Now we know who he is fighting....who should Calzaghe have fought?

[superheavyrhun]

Okay, now that the fight is against the relative nobody of Sakio Bika, I thought it might be interesting to look back over Joe's career and see who he could have fought along the way to silence any doubters.

Glen Johnson: This fight has been on the cards since 2004, when it was arranged, and Calzaghe had to pull out with injury. Everyone gets injured, and when you have glass hands like Calzaghe, you have to go into a fight in peak condition or not at all, and for this one, it seems, not at all.

Roy Jones Jr - The fight that Calzaghe and British boxing fans have wanted since about 2000 when Calzaghe was calling out Jones at the end of every fight, and almost every fight in between too. It would have been one of the ultimate super-fights at super-middle, and would have cemented his legendary status, without a doubt. Fighting a RJJ who comes in 1-3 after a win over Prince Badi Ajamu, however, is not quite such a legend-maker.

Bernard Hopkins - Great middleweight, but getting on a bit since Calzaghe really came into his prime, and perhaps a late 90s fight against him might have been a little too early?

Sven Ottke - retiring in 2004 ruled out a unification with Joe, though in terms of pulling power, could have been up there with the Lacy unification.

Any I've missed?

[Tam Seddon]

Rhun you no carl should be there

[Wacko3205]

Kessler...without a doubt...Mikkel Kessler.

[Tam Seddon]

Kessler...without a doubt...Mikkel Kessler.

Dont forget Beyer he aint lost the fight yet

[raleights]

kind of unfair to mention ottke and hopkins, neither one of them were interested in dangerous fights
guess you could say the same for RJ but I seriously doubt he feared joe

maybe dariusz michaelcewski

[superheavyrhun]

Rhun you no carl should be there

what I was trying to do was to look back, because Joe does get a lot of flak for fighting ppl on the way up/down, and it gets to the point where beating them isn't enough, because if they lose to him, there will be critics who always say that the opposition wasn't at its prime. I don't think that Carl Froch would be ready before now to fight Joe, and in my view, would give him little more than a good run out. His guard ain't good enough, and an on-form would swamp him with so many punches, and with the glass all in his fists, his jaw's solid and so is ery unlikely to get caught with a shot hard enough to beat him.

Kessler...without a doubt...Mikkel Kessler.

Dont forget Beyer he aint lost the fight yet

Again, I think Kessler/Beyer is to be one of Calzaghe's two remaining fights to take place in 2007, so I didn't include it. Either way, unifyuing the SMW division (even if he does have to vacate the IBF for not taking a mandatory) would be great for the division, but would leave some big boots to follow when he does bow out. (probably after beating his natural successor as king of the SMW, the much hyped Mikkel Kessler.
And finally....

kind of unfair to mention ottke and hopkins, neither one of them were interested in dangerous fights
guess you could say the same for RJ but I seriously doubt he feared joe

maybe dariusz michaelcewski

Ottke wanted to retire unbeaten and as champion, so I accept it would have been extremely unlikely for him to fight Joe, but it would have been a fight to silence critics. Equally with Hopkins, Calzaghe called him out, and said anywhere anytime, so I think that that fight would have silenced critics who say he's never fought a big name.
RJJ - it just didn't come off. A fight against him in 2002/03, in my view, if he were victorious, would have made Joe a legend, if he came home undefeated to the end of his career.

I think Michaelcewski might have come off, if Calzaghe's much-hyped move to light-heavy would have come off 3 or 4 years ago, but it never did, and he went on at SMW to become the longest reigning world champ with the WBO.

[Tam Seddon]

Rhun you no carl should be there

what I was trying to do was to look back, because Joe does get a lot of flak for fighting ppl on the way up/down, and it gets to the point where beating them isn't enough, because if they lose to him, there will be critics who always say that the opposition wasn't at its prime. I don't think that Carl Froch would be ready before now to fight Joe, and in my view, would give him little more than a good run out. His guard ain't good enough, and an on-form would swamp him with so many punches, and with the glass all in his fists, his jaw's solid and so is ery unlikely to get caught with a shot hard enough to beat him.

Kessler...without a doubt...Mikkel Kessler.

Dont forget Beyer he aint lost the fight yet

Again, I think Kessler/Beyer is to be one of Calzaghe's two remaining fights to take place in 2007, so I didn't include it. Either way, unifyuing the SMW division (even if he does have to vacate the IBF for not taking a mandatory) would be great for the division, but would leave some big boots to follow when he does bow out. (probably after beating his natural successor as king of the SMW, the much hyped Mikkel Kessler.
And finally....

kind of unfair to mention ottke and hopkins, neither one of them were interested in dangerous fights
guess you could say the same for RJ but I seriously doubt he feared joe

maybe dariusz michaelcewski

Ottke wanted to retire unbeaten and as champion, so I accept it would have been extremely unlikely for him to fight Joe, but it would have been a fight to silence critics. Equally with Hopkins, Calzaghe called him out, and said anywhere anytime, so I think that that fight would have silenced critics who say he's never fought a big name.
RJJ - it just didn't come off. A fight against him in 2002/03, in my view, if he were victorious, would have made Joe a legend, if he came home undefeated to the end of his career.

I think Michaelcewski might have come off, if Calzaghe's much-hyped move to light-heavy would have come off 3 or 4 years ago, but it never did, and he went on at SMW to become the longest reigning world champ with the WBO.

Have a cc for your work rhun!

[Tam Seddon]

But i would like to see Carl in the ring with joe rather than whoever joe is fighting now to be honest. a british showdown! joe shuts his mouth etc! carls undeafeated and wants joe!

[MRMANICK]

kind of unfair to mention ottke and hopkins, neither one of them were interested in dangerous fights
guess you could say the same for RJ but I seriously doubt he feared joe

maybe dariusz michaelcewski

And Joe was? PLEASE

[raleights]

then why'd he call out Jones and Hopkins after every fight lol but neither one of them talked about Joe as if they were actually wanting to fight

but joe was a bitch who didn't come to america so, as a fan of all 3 I dunno what to say other than that