Roy Jones Jr.: "I Will Beat Joe Calzaghe in New York"

[Gandalf]

I can't see this even being that close after the first 4 rounds. Calzaghe all the way. Im not particularly excited about this matchup really.

[zhubin]

Well...i guess i'm in a very small minority that thinks Calzaghe is one of the most overrated fighters in recent years. But that's a whole other discussion. In his prime...Roy would have toyed with Joe. Obviously Roy is now far from his prime and hasn't looked spectacular in quite some time. That being said...at 38 years of age, Joe isn't exactly "prime" either. Calzaghe's performance against Hopkins didn't exactly inspire confidence. Even though it's hard for pretty much anyone to look good against Hopkins...Bernard was 43 years old in his fight against Joe, was highly inactive in the fight, throwing only one punch the entire night (the straight right). Yet he still landed the harder, more meaningful punches and could have won the fight IMO. Some will argue that Joe figured out Hopkins and also threw flurries of combo's. But i guess i wasn't all that impressed with Calzaghe's pitter patter punching...most of which didn't land on target in the fight. That being said...Joe will be the obvious favorite against Jones. Not so much because Joe is the better fighter...but more because Joe is the more active fighter in the ring at this stage of their careers. However, if Roy is able to be sharp and ACTIVE in the fight...he certainly can win. One thing that will be in Roy's favor is that all the pressure will be on Joe. Most people think Roy is done. So Joe is in a lose, lose situation. If he wins...he beat a fighter that was a shell of his former self. If he loses, his legacy will be tarnished.