If Calzaghe beats Manfredo Jr and goes on to fight Jermain Taylor or Bernard Hopkins who would win? There's a temptation with this question to immediately jump up and say Calzaghe wouldn't beat either of them but I think both match-ups would provide an excellent fight.
Calzaghe is a cerebral fighter with experience over Taylor and maybe a bit more in the tank than B-Hop but I would like to know what people think of these possible future bouts.
By the way I personally can't decide what would happen if these guys got in the ring.
Calzaghe would throw enough to probably get the nod on the scorecards vs. Hopkins, as judges these days favor activity and aggression over actual BOXING (e.g. Hopkins-Taylor I, Urango-Ben Rabah, etc.). Hopkins would have to employ the same style he used vs. Tarver win, not the sit back and wait style that he used vs. Taylor, though Calzaghe would surely give him more countering opportunities than Taylor did.
Taylor poses a threat, but as a boxer he's only marginally better than Lacy; he has fundamental flaws that the best can exploit (which I why I don't think he beat Hopkins or Winky). If Calzaghe looks anywhere near as sharp as he was vs. Lacy, he will win. If he fights like he did in the Bika fight, he will get hurt, but he's smarter than that.
I see Hopkins landing lead rights and counter rights alnight long on Calzaghe.
Taylor has the potential to take Calzaghe out, Joe is too square-on.
The Calzaghe of five or 10 years back would of beaten them, though. He didn't struggle so much to make the weight, his hands weren't quite as bad, and he hit a lot harder.
Mmmmm....some very good points there.
I see Hopkins landing lead rights and counter rights alnight long on Calzaghe.
Taylor has the potential to take Calzaghe out, Joe is too square-on.
The Calzaghe of five or 10 years back would of beaten them, though. He didn't struggle so much to make the weight, his hands weren't quite as bad, and he hit a lot harder.