Given Calzaghes record for pretencing injuries when he due to fight someone decent, the most likely outcome had Joe fought in a super six is he would have accepted the weakest opponents but withdrawn due to 'injury' before the toughests fights came up, thus preserving his unbeaten record.
I don't think so, to fight an 8 fight guantlet like that 5 away from home is a tuff ask to stay undefeated. All it takes is an off night against one of these guys and thats likely a loss. Especially Ward, Calzaghe would have to be at his very best to beat him in USA and I'm not sure who wins that fight, probably Ward in his home country.
Pascal, home - Calzaghe wins. Pascal has his wild moments, stuns Calzaghe at times, makes it an exciting fight but ultimately gets outboxed in an 8-4 loss.
Taylor, USA - Tough fight. This was still a very good version of Taylor. Taylor was getting knocked out by big power punchers, which is something Calzaghe wasn't.
Dirrell, home - Sloppy fight. Calzaghe wins because it would be at home but the decision would be debatable. Dirrell probably lands more, Calzaghe throws more.
Kessler, Denmark - Their fight gave no indication that Kessler would win unless it's by robbery.
Abraham, Finland - Calzaghe outboxes, outlands, and wins on activity by landslide, 120-108.
Johnson, USA - Calzaghe wins this fight.
Ward, USA - Ward wins an ugly fight.
Bute, home - Calzaghe not having the power to hurt Bute, is forced to throw a lot of punches and wins on activity in a possible chess match.
give me a break(!)
zaghe would beat taylor and AA on the same night!!!!
once you break down frochs resume its not all that. AA and taylor were spent forces and don't belong at SMW, bute was overhyped, johnson is a gatekeeper to gatekeepers (loss to omar sheika and some pple here think he is HOF worthy)!!!
i could say that pascal was dried out at SMW but i think that would be nit picking. the only decent opposition froch has fought are kessler, ward and pascal and he lost two of those fights.
once his career is over we will see how many HOF'er froch has beat and how many he has faced. We know that calzaghe faced and beat kessler and hopkins who are probably nailed on HOF'ers and imo eubank should be as well.
so far froch has faced two guys who will probably make it into the HOF. ward and kessler - he came up short on both occasions.
YDKSAB:burnup: Froch is a first ballot HOF and ATG he beat Bute and lost to Andre Ward and Kessler. /thread
lol jk
Eubank surely is already a HOFer? He set the record for defences at SMW at one time.
Obviously the semi retired Eubank was a different man from his heyday but that terrible streak of losses he suffered at the end of his career doesnt detract from the awesome streak of wins he had at SMW when he was prime.
I also hate how people think Froch deserves credit for his losses? WTF, it does not make him look better, quite the opposite. Froch's greatest achievements according to Froch fans: losing to Kessler and a near shutout loss to a one-handed Andre Ward. The only good think about it is that it shows he's willing to fight the top guys in his division, but so does every other contender.
Pascal, home
Taylor, USA
Dirrell, home
Kessler, Denmark
Abraham, Finland
Johnson, USA
Ward, USA
Bute, home
do you think Calzaghe would have lost ?
give me a break(!)
zaghe would beat taylor and AA on the same night!!!!
once you break down frochs resume its not all that. AA and taylor were spent forces and don't belong at SMW, bute was overhyped, johnson is a gatekeeper to gatekeepers (loss to omar sheika and some pple here think he is HOF worthy)!!!
i could say that pascal was dried out at SMW but i think that would be nit picking. the only decent opposition froch has fought are kessler, ward and pascal and he lost two of those fights.
once his career is over we will see how many HOF'er froch has beat and how many he has faced. We know that calzaghe faced and beat kessler and hopkins who are probably nailed on HOF'ers and imo eubank should be as well.
so far froch has faced two guys who will probably make it into the HOF. ward and kessler - he came up short on both occasions.
Normally I will stick up for Calzaghe, but lets be real...Froch let the world decide who his opponent would be and he won most of them, but lost a couple of those wars. Calzaghe never had the opportunity to step to the plate like that. Calslappy would get smashed out of the super six, at least Froch had the nerves to test himself.
Lose to Ward.
Smash Bute.
Get heavy consideration for P4P status.
His career is already more storied than Calzaghe's.
Stop overrating the Super Six? Who would have beat Calzaghe? Glen Johnson? Allan Green? Taylor? Kessler (who Joe beat decisively)? The only guy who could beat Calzaghe out of the lot would be Andre Ward. Froch would just get outboxed.
Calzaghe=Bute
Bute could've taken the exact same path that Joe did but didn't. Could've made 20 title defenses against bums, stayed in his home country, beaten a 40 year old Ward and have gone 46-0.
Bute beats Hopkins? Kessler? I'm not even certain Bute beats the version of Eubank Joe beat.
Cal's main assets were fitness and longevity in his career, plus a canny eye for cherrypicking opponents when he was able to beat them, and not a minute before then.
In a Super Six, cherrypicking is irrelevant, but fitness and longevity are very relevant. You'd expect him to maintain a high level of activity if not accuracy and skill in every fight, and to be able to outlast all his opponents. Winning is a different matter, Ward would definitely marginalise him since Andre is like Bhop but without gassing half way (ie Bhop wins most of the rounds if he doesnt gass out), and theres a fair chance Kessler would etch out a split decision in Denmark.
Zaghes would beat the rest, but it would be his toughest challenge ever to do that, hes never faced such a run (quite deliberately, I would add).
Other than that, there are arguments to suggest Calzaghe ran from Pascal and Glen, and if that is true, then he was likely trying to protect his zero loss record so these may have been possible losses too.
With both Froch and Calzaghe its important not to gloss over their weaknesses. Cal had obvious holes in his skill arsenal that he compensated for with high slap output, and Froch's obvious deficiency in speed make them both beatable. They arent invincible. Roy Jones would tear both these guys a new eye socket with his superior speed, strength and pinpoint accuracy.
But the bottom line I think is that Calzaghe would run from sequence of fights like that and would never enter a Super 6, so we would simply never know. Story of Joe's career really, we never got to see what he could do/couldnt do.
The idea is Calzaghe should have been able to beat any of those guys.
He's been penalized for not taking the chance.
Not failing to be skilled enough or qualified enough for a good fantasy matchup. Calzaghe gets no credit for fights he was never in.
I don't think its fair to compare Bute to Calzaghe.
Yes, both fought painfully poor opposition for the majority of their career, but the difference is when Calzaghe finally stepped up to the elite level, he dominated. Whereas Bute, crumbled.
Had Bute defending his title against no hopers until he got to 19 defences then stepped up and dominated the elite competition, then I'd agree.
But, he didn't. He crumbled on the first hurdle.
Ward beats him, of that I have no doubt. Ward's skill level and all-around game is far too high for anyone who has fought at 168.
Dirrell also gives him problems. There are a couple of other tough tests, but Ward is the one and Dirrell could also do it.
Calzaghe=Bute
Bute could've taken the exact same path that Joe did but didn't. Could've made 20 title defenses against bums, stayed in his home country, beaten a 40 year old Ward and have gone 46-0.
Don't act like Hopkins still wasn't a great fighter at that age.
Guys like Mitchell and Reid weren't bums either. Lacy was also considered a huge threat at the time Zags fought him. Of course that wins means nothing now.
Froch is already even with Calzaghe if not ahead in terms of accomplishments. Calzaghe would probably have beaten every one of Froch's opponents except Ward. The point is Calzaghe wouldn't have fought those guys because he never took a risk until he was in the final 2 years of his career.
A lot of people are quick to say Ward beats Zags or gives him the tough fight, but I haven't seen Ward fight a guy close enough like Zags that gives me that impression. It's kind of hard to predict at this point. Really from what I've seen Froch is the one who causes Zags the most trouble.
Froch Vs Calzaghe would have been a toe to toe battle and a great fight, i think Froch would be too powerfull for him
14y ago
Calzaghe Vs Froch's Opponents ? | BoxingScene Community