Canelo now vs Prime Calzaghe

Instead of him fighting "the contender" Peter Manfredo, he should have been in there with the likes of Froch, Chad Dawson or Ward The only one of those three who had a world title in 2007 was Chad Dawson and Dawson was at 175. Ward and Froch were on the way up but Manfredo had a buzz from “The Contender” as you mentioned and Joe ended up facing Mikkel Kessler for division supremacy in his next fight. Manfredo was basically a high-profile tune-up.

Calzaghe's last fight took place before the Super Six so I don't see it as ducking. They simply missed each other. You can make an argument that Joe could have come over to America sooner but he destroyed Jeff Lacy and won clean against a prime Mikkel Kessler. Say what you want about Lacy but hindsight is 20/20 and Jeff was heavily favored at the time. Kessler was clearly Joe's top challenger at 168 and Calzaghe beat him. Yes, he caught Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. late but I don't blame him for cashing out with those fights. He was getting up there in age himself and everyone has to retire at some point. Instead of him fighting "the contender" Peter Manfredo, he should have been in there with the likes of Froch, Chad Dawson or Ward

Canelo is more crafty than Joe but nobody can question Joe's heart. He'd get dropped in fights and come back stronger.

Plus Canelo barely beat both Lara and Trout, Calzaghe is an even bigger southpaw who's faster than both and a volume puncher to boot. Unless Canelo scored a KO, he'd have pretty much zero chance to win any of the late rounds vs Calzaghe because of his work rate alone, especially since Canelo fades when hes forced to fight at a fast pace (like the first GGG fight).

I think he kinda ducked froch though. Not saying Froch would win. Froch first appeared in the Ring magazine top 10 in 2006. He was domestic level at that time and Calzaghe fought Jeff Lacy that year. Perhaps Joe could have fought Froch instead but everyone would have accused him of fighting another "Euro-bum". Froch was there in 2007 as well but Calzaghe chose to face his top challenger in Mikkel Kessler. Carl Froch won a vacant WBC title in late 2008 against Jean Pascal and Calzaghe won his career finale in a PPV fight against Roy Jones Jr. a few months after that. You could argue that Joe could have stuck around a little longer for Froch but then again there is always someone coming up. I think the fight would have happened if Froch had won his WBC title a year or two earlier but the Super Six guys just happened to get on the map as Calzaghe was winding down.

Alvarez clearly lost to Golovkin in the first fight, and now he's going to beat one of the best super middleweight champions in history? I don't think so. I don't think Rocky Fielding, Smith and a shopworn Kovalev is enough to warrant picking him. I doubt he beats Kessler or even that version of B-Hop Calzaghe beat, let alone Joe himself.

Calzaghe ducked Ward and all the young 168 pounders at the time. Calzaghe's last fight took place before the Super Six so I don't see it as ducking. They simply missed each other. You can make an argument that Joe could have come over to America sooner but he destroyed Jeff Lacy and won clean against a prime Mikkel Kessler. Say what you want about Lacy but hindsight is 20/20 and Jeff was heavily favored at the time. Kessler was clearly Joe's top challenger at 168 and Calzaghe beat him. Yes, he caught Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. late but I don't blame him for cashing out with those fights. He was getting up there in age himself and everyone has to retire at some point.

Calzaghe ducked Ward and all the young 168 pounders at the time.

Calzaghe wins. He's the ultimate fortunate fate boxer. He shouldn't win. Doesn't look like he should win. Yet, always manages to win. So, I don't care how good Saul is. Calzaghe won't be beaten.

they used to say the same thing about calzaghe before he turned 34 and faced lacy and kessler, but that was because he had done almost nothing before that. Based on joe doing nothing previously, people though Joe wouldnt beat even a crappy lacy. i'd wait till canelo has had one more defence at supermiddle, then you can judge them on equal footing with 3 recognised defences each.

Calzaghe via murder...

Never thought of this match-up... very interesting. I'd say Calzaghe has a unique combination of fast hands, high workrate yet slick defense that not many other fighters I can think of possesses. This and the fact that 168 is a more of a natural weight for him I'd slightly favor him in this matchup.

How would you rank canelo vs a prime mikkel kessler. I'm not sure who wins that fight at 168. We haven't seen canelo fight a guy who has the ability to impose a physical style on him at the higher weights, it's been old man Kovalev with no gas tank and bean pole callum smith. I still admire the achievements but a prime kessler bodybags those two. I also think the Hopkins who Calzaghe fought would be AWFUL for canelo. On the whole I lean towards JC to win, I think canelo has to have style advantages against opponents this big, or some sort of advantage beit draining them down, them being old or just not very good I don't see him beating anyone elite at 168 or above in a fight with no advantages, just don't see it, his career above 160 is gonna be a case of good optics. Forgot to add, the Hopkins that fought Calzaghe is a bad night for anybody in that 160-175 span. Just a putrid and rotten old man style.

How would you rank canelo vs a prime mikkel kessler. I'm not sure who wins that fight at 168. We haven't seen canelo fight a guy who has the ability to impose a physical style on him at the higher weights, it's been old man Kovalev with no gas tank and bean pole callum smith. I still admire the achievements but a prime kessler bodybags those two. I also think the Hopkins who Calzaghe fought would be AWFUL for canelo. On the whole I lean towards JC to win, I think canelo has to have style advantages against opponents this big, or some sort of advantage beit draining them down, them being old or just not very good I don't see him beating anyone elite at 168 or above in a fight with no advantages, just don't see it, his career above 160 is gonna be a case of good optics. Kessler is a good fighter. I think that version of Kessler would be a better measuring stick than Callum Smith. Canelo is too slick for him. That's a great fight though, Canelo vs Kessler.

Just so you know, Canelo was rocked hard by a lightweight Cotto (the brother) when Canelo was a welterweight. But does it matter? no. No, it doesn't matter. The thread is about prime Calzaghe vs CURRENT Canelo...not 19-year old welterweight Canelo. So the questions are when was Calzaghe's prime, and how does current Canelo compare to the fighters Calzaghe fought when he was in his prime?

wait till canelo has equalled joes feats by making 2 more recognised defences, then we will consider him on par.

12-12 only in the eyes of Clenelo fanboys. In the meantime 99% of the people know who really won. Yikes. Did you mess the memo? Trump lost XD XD XD

Joe Calzaghe would put a similar beating on Alvarez as he did against Jeff Lacey. Lmfao! :lol1:

Who would win in a fight between Canelo vs Joe Calzaghe at 168? I'd take Canelo. Calz was a very good fighter, I just think Canelo is more proven, harder to hit, and he has the judges. That's funny. I was thinking about Joe the whole time I was watching (half bored) Caleb vs Caleb last night. Just fantasizing about Joe vs Canelo is more interesting. Joe's volume could be so overwhelming, but Canelo's defense at this point is superb. They both have great chins. My heart says Joe because I can't envision Canelo dealing with the work rate or landing much meaningful in the second half of the fight (Joe had a tendency to get clipped early, but always adjusted) Yeah, Joe by a decision. ... well, I guess Canelo would have killed SRS at 160, 168, 175 and etc... Canelo is GOAT...

After 24 rounds the score is 12-12. Neither guy hurt each other and both were outboxed for periods of time. Both demonstrated iron chins and both demonstrated adjustments. If youre a GGG fan you cant get away from how Canelo boxed and moved and took no damage in first fight nor how he brought the fight to GGG in second fight. If youre a Canelo fan you cant get away from GGG being the aggressor in the first fight and making an amazing recovery in the second fight. If you praise either fighter youre indirectly praising the other fighter because theyre evenly matched. Canelo fights coming forward and continues to do so effectively. We dont know if Calzaghe can fight backing up but we know Canelo can do both. We also know Canelo is a dangerous counter-puncher which has been evident throughout his career including two GGG fights where Gennady fought timid and virtually zero body work...that wasnt by accident. Canelo by wide UD with a potential KD early 12-12 only in the eyes of Clenelo fanboys. In the meantime 99% of the people know who really won.