Calzaghe on a about a fight with Ward, do you agree??

[Primo Carnera]

He’s got every right to say that and he may be right. I’m just not sure. Ward was a top top fighter with very few ,if any flaws.
And although Joe was a supremely quick and skilful fighter, let’s not think Ward wasn’t skilled either.
It may not mean much, but one thing makes me think. Would Ward have had as close a fight with an old Bernard Hopkins as Calzaghe did?
I firmly believe this is one of them where you could a perfectly reasonable argument for either of them.
Would’ve been a very interesting fight though.

[Master]

When Calzaghe fought Hopkins he was near the end of his career at light heavyweight so I believe that would be an unfair fight to make a comparison.

I am sure Ward would try and use the same tactics to slow the fight down because no one can keep up with the work rate that Joe possessed. Conversely Joe would know that Ward will fight in bursts and not allow him to steal the rounds.

It would be a close tactical affair which could be decided where the location of the fight was fought.

[Memphis]

Great fight between two genuinely great fighters. Annnnnnd probably about as exciting as watching paint dry. Not for us experts of course who understand and enjoy the technical elements and nuances of pugilism. But Joe public, he wont understand. He'll just want someone to get their head taken off. Quite right.

Which Calzaghe do you go with? The younger more powerful one or the older bad hands thinking/volume one? Calzaghe's best comes down to two nights. Lacy or Kessler. Yeah yeah I know. Lacy was a hype job, never any good blah blah, I knew Joe was going to win.....

Bollocks. Lacy was coming over here to bash Joe up and everyone agreed. There were obviously going to be a few who picked Joe. But 95% of those who now claim they did, are bullshitters.

For me Kessler was the better performance. Kessler was at his best, a better all round fighter than Lacy and despite early butterflies, Joe had his way from the first bell with Lacy, Kessler not so much. He maneuvered his way into that fight and put his foot down when it mattered. His game management was superb. He didn't beat Kessler up, but he broke him that night. He broke his spirit.

Ward pretty much cantered past a who's who of Super middle weights from 09 onward. His boxing IQ is as good as it gets. Not everyone's cup of tea but the results are undeniable.

I think location has the final say on this one. UK = Calzaghe US = Ward. The other screaming robbery, they might have a point.

[Master]

Remember Joe was struggling with Kessler who was young, unbeaten and confident champion early in their fight particularly his right hand. I was worried for Calzaghe but he adjusted his foot work and out boxed Kessler even landed a hard body shot that nearly stopped Kessler mid-way in that fight.

A peak Joe Calzaghe would be the young, fit, no hand injuries, hungry version that beat Chris Eubank with the experience that beat Lacy/Kessler. That Joe would beat Andre Ward anywhere in the world including his back yard.

[powerpuncher]

Here’s what I say about Ward. Before the Kovalev fight, he basically destroyed all of his opponents. Nobody could even get close to beating him. Also, he fought really good competition. It’s not like Ward was beating nobodies or hype jobs. He even beat Froch basically with one hand. The only fight that Ward struggled with was the first Kovalev fight. People tend to forget though that Ward was still a bit rusty and moving up in weight. Also, Kovalev was a top 3 p4p fighter at the time (arguably #1).

I think that Joe is a tough match for most fighters because of his output. He beat good enough competition to prove that he was legit and wasn’t just a hype job. Unlike Ward though, I had seen Joe struggle here and there with certain fighters. He adjusted well and ended up winning, but I give the adjustment advantage to Ward. Even if Joe adjusted during a Ward fight, I see Ward adjusting quickly after that to get back on top.

Like I said before, I think Joe definitely wins some rounds, but I think Ward wins fairly in a close on the scorecards kind of fight in which Ward dictated the pace better.

[Mark TKO]

These guys could have a trilogy and we'd be guaranteed 36 rounds.

Each fight would come to a razor thin SD I reckon - if I was a betting man I'd pit money on Ward as Joe could be the victim of a couple of flash knockdowns which would sway it on the cards.

[Primo Carnera]

Remember Joe was struggling with Kessler who was young, unbeaten and confident champion early in their fight particularly his right hand. I was worried for Calzaghe but he adjusted his foot work and out boxed Kessler even landed a hard body shot that nearly stopped Kessler mid-way in that fight.

A peak Joe Calzaghe would be the young, fit, no hand injuries, hungry version that beat Chris Eubank with the experience that beat Lacy/Kessler. That Joe would beat Andre Ward anywhere in the world including his back yard.

Come on @Master, ffs. we all know it’s a close call, and there is no right or wrong reallly.
But let’s have a level playing field . The “Peak” Joe that you miss mash from the best parts of his career never existed!
His peak is either the young hungry one with no hand problems, or the one with experience that beat Kessler.
Don’t load it just to suit your opinion, just stick to the facts.

[Master]

Remember Joe was struggling with Kessler who was young, unbeaten and confident champion early in their fight particularly his right hand. I was worried for Calzaghe but he adjusted his foot work and out boxed Kessler even landed a hard body shot that nearly stopped Kessler mid-way in that fight.

A peak Joe Calzaghe would be the young, fit, no hand injuries, hungry version that beat Chris Eubank with the experience that beat Lacy/Kessler. That Joe would beat Andre Ward anywhere in the world including his back yard.

Come on @Master, ffs. we all know it’s a close call, and there is no right or wrong reallly.
But let’s have a level playing field . The “Peak” Joe that you miss mash from the best parts of his career never existed!
His peak is either the young hungry one with no hand problems, or the one with experience that beat Kessler.
Don’t load it just to suit your opinion, just stick to the facts.

I am just pointing out that Joe had hand/elbow injuries which nearly derailed his career. He had awful defences in-between Eubank to Jeff Lacy.

[Ron Swanson]

Love the argument that you can’t say Lacy was overrated even if you ALWAYS said Lacy was overrated, his career demonstrated he was overrated, and you picked Joe in every fight of his career. Because somehow it’s revisionist even if it’s true.

We know what it really is, people think if you say Lacy was overrated you are diminishing Joe when in fact you are only speaking the truth about Lacy. Truth that they know is the truth. The logic on this board is extra special.

[Primo Carnera]

When Calzaghe fought Hopkins he was near the end of his career at light heavyweight so I believe that would be an unfair fight to make a comparison.

I am sure Ward would try and use the same tactics to slow the fight down because no one can keep up with the work rate that Joe possessed. Conversely Joe would know that Ward will fight in bursts and not allow him to steal the rounds.

It would be a close tactical affair which could be decided where the location of the fight was fought.

Ward at a similar stage in his career was beating Kovalev , who was nowhere near as old as Hopkins, and that was after a long lay off for Ward.
The reason I used the Hopkins example is because Ward would fight a similar (But way better) style. The only other fight we can compare with is Kessler.
Kessler gave them both at one time , the toughest fights of their careers. Not sure myself what we can learn from that. It's an interesting matchup, and I suppose I'm playing Devil's Advocate for a sense of Balance , although I'm not certain myself.
no way am I doubting Calzaghe , because the Lacy fight proved you shouldn't do that.
btw, anybody who downplays the Lacy victory because "Lacy was Overrated" are wrong! Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
up to that fight , Lacy was seen as a beast, but sometimes when you lose , you don't just lose your "0". Calzaghe took his soul that night, not dissimilar to Barrera/Hamed.