choice considering those guys but I think it may be too early for Taylor to take on such a good supermiddleweight. Tavoris Cloud is just too young at this point, wouldn't want him to be another Jeff Lacey

If he's going to fight a SMW, it needs to be Bute in my opinion. But I don't think he's coming back to 168. I'd love to see a Dawson fight or the Hopkins rematch.

I understand the domestic appeal of the Froch fight though

Originally Posted by Lyle

I think the better choices for Calzaghe are Chad Dawson, Carl Froch, Clinton Woods, and Glen Johnson.

Chad Dawson 27 (17 KO)-0-0, young undefeated title holder...not much power to worry about and maybe a little chinny.

Carl Froch 23(19 KO)-0-0, he's a young cocky bastard who thinks he's God's gift to boxing.

Clinton Woods 41 (24 KO)-4-1 he's British, he's the same age as Joe and well he's still boxing.

Glen Johnson 48 (33 KO)-12-2, he's older but he's tough and won't quit on a fight. He does have a good chin and good solid power even at his old age.


Jermain might be a good choice considering those guys but I think it may be too early for Taylor to take on such a good supermiddleweight. Tavoris Cloud is just too young at this point, wouldn't want him to be another Jeff Lacey

Froch is 31, that's not young.

The more I think on it,I'd much rather see Taylor in with a Kessler.Both are on the rebound off impressive victorys and very viable.Maybe it is infair but I almost feel a Calzaghe vs. Taylor would be a step backwards for Joe.Calzaghe is possibly going to have 1 or 2 more Fights and I think they will come against Dawson or Hopkins,(of course some may say that is a backwards step).He has had a taste of the Huge limelight in the States and with all due respect,I just don't hear many calls for Joe vs.Froch or Bute.

Taylor is still a force and as mentioned a Belt would bring more to the table against Calzaghe,But I think Calzaghe would be too fast and do a number on Taylor.Jermain should give ZERO thought about a return to 160 Imo.How about A Taylor vs.Bute,Kessler,or even an Andrade.Glenn johnson is due a crack at someone??That might be fun.To answer the question....HBO steers the show and yes,their is a reason they talk them up.You can see it coming.

This is the type of BS that ANGERS me about HBO.

There's absolutely NO REASON for these two guys to really fight right now. JoeCal has basically said goodbye to 168 and he's pretty much a light heavyweight now. Plus, he's already defeated the best at 168 and 175 minus Chad Dawson. He's really got NOTHING left to prove. He probably should retire or wait a year for someone to clean up either of those divisions and set up a big match that the public might want to see him in.

Jermain just showed up at 168. He's obviously trying to revitalize his career and get over the Pavlik losses. And I think he's got a good chance to reclaim some of that lost glory. He needs to not even think about JoeCal because JoeCal right now would probably wipe the floor with him; then where does Jermain go from there?

Jermain should fight another decent guy at 168, and there are plenty of them. Then he should take on a guy like Kessler or Bute, and then maybe try to get JoeCal before he gets way too old.

HBO just wants to stick JoeCal with any name and throw it on PPV. Seriously, these guys were hyping it up before the fight was even over. Jermain isn't even the top 168 pounder yet and they were basically annointing him as the new king of the division. All just to push another BS fight on the public that nobody is asking for right now. Even Jermain in his post fight interview didn't call out JoeCal, he seemed to just wanna say "look guys, can yall just give me a break and let me rebuild my career for God sakes?" But of course he said "anybody my promoter puts in front me is fine by me." HBO is the gift and the curse sometimes.

Originally Posted by albsur2006

This is the type of BS that ANGERS me about HBO.

There's absolutely NO REASON for these two guys to really fight right now. JoeCal has basically said goodbye to 168 and he's pretty much a light heavyweight now. Plus, he's already defeated the best at 168 and 175 minus Chad Dawson. He's really got NOTHING left to prove. He probably should retire or wait a year for someone to clean up either of those divisions and set up a big match that the public might want to see him in.

Jermain just showed up at 168. He's obviously trying to revitalize his career and get over the Pavlik losses. And I think he's got a good chance to reclaim some of that lost glory. He needs to not even think about JoeCal because JoeCal right now would probably wipe the floor with him; then where does Jermain go from there?

Jermain should fight another decent guy at 168, and there are plenty of them. Then he should take on a guy like Kessler or Bute, and then maybe try to get JoeCal before he gets way too old.

HBO just wants to stick JoeCal with any name and throw it on PPV. Seriously, these guys were hyping it up before the fight was even over. Jermain isn't even the top 168 pounder yet and they were basically annointing him as the new king of the division. All just to push another BS fight on the public that nobody is asking for right now. Even Jermain in his post fight interview didn't call out JoeCal, he seemed to just wanna say "look guys, can yall just give me a break and let me rebuild my career for God sakes?" But of course he said "anybody my promoter puts in front me is fine by me." HBO is the gift and the curse sometimes.

My point is that right or wrong, HBO has a lot of influence and often the fights that should be made aren't made in favor fights that are more marketable to the casual fan. IMHO, this fight shouldn't happen now, but I have a feeling we will be stuck with this. I agree, HBO is a gift and a curse. Oscar Pacman is a prime example of a fight that shouldn't be happening, but it is. Why? HBO and money. I'm afraid the are going to try to pull another one of these off with a Calzaghe/Taylor fight. I'm not saying that is should happen. I'm saying that HBO will try to make it happen, because that's exactly the kind of thing that HBO does all the time.

Originally Posted by Preme

Froch is 31, that's not young.

It's not the years, it's the mileage.....he's had 23 fights and not really done anything great. He has been biding his time.

I thought Kessler was going to beat Joe, I was wrong. I thought Hopkins was going to beat Joe, again, I was wrong. I thought Jones was going to beat Joe, yet another time, I was wrong.

I think Joe would wipe the floor with Taylor, does that mean Taylor is going to win this one?

Originally Posted by C-Lo

I thought Kessler was going to beat Joe, I was wrong. I thought Hopkins was going to beat Joe, again, I was wrong. I thought Jones was going to beat Joe, yet another time, I was wrong.

I think Joe would wipe the floor with Taylor, does that mean Taylor is going to win this one?

No, it just means you've learned your lesson.

I think a Taylor fight would be pitiful and there is absolutely no justification for it whatsoever.

Easy Calzaghe win.

Originally Posted by Lyle

I think the better choices for Calzaghe are Chad Dawson, Carl Froch, Clinton Woods, and Glen Johnson.

Chad Dawson 27 (17 KO)-0-0, young undefeated title holder...not much power to worry about and maybe a little chinny.

Carl Froch 23(19 KO)-0-0, he's a young cocky bastard who thinks he's God's gift to boxing.

Clinton Woods 41 (24 KO)-4-1 he's British, he's the same age as Joe and well he's still boxing.

Glen Johnson 48 (33 KO)-12-2, he's older but he's tough and won't quit on a fight. He does have a good chin and good solid power even at his old age.


Jermain might be a good choice considering those guys but I think it may be too early for Taylor to take on such a good supermiddleweight. Tavoris Cloud is just too young at this point, wouldn't want him to be another Jeff Lacey

Your talking about Dawson's power when Roy and Bernard Hopkins have sacrificed most of their power to retain decent speed? He hits way harder then either of them do at this point in their career there is a reason Tarver couldn't get off, and that was Dawson's speed and power.