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As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
I'm asking this question because i'm not as familiar with the LHW's and SMW's from other continents as many of you guys are..
These are my thoughts..
I hear a lot of people (including myself) talk about Calzaghe's resume being weak in his prime.. and the defense to that is that there was no one out there to fight him, and if there were fighters that were on his level, they avoided him.. So this is the reason why he is lacking in quality opposition on his resume..
and now, he has Hopkins and RJJ to add to his resume, which obviously looks great on anyones resume, but to the fans of today, what does this really mean to us?
I'll be the first one to say that i am begging for Calzaghe's first loss, but i dont' doubt his skills as a fighter.. and i've said before that mainly i dislike him because he didn't put his skills to good use by taking fights like Bika and Manfredo..
So we have Hopkins, who comes into the fight and knocks joe down in the first round, sets the tempo for the next few roudns, and then just doesn't do any work or throw punches in a fight that was an SD and he could've won if he was throwing.. Same with RJJ who knocked him down in the first round and then just decided not to throw the rest of the fight.. Is joe THAT good that his opponents cannot throw in fear of missing and be countered? Jones and Hopkins are two fighters of large boxing IQ, and i don't see how they did not figure him out.. To be honest, i've never been more dissapointed in two fights, than these two.. They both bored me to death, not because of the pace, but to the lack of heart on the 43 yr old and 39 yr old fighters.. I'd love to see someone with a lot of heart in there, like Lacy had, and just fight all 3 minutes of every round and THROW PUNCHES..
Does anyone else feel this way?
and if so, who, right now, if Joe doesn't retire, ACTUALLY has a chance of getting a fight signed with Joe and having a chance (not a hopkins or RJJ "because 10 years ago they were great fighters" chance) but an actual chance of beating Joe?
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
All I'll say is mate, if you don't like Calzaghe for his oppostion, check out who Jones fought throughout his reign at SMW and LHW And check out who B-Hop fought through 10 years as MW champion and tell me you like them because of their opposition
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
Not too many fighters.
Dawson has a shot, so does Hopkins if the rematch was to be made.
One of the Klitschko brothers :p
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
Lol @ CFH
Hopkins is the only person that can beat JC at this time imo
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
Chad Dawson,Bernard Hopkins and even Kelly Pavlik could just because Hopkins schooled him doesn't mean Calzaghe would styles make fights.
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
tysonbruno
Chad Dawson,Bernard Hopkins and even Kelly Pavlik could just because Hopkins schooled him doesn't mean Calzaghe would styles make fights.
That's true, but in this case, JCs style is all wrong for Pavlik imo
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BIG H
All I'll say is mate, if you don't like Calzaghe for his oppostion, check out who Jones fought throughout his reign at SMW and LHW And check out who B-Hop fought through 10 years as MW champion and tell me you like them because of their opposition
Well said fella..
:badass::badass::badass:
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
No-one imo.
Hopkins would probably have the better chance, but he's tried before and narrowly failed.
Calzaghe would destroy pavlik, Froch and Dawson imo.
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
Looking at it like that, yuod have to say that Joe is the closest thing right now to an unbeatable boxer!!
Peopple say Dawson purely because hes the only decent opposition that is unbeaten.
Until Froch proves himself against Kessler I wish people would stop giving him undue publicity:rolleyes:
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
Chad Dawson, Glen Johnson, Tavoris Cloud, Kelly Pavlik
People will hate on me for saying it but Jermain Taylor...say what you will about him, he's a fighter and will give it all he has. He fought a much better fight vs Pavlik at the 166 catch weight and I figure he can add weight without hurting his ability unlike Pavlik. Taylor was ready to move up before he fought Kelly the first time IMO.
Cloud and Dawson are young but Dawson is a good boxer and Cloud has huge power and since Joe has been down in the first round in his last two fights, I figure a guy with solid power at 175 would have a shot vs him.
Johnson is an old guy but he's a war horse, he can take punishment and keep pounding away.
After Pavlik's performance against Hopkins I wouldn't put him in with ANYONE at 168 but if he is able to train up to that weight properly then I figure he'd give Joe all he could handle
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
No one; absolutley no one. Pavlik's style is made to order for him and Dawson cannot sustain the pace that JC keeps. No one!
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Lyle
Chad Dawson, Glen Johnson, Tavoris Cloud, Kelly Pavlik
People will hate on me for saying it but Jermain Taylor...say what you will about him, he's a fighter and will give it all he has. He fought a much better fight vs Pavlik at the 166 catch weight and I figure he can add weight without hurting his ability unlike Pavlik. Taylor was ready to move up before he fought Kelly the first time IMO.
Cloud and Dawson are young but Dawson is a good boxer and Cloud has huge power and since Joe has been down in the first round in his last two fights, I figure a guy with solid power at 175 would have a shot vs him.
Johnson is an old guy but he's a war horse, he can take punishment and keep pounding away.
After Pavlik's performance against Hopkins I wouldn't put him in with ANYONE at 168
No hate from me. If Taylor blows away Lacey, he is right back in the mix. I would not count him out by a long shot.
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
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Originally Posted by
GAME
That was some class dodging ;D
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BIG H
All I'll say is mate, if you don't like Calzaghe for his oppostion, check out who Jones fought throughout his reign at SMW and LHW And check out who B-Hop fought through 10 years as MW champion and tell me you like them because of their opposition
Um Roy had a way better resume
James Toney, Mike McCallum, Virgill Hill, Montell Griffin, Eric Harding, Reggie Johnson, Julio Gonzalez, Merqui Sosa, Tony Thompson, Clinton Woods.. the list goes on of solid opposiiton Jones fought. Calzaghe beats everybody except maybe James Toney on that list, but not like Roy did.
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
Kelly Pavlik if he can hit Calzaghe, he hits way harder then Hopkins or Jones at this point in their career, I think he has the power to take Calzaghe out, but Calzaghe is way faster and I can't see Pavlik winning this unless he is capable of landing shots.
Glen Johnson: I think he is the best bet, he has the best chin around this weight division, he can match Calzaghe's output, he has that same will to walk through anything, and he hits harder then Calzaghe.
Chad Dawson: I am guessing Calzaghe might impose his will on Chad Dawson, but Chad held up well against Glen Johnson who puts the same kind of pressure on you, but hits harder then Calzaghe, and is much better body puncher. I think Chad Dawson has the speed edge, he's bigger then Calzaghe, and he's got a high output. I think its a good matchup.
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
Nah Johnson has nowhere near the output of Joe. Antonio Tarver outlasted Johnson last time they met and Tarver is one of teh oldest most lazy fighters Ive seen.
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
Chad Dawson
Tavoris Cloud
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
Well first off I don't think that any fighter is unbeatable especially one who has left himself wide open and got knocked down in the first round in his last two fights.
I love Joe, he's my favourite fighter but he's been walking something of a tightrope in his last two fights.
Against Hopkins, and more so against Jones he was fighting old fighters who didn't have the speed and youthful determination to make him pay.
But if he got clocked like he did against Jones by Chad Dawson or Kelly Pavlik in the first round he'd have a harder job trying to survive I think.
Now I fancy Joe to beat those fighters, but you can't just assume that he would run through them both. I made this point the other way about those who say Roy and Hopkins would have destroyed Calzaghe in their primes, I don't think they would have, and logically its the same here.
Calzaghe vs Dawson is a GREAT matchup imo. Dawson is technically very good, he's young, he's got power, he's been able to cope with adversity already in his career, he's got a winner's mindset.
That's a tough fight right there, for both guys.
And with Joe's defense there is ALWAYS the possibility that he gets hit and hard at some point, that's what makes him so damned exciting to watch. Even Tarver if he managed to land a big shot, or Johnson............
No fighter really has iron in their chin and as good as Calzaghe can take a shot if you fight that way against the world's best every time, then you have to think at some point you might luck out.
I don't want him to retire though, I love watching him fight and I love it when he puts on a boxing show.
Him and Dawson I'd love to see, but I'd be watching it from behind the sofa most likely
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
The reason Joe gt decked in his last 2 fights is because he didnt take his last two opponents as serious as he could have, compare how he boxed against Hopkins and Jones to how he fought Kessler.
Joe had trouble early with Kessler because Kessler was boxing better than him until he adjusted, the same with Jones and Hopkins but the reason they were boxing better than Joe to begin with is because Joe didnt see them as the threat of Kessler.
Kessler has the beating of everyone, I think from middle up to light heavy.
If Joes prospective possible opponent is between Cloud and Dawson, make them fight for the right to earn a shed load against Joe;D
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BIG H
All I'll say is mate, if you don't like Calzaghe for his oppostion, check out who Jones fought throughout his reign at SMW and LHW And check out who B-Hop fought through 10 years as MW champion and tell me you like them because of their opposition
First off, this was not the question at hand, we're talking about Joe.. So, if you have to defend Joe in that fashion, by comparing his resume to someone elses resume who you consider not so good, then you're already scraping the bottom of the bucket..
It's pretty damn clear that his opposition was less than mediocre in his prime, that is NOT even debatable..
Jones and Hopkins CLEARLY had much better opposition in their prime.. without even going through names, they had a LOT more exciting careers as far as big fights..
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
It has to be someone of massive stature.Dawson is credible but frankly,Joe has everything to loose at this point.Same with Taylor who is rebuilding himself and should he take out Lacy,does he bring "enough" to the table,name ,prestige,current notoriety??
Ohhh no....listen..........you can hear Pac fans thinking out loud :greedy:
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
Has anybody answered "nobody" yet??
seems the logical answer
Chad Dawson made heavy work of a 39 year old Glen Johnson for god sake.
Its virtually impossible to beat joe on points because he throws so many punches in a round so to beat the man you would need someone to knock him out and the only way i could ever see that happening is if Joe allowed someone mentally to get to him and got out of his game plan.
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
Mayweather is ducking Calzaghe
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
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Originally Posted by
ross
Mayweather is ducking Calzaghe
:lol:
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
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Originally Posted by
hattonthehammer
Has anybody answered "nobody" yet??
seems the logical answer
Chad Dawson made heavy work of a 39 year old Glen Johnson for god sake.
Its virtually impossible to beat joe on points because he throws so many punches in a round so to beat the man you would need someone to knock him out and the only way i could ever see that happening is if Joe allowed someone mentally to get to him and got out of his game plan.
Err ok please point to the last fighter who didn't make heavy work of Glen Johnson? :confused: He's as tough as old boots and really should be almost up there with, if not the likes of Hopkins and Jones, certainly the likes of Tarver as a marquee attraction. He wins over Jones Jr, Tarver, Clinton Woods.
Most of his defeats have been controversial points losses in the other guy's back yard. He's a great fighter and you're kidding yourself if you think someone like Hopkins or Calzaghe if they fought him now would make easy work of him. He's a handful for any fighter.
As for Calzaghe being impossible to knock out, he almost got knocked out on Saturday. If Jones had been a sharper finisher at this stage of his career Calzaghe could have been in real trouble.
NO fighter is unbeatable, especially one who lives as dangerously as Calzaghe.
I love Calzaghe, he's my favourite fighter, the best British fighter ever and an all time great imo.
But boxing isn't just a matter of picking who will win on paper and that's it job done, the guys still have to get in the ring and actually fight.
And Dawson has a PROVEN record now. Wins over Adamek, Johnson and Tarver, all three world champs, two of them at the time he was fighting them PROVES his talent. He's no longer a prospect, he's knocking on the door for becoming one of America's superstars.
He may not make that transition in time to be a viable opponent for Joe but he's not going to be a walkover fight for Calzaghe or Hopkins or anyone else.
You simply can't dismiss a fighter who has never lost.
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
Glen Johnson showed he's pretty much exactly on the same level as Clinton Woods and I don't think anybody would pick Woods to beat Calzaghe. Also Johnson gave Dawson all he could handle and almost beat him. I think Calzaghe beats either of these guys easily.
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
Um Glen Johnson is totally the wrong fight for Calzaghe, he's stronger and he would back up Calzaghe, His work rate is similar to Calzaghe's because he throws a few less punches but he puts more emphasis on each punch. Calzaghe has always had trouble against guys who bring the fight to him, Bika is nowhere near the fighter Glen Johnson is, and look at the trouble he caused for Joe. Glen Johnson is difficult enough to hit cleanly especially with hooks, Joe doesn't have the power to keep him honest. Tarver did. Glen Johnson has a good track record against quick fighters.
Also styles make fights Dawson would be much better suited to fight a guy like Joe then a guy like Glen Johnson if they had the same skill level. Joe is better then Glen, but he isn't as straight forward of a fighter, and the more a guy tries to box with Dawson the better off Chad is because he is the fastest guy above welterweight, because he is 6'3, and because he has great technical skills.
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
I think BCDs got the best chance, but even then I think Joe takes the fight.
BCD does all the things Joe needs him to do to win the fight.
Sit on the ropes and hands up while Joe unleashes...
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
I personally think if Hopkins puts in more effort , he could beat Calzaghe , i for one want to see that rematch.
As for the comment that Calzaghe would "destroy" Dawson , that is ridiculous , Calzaghe hasnt destroyed anyone in years. He punches like a girl.
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
I am a Calzagh fan but in truth his style is IMO these guys go about fighting him all wrong.....A fighter who goes in uses his jab as his primary weapon..roughs Joe up and makes it physical when Joe gets close...Ties him up often....Is the guy who will beat Calzaghe.....
Sooner or later one of these guys will come in and follow a game plan...Jones could have done it last night but for some reason forgot you have to actually throw punches to win fights....
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
RP33
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BIG H
All I'll say is mate, if you don't like Calzaghe for his oppostion, check out who Jones fought throughout his reign at SMW and LHW And check out who B-Hop fought through 10 years as MW champion and tell me you like them because of their opposition
First off, this was not the question at hand, we're talking about Joe.. So, if you have to defend Joe in that fashion, by comparing his resume to someone elses resume who you consider not so good, then you're already scraping the bottom of the bucket..
It's pretty damn clear that his opposition was less than mediocre in his prime, that is NOT even debatable..
Jones and
Hopkins CLEARLY had much better opposition in their prime.. without even going through names, they had a LOT more exciting careers as far as big fights..
This is Hopkins Prime opposition during his reign at Middleweight. Care to revise that statement?
Robert Allen THREE TIMES
William Joppy
Morrade Hakkar
Carl Daniels
Keith Holmes
Antwon Echols TWICE
Syd Vanderpool
Simon Brown
Andrrew Council
John David Jackson
William Bo James
Joe Lipsey
Glen Johnson
Steve Frank
Segundo Mercado
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
Being a huge fan of James Toney I can't help but wish he was back in the Light Heavy or Super Middle weight division right now. I think a fight between him and Joe would be outstanding. I think both would push each other to the limits and it would be a great fight. I think it would be allot better of a fight then both the Roy vs Joe fight and the bhop vs Joe fight.
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
I think Dawson would give him toughest fight. I doubt Joe wants to take that risk, because I can see it now...."Chad Dawson is a nobody what has he done"....
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BIG H
Quote:
Originally Posted by
RP33
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BIG H
All I'll say is mate, if you don't like Calzaghe for his oppostion, check out who Jones fought throughout his reign at SMW and LHW And check out who B-Hop fought through 10 years as MW champion and tell me you like them because of their opposition
First off, this was not the question at hand, we're talking about Joe.. So, if you have to defend Joe in that fashion, by comparing his resume to someone elses resume who you consider not so good, then you're already scraping the bottom of the bucket..
It's pretty damn clear that his opposition was less than mediocre in his prime, that is NOT even debatable..
Jones and
Hopkins CLEARLY had much better opposition in their prime.. without even going through names, they had a LOT more exciting careers as far as big fights..
This is Hopkins Prime opposition during his reign at Middleweight. Care to revise that statement?
Robert Allen THREE TIMES
William Joppy
Morrade Hakkar
Carl Daniels
Keith Holmes
Antwon Echols TWICE
Syd Vanderpool
Simon Brown
Andrrew Council
John David Jackson
William Bo James
Joe Lipsey
Glen Johnson
Steve Frank
Segundo Mercado
That list is better then what Calzaghe faced.
Antwon Echols was a dangerous fighter in his prime, Council was a good fighter, John David Jackson was a good fighter, Glen Johnson was and is a very good fighter thats when he was still the undefeated version of Glen Johnson.
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
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Originally Posted by
Wadeb_21
Being a huge fan of James Toney I can't help but wish he was back in the Light Heavy or Super Middle weight division right now. I think a fight between him and Joe would be outstanding. I think both would push each other to the limits and it would be a great fight. I think it would be allot better of a fight then both the Roy vs Joe fight and the bhop vs Joe fight.
Are you kidding me? James Toney at this stage can't react to Samuel Peters' speed let alone Joe Calzaghe's.
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
If Calzaghe punches like a girl what does that make the poeple who cant live with him?
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
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Originally Posted by
Taeth
Kelly Pavlik if he can hit Calzaghe, he hits way harder then Hopkins or Jones at this point in their career, I think he has the power to take Calzaghe out, but Calzaghe is way faster and I can't see Pavlik winning this unless he is capable of landing shots.
Glen Johnson: I think he is the best bet, he has the best chin around this weight division, he can match Calzaghe's output, he has that same will to walk through anything, and he hits harder then Calzaghe.
Chad Dawson: I am guessing Calzaghe might impose his will on Chad Dawson, but Chad held up well against Glen Johnson who puts the same kind of pressure on you, but hits harder then Calzaghe, and is much better body puncher. I think Chad Dawson has the speed edge, he's bigger then Calzaghe, and he's got a high output. I think its a good matchup.
Cosign on this post.
There may not be someone out there who could beat Joe Calzaghe, but if so it would be either Glen Johnson or Chad Dawson.
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
At LHW I'd say Dawson and Cloud might be able to give Calzaghe a better fight than Hopkins or Kessler did.
And call me crazy but Taylor, if he beats Lacy convincingly, brings a lot of positives into a Calzaghe fight.
1. Taylor fights to the level of his competition, meaning we might see the best version of Taylor in the ring against Joe
2. Taylor is fast, strong, and awkward in the ring. He won't be able to outwork Joe so he'd have to slow Joe down by giving him something to think about (like Hopkins did the first four rounds against Joe).
3. Most importantly... Taylor's been beaten before. Twice. Once by KO, once by UD. He's got nothing to lose that he hasn't already had taken from him. I think mentally this could make him more fearless in the ring, since he knows that the only thing he's got to lose is the fight itself. Not his pride, not his undefeated record, not his career. I think against Calzaghe we'd see him put it all out there for 12 rounds... yes, even if he's gassed... unlike RJJ and Hopkins, who had nothing, physically or mentally... down the stretch.
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Re: As of right now, who could beat Calzaghe?
To me right now nobody. Calzaghe is at the top of his game his speed and defense are insane at this point. Jones still has speed and couldn't hit him with anything. Cloud is way too slow Calzaghe would be in and out all night long. Dawson is probably the best bet but the expierence level is much too great at this point. I just can't see anybody beating Joe. He should just fight Froch put him away then retire.
