Joe Calzaghe's brittle hands...

[deanrw]

Calzaghe was a teenager when he was told he could never box again...

I said it before. When Calzaghe knows he is in his last fight, he will be punching like he used to. No real need in saving them then. He might not load up, but he will have enough oomph so an opponent feels it.

[rizkybizness]

You are right. Pavlik holds back on his punches. He never loads up as it telegraphs. Imagine if he did swing for the fences?hehe

He'd be locked up for murder.

[abadger]

Well, I hardly need post this, since you already know what I'm going to say, but I agree with you 100%. I can only imagine what a full strength Calzaghe, able to sit down on every one of his shots might have done to Jeff Lacy and Mikkel Kessler, since he was able to hit both of them a great many times and when he did sit down, he hurt both of them. If he could throw with power consistently, I think we'd be looking at two KO victories against prime champs, and God alone knows what would have happened to Peter Manfedo!

That Joe, for me, would be P4P #1 based on talent alone, but as to whether he would be the actual P4P #1, it would depend on who he'd fought, and presumably he'd have fought the same guys he has done, meaning he'd still be P4P #2 - #4 as he is now. Still, its a huge shame that he did have to modify the way he fights, but testament to him that he is able to beat other fighters Plan A with his Plan B, and I don't think there are many other boxers out there who could manage to do that.

[abadger]

I said it before. When Calzaghe knows he is in his last fight, he will be punching like he used to. No real need in saving them then. He might not load up, but he will have enough oomph so an opponent feels it.

I doubt it. He might have beat Evans Ashira with one broken hand, but I doubt he'd fancy trying the same thing against Roy Jones or Kelly Pavlik. He's good, but i don't know if he's that good.

[Steak]

Calzaghe has always had that 'slap' sort of punch throughout his career, its just that long ago he used to put more power into them. really, hes always windmilled his punches, all the way back to the Eubank fight. doesnt matter, cause it worked for him.


just because he doesnt hit as hard doesnt mean hes not as good a fighter though. look at Winky Wright. he used to hit way harder, but he was a much more effective fighter when he stopped putting power behind his punches and relied mostly on boxing ability.

thats the kind of thing I see in Calzaghe, which is why I believe his prime was the Kessler fight. the old Calzaghe did not throw as much, was not as precise, did not have the variety he does nowadays, and did not have as good defence. he wasnt as quick, either

[x-PeROxiDE-x]

Assuming that's even true.... that doesn't change the point of my statement. In his early and mid boxing career problems with his hands were few and far between and didn't really start getting brought up until later.

Assuming nothing, it's a fact. He has always suffered from bad hands, even before he won his title. Just because you have never heard about it doesn't mean it didn't happen.

[BattlingNelson]

This has all been very common knowledge for many years.

Some of these posters have clearly not bothered to download his earlier fights. PM me for links if you wish to correct that.

To be honest I havent seen much of his earlier career. The first time I saw him was from the undercard of Tyson-Nielsen in Copenhagen, and he had the nights best performance by a mile.

So I'd like to see him as a kayo-artist (or at least with more power shots) if anyone can provide links to that I'd pass some green.

What I wonder is if Calzaghe relied more on power, he might leave himself more open for hard counter-shots, so maybe the brittle hands is a blessing in disguise as it has forced him to change his style.

A poster mentioned that Kessler has titaniumplates in his hand. Let me add that his american trainer Montoya is using a new technique taping up his right hand to protect a bad knuckle on his right hand. You can see his hand here on this recent shot: http://www.teampalle.dk/composite-1640.htm

(KrisSilver: I've found the link regarding Calzaghes potential stay at LHW. I'll post it in the thread.)

[BattlingNelson]

Well, I hardly need post this, since you already know what I'm going to say, but I agree with you 100%. I can only imagine what a full strength Calzaghe, able to sit down on every one of his shots might have done to Jeff Lacy and Mikkel Kessler, since he was able to hit both of them a great many times and when he did sit down, he hurt both of them. If he could throw with power consistently, I think we'd be looking at two KO victories against prime champs, and God alone knows what would have happened to Peter Manfedo!

That Joe, for me, would be P4P #1 based on talent alone, but as to whether he would be the actual P4P #1, it would depend on who he'd fought, and presumably he'd have fought the same guys he has done, meaning he'd still be P4P #2 - #4 as he is now. Still, its a huge shame that he did have to modify the way he fights, but testament to him that he is able to beat other fighters Plan A with his Plan B, and I don't think there are many other boxers out there who could manage to do that.

Not necessarily. As Calzaghe relies more on power, loading up on his punches, he might be more exposed for hard countershots.

[abadger]

Not necessarily. As Calzaghe relies more on power, loading up on his punches, he might be more exposed for hard countershots.

Yes he might.

[Steak]

Not necessarily. As Calzaghe relies more on power, loading up on his punches, he might be more exposed for hard countershots.

thats wha Ive always thought too. all you have to do is watch the Reid fight to see that.

like I said before, hes much like Winky Wright.