(Prime) Roy Jones Jr vs Joe Calzaghe

[rj_ct]

prime vs. prime- roy jones jr. ud
now- calzaghe out-hustles rjj. ud or late stoppage.

[slicksouthpaw16]

Roy by decision. At his very best at Super Middle in the 90s he was breathtaking. His opposition was not at Calzaghe's level but he was so much better than the guys he did face, barely loosing a round and often looking spectacular! I'd pick him over any Super middle in history and most if not all light heavys too.

His speed, power, reach and ability to avoid punches shade Calzaghe's similar merits. Joe has the better chin but I'd doubt his ability to find Roy's with any regularity.

I wouldn't rule Jones out against any of these guys but i have to admit that you are overrating him. He has never been in with a good enough guy that would make him fight so who knows how he would have done against the likes of Eubank, Benn, Calzaghe, Michael Spinks, Dwight Qawi, Bob Foster ect. These guys would have made Jones fight and dig deep.

This fight is a hard one to analyze, neither fighter have fought one that was as good as the other but i have to admit that Calzaghe has fought and beaten the bigger threats. Tough one to call but **** it, Jones by split decision.

[Mugwump]

As others have said, a very difficult fight to call. Calzaghe's prime is around the Lacy fight. The Calzaghe that beat Eubank would have been soundly defeated by a prime Roy. At that time Calzaghe - like many young boxers - over relied on his power. Roy would have picked him apart. Having brittle hands has made Calzaghe a better boxer. He has been forced to think more about his game, adjust his footwork, punch from different angles etc.

I can't make up my mind whether Roy's chin - at his prime weight - is fragile or not. His footwork and head movement meant he didn't get caught very often so it's difficult to be sure (although it's reasonable to argue he's no James Toney in this department). But this is a bit of a red-herring. If we're talking prime vs prime Calzaghe (at 34) probably wouldn't have the power for a clean KO.

Calzaghe would either be the man who applied enough pressure to force Roy to crack, or the inspiration for him to raise his game even further (to unimaginable levels). Certainly Joe would be his toughest challenge (especially when you think about the 6-8 year gap in experience (Roy's prime was around 27?)).

I favour Roy, but I don't rule out a Calzaghe victory on points or via TKO.

It would have been great to see Roy in with Eubank and Benn also. The latter would certainly have tested his beard.

[abadger]

As others have said, a very difficult fight to call. Calzaghe's prime is around the Lacy fight. The Calzaghe that beat Eubank would have been soundly defeated by a prime Roy. At that time Calzaghe - like many young boxers - over relied on his power. Roy would have picked him apart. Having brittle hands has made Calzaghe a better boxer. He has been forced to think more about his game, adjust his footwork, punch from different angles etc.

I can't make up my mind whether Roy's chin - at his prime weight - is fragile or not. His footwork and head movement meant he didn't get caught very often so it's difficult to be sure (although it's reasonable to argue he's no James Toney in this department). But this is a bit of a red-herring. If we're talking prime vs prime Calzaghe (at 34) probably wouldn't have the power for a clean KO.

Calzaghe would either be the man who applied enough pressure to force Roy to crack, or the inspiration for him to raise his game even further (to unimaginable levels). Certainly Joe would be his toughest challenge (especially when you think about the 6-8 year gap in experience (Roy's prime was around 27?)).

I favour Roy, but I don't rule out a Calzaghe victory on points or via TKO.

It would have been great to see Roy in with Eubank and Benn also. The latter would certainly have tested his beard.

Good post. This would have been a great fight, but outside of message boards I guess we'll never really know. In the real world they were just that little bit too far apart in terms of relative primes and experience for the fight to have been made at a time when we would have seen both fighters at their best.

A shame.
________
Threesome Mexican

[Left2body]

I wouldn't rule Jones out against any of these guys but i have to admit that you are overrating him. He has never been in with a good enough guy that would make him fight so who knows how he would have done against the likes of Eubank, Benn, Calzaghe, Michael Spinks, Dwight Qawi, Bob Foster ect. These guys would have made Jones fight and dig deep.

This fight is a hard one to analyze, neither fighter have fought one that was as good as the other but i have to admit that Calzaghe has fought and beaten the bigger threats. Tough one to call but **** it, Jones by split decision.

Are you SERIOUS?!! You think Kessler and Lacey (Calz's best two wins) are more of a threat than James Toney (was then #1p4p) and a young higher work rate Hopkins?

[K-Nan]

You just said Calzaghe comes CLOSER to Jones than to Roy than Hop or Toney. Than you said he can EQUALLY beat Jones (no problem with that thinking he is a damn good fighter) but you are contradicting yourself here. He is either equal to Roy or close enough to his skills to make the fight tough.
Calzaghe himself would have voted for Roy, he said he wanted nothing to do with him in his prime.

I was gonna come in here and say that, but you beat me to it. Calzaghe himself doesn't think he could. Why does everybody else?

[steptwome]

RJJ - No question

[Mugwump]

It's difficult to know how good THAT Toney was when you remember the ridiculous amount of weight he had to lose to make the fight:

Six weeks prior to the fight, Toney weight 214 pounds. At weigh in, he was down to 167, a loss of 47 pounds in just six weeks! After the weigh in, Toney was hooked up to intravenous tubes in order to replace lost body fluids, and they remained in his body all night. Just before entering the ring the next day, Toney weighed himself in the locker room: 186 pounds, meaning he had gained 19 pounds in less than 24 hours.

That MUST have had a massive effect on him.

[Tuggers1986]

Can't believe people have picked Joe here.

Who has Joe beat that compares to a prime JamesToney?? And Roy didn't only beat Toney. He dominated him.

Joe aint got the speed, power OR skills to compete with a prime Roy Jones Jr

[K-Nan]

It's difficult to know how good THAT Toney was when you remember the ridiculous amount of weight he had to lose to make the fight:



That MUST have had a massive effect on him.

You should also know that he was the most active fighter in boxing at the time, so he was doing it on a regular basis. He did it against Nunn, he did it against Barkely. The difference against Jones... was that it was against Jones.