calzaghe vs woodhall

**x-PeROxiDE-x** · 06-01-2008, 02:35 PM

Originally posted by tennesseeboy

any of yall ever see richie woodhall fight calzaghe? richie was giving joe c all he could handle in that fight.. woodhall kinda reminded me of kessler in the way that he threw his punches.. not a bad fighter at all, kinda surprised me

Woodhall was a very good fighter in his day, and a deserving world champion in his own right.

**OptimusWolf** · 06-01-2008, 02:39 PM

Woodhall was similar to Kessler but with less power and an even more conventional european style. A good fighter but a better commentator, even if he is an Albion fan...

**The Monk** · 06-01-2008, 02:49 PM

Up until the stoppage Richie was really putting in a good performance. He was actually getting to Joe and his right hand was finding home very well indeed. In the end though the extra class that Calzaghe possessed became apparent. I actually managed to speak to Richie about the Calzaghe fight and his words were "too good, he was just too good"; I think theres a lot of past Calzaghe oppoenents who would agree.

In relation to Richie's career as a whole: he was never the most naturally gifted boxer, but he did make full use of what attributes he did have. He was a solid technician who knew how to fight. He has several past or future world champs on his resume and thoroughly deserved to win a world title. Top bloke as well.

**tennesseeboy** · 06-01-2008, 06:40 PM

yeah monk i was very impressed with his style, and heart.. i think him and joec have (had) a lot of respect for one another. actually believe they were good friends out of the ring.. the commentators were complaining that it was a quick stoppage, but never saw a hint of complaining from richie which tells the tale there..

**The Monk** · 06-01-2008, 06:58 PM

Originally posted by tennesseeboy

yeah monk i was very impressed with his style, and heart.. i think him and joec have (had) a lot of respect for one another. actually believe they were good friends out of the ring.. the commentators were complaining that it was a quick stoppage, but never saw a hint of complaining from richie which tells the tale there..

Yes, I know they are very good friends these days. I personally felt the stoppage was the correct one. Richie was getting increasingly hit as the fight went on and was in a lot of trouble IMO. You said about Richies reaction to the stoppage, its so true, a lot of todays boxing would do well to act follow the example of Richie Woodhall inside and outside of the ring. Currently, Richie is a commentator for Setanta over here in the UK and does a great job. You can really get a sense of his love and knowledge for the sport.

**Kris Silver** · 06-01-2008, 07:02 PM

He's a very good commentator, funny at times, easy going bloke, and very knowledgeable, un biased. Didn't know he was good friends with Calzaghe to this day, interesting.

**RichCCFC** · 06-01-2008, 07:08 PM

They are very good friends indeed.

It was a good fight, Woodhall is one of many underrated Calzaghe opponents.

**abadger** · 06-01-2008, 08:05 PM

Since you just posted about it, I rewatched the fight just now, and I agree with you completely about the Kessler comparsion. Woodhall was nowhere near as good as Kessler technically or talentwise, but his style was very similar indeed. It was also similar to the Kessler fight in that from R4 on Joe started slipping Woodhall's right hand, sometimes with lateral movement and at others with defensive head movement, a bit like James Toney actually!

I don't think Woodhall ever had Calzaghe in any kind of trouble though, I thought Calzaghe was a definite class above him and was never troubled even when he took Woodhall's best shots. I'd say Calzaghe was boxing pretty well within himself for most of the fight and was never forced into the kind of gear Eubank had forced him into previously.

There is no doubt in my mind though, that modern Calzaghe is much better than that one, I think he is now quicker and more intelligent on his feet. Calzaghe has frequently said though that he is basically a reactive fighter who fights as well as he needs too to beat his opponent, which to be fair has been borne out by his performances since. A good watch, and no doubt, Woodhall is a top bloke, easily the best commentator on the UK TV scene.

**Kris Silver** · 06-02-2008, 05:29 AM

Originally posted by abadger

Since you just posted about it, I rewatched the fight just now, and I agree with you completely about the Kessler comparsion. Woodhall was nowhere near as good as Kessler technically or talentwise, but his style was very similar indeed. It was also similar to the Kessler fight in that from R4 on Joe started slipping Woodhall's right hand, sometimes with lateral movement and at others with defensive head movement, a bit like James Toney actually!

I don't think Woodhall ever had Calzaghe in any kind of trouble though, I thought Calzaghe was a definite class above him and was never troubled even when he took Woodhall's best shots. I'd say Calzaghe was boxing pretty well within himself for most of the fight and was never forced into the kind of gear Eubank had forced him into previously.

There is no doubt in my mind though, that modern Calzaghe is much better than that one, I think he is now quicker and more intelligent on his feet. Calzaghe has frequently said though that he is basically a reactive fighter who fights as well as he needs too to beat his opponent, which to be fair has been borne out by his performances since. A good watch, and no doubt, Woodhall is a top bloke, easily the best commentator on the UK TV scene.

Great points, I've not seen the fight in full though seen a few others around that time of late inc; Brewer. Learned a couple of interesting things out of this topic, one being Woodhall and Calzaghe being good friends to this day, the other Calzaghe openly saying he's a reactive fighter. Not talked about often, but fights like the Woodhall one, and others, show he has plenty in reserve to raise his game if needs be.

It's almost as if he's safely, cleverly trying to keep a decent margin, without putting himself at too much risk. But then, especially in those days, he'd often go gunning for his opponent and had a great KO record, even going for it later on sometimes now. To be fair, it's fitting 7/10 he does that more when his opponent has tried to seriously hurt him, so he's right about his warrior instincts and a word not as oftenly associated, reactions.

Like Woodhall a lot, we do ok on commentarors in the UK really. Probably prefer Barry McGuigan - shows a little more personality and personal touch for me, like his laid back style too.

calzaghe vs woodhall