How Do You Beat Calzaghe?

[TheGreatAli]

WOW, he is making Calzaghe sound unbeatable. Great chin when an old man can knock you down. Hopkins with stamina will easily beat Calzaghe.

Calzaghe with even more stamina and a bigger punch wins though.

You give Hopkins back that asset and Calzaghe gets his too.

Prime Jones would beat Calzaghe something like 117-111, maybe 117-110 (with a KD) but it would be a great fight.

[hookoutofhell]

its difficult with joe because although you can say that he is the aggressor and what not and a counterpuncher is needed joe can also become the counterpuncher himself. we saw this vs hopkins joe would just flick out his jab and then wait for hopkins punches or his right hand. then joe would flurry himself - joes ability to adjust means that he is at the minute virtually peerless in the SMW/LHW scene.

joe is at his best on the back front vs the aggressor (e.g. vs lacey, kessler) this is because when joe has to come forward his footwork is what lets him down, look at the knock on he suffered vs byron mitchell he hs poor balance when he comes forward. against hopkins ironically it was joes footwork that was previously a weakness that became his biggest strength, hokins didn't take into account that unlike most orthodox fighters joe doesn't when moving doesn't get his feet set, distribute his weight and then throw his punches.

joe has weak hands so he doesn't always want to set his feet its because of this that he was constanly able to get into hopkins space and then move out frustrating him. if hopkins would feint joe would just move out and then move back in quickly, this is what allowed oe to keep the pressure on hopkins and even one of the commentator said the same thing that he couldn't remember any fighter ever putting so much pressure on hopkins.

imo even b-hop with more stamina would struggle against calzaghe because b-hop in the middle rounds wasn't gassed but was having trouble with joe, and the fight was getting away from him.

imo you would needa fighter who is capable of fighting both on the front foot and on the back foot, against joe he would probably need to spend the majority of the fight on the back foot, be able to punch in straight lines down the middle when joe does flurry and be able to keep the fight at distance. imo mikkel kessler married with bernard hopkins boxing brain would be the ideal fighter to beat joe.
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[Flawless]

Calzaghe with even more stamina and a bigger punch wins though.

You give Hopkins back that asset and Calzaghe gets his too.

Prime Jones would beat Calzaghe something like 117-111, maybe 117-110 (with a KD) but it would be a great fight.

Prime Hopkins style is suited for Calzaghe, why do you make out Calzaghe to be a powerful puncher when he is not. Who has he knocked out worth mentioning??

[Silencers]

Hopkins and Calzaghe would have always made for a close fight, their styles just make for a close fight.

[TheGreatAli]

And I'm not saying Prime Hopkins doesn't have a chance, don't get me twisted. No fighter is unbeatable and if these fought at any stage in their careers it would be a very close fight. Hopkins and Calzaghe are very similar career wise, both started out as big punching sluggers and had to adjust with father time. Calzaghe became a wise counter puncher but at the same time had to sacrifice his power and Hopkins became a wise Counter puncher who sacrificed his stamina and used more clinches and head butts.

The best versions of the two would be the Calzaghe who fought Lacy vs the Hopkins who fought Tito. I just see Calzaghe beating Hopkins to the punch and outworking him to a decision.

[TheGreatAli]

Hopkins and Calzaghe would have always made for a close fight, their styles just make for a close fight.

Exactly.

Arguments can be made for both fighters until you're blue in the face. The majority of people will give the nod to Hopkins because of the fact he KD Calzaghe in their fight but they use that to cloud their judgment, imo.

I'd give Calzaghe the slight advantage because the fight would take place @ 168 in their primes, with Hopkins moving up Calzaghe would have the advantage. P4p? They're pretty much even.

[abadger]

Very good posts in this thread everyone! I agree with parts of what nearly all of you say.

I particularly agree with the idea that to beat Joe you absolutely must have a plan B, because it is almost inevitable that he will take your plan A away. Thats mostly the reason I feel a counterpuncher would need something else to throw in the mix, because though calzaghe will get caught by a counter a few times, he'll soon work out how to avoid it, unless he decides he doesn't need to. I think today's Joe is a lot smarter than the Joe that fought Robin Reid and much more willing to box carefully, so I don't think that style alone is enough anymore.

IMO despite Joe's ability to adapt, there is one thing he does need, and that is to box within flurrying distance. If you take that away from him then i think he could be beaten.

[j.razor]

What style of boxer do you think has the best shot at beating Joe Calzaghe? His workrate, maybe the highest ever for a SMW/ LHW, and his aggression mean he's very difficult to outpoint and his tough chin means stopping him is unlikely. How would you do it?

easy, jus watch da Hopkins fight...

[BRAVE-HEART]

slap him back but harder

[Stickman]

You guys that say counterpunching is the key..I think it's only a part of it. Honestly, whoever beats Calzaghe will probably have to knock him out. I don't think anyone on the planet is going to outwork him (what did he throw against Kessler...over 1000 punches?), and a pure counterpuncher can't outland him because of the angles he gives when he throws...I think it's just going to take someone who's accurate enough, strong enough and fast enough to land that perfect shot and get him shaken, and then finish him off. Jones has the ability, the potential to get the job done, but the chance is very small, in my opinion.





Now an answer for this guy:

easy, jus watch da Hopkins fight...

First...You're an idiot. You can't throw 5 punches during a fight and win it. Second....well, you're an idiot, so never mind.
And finally, take Hopkins' **** out of your mouth (or ass, or wherever) and actually watch the fight. He didn't do enough to be given more than 4 rounds.
Oh, and ah....you're an idiot.