Calzaghe vs. Hagler @ 168

[daggum]

You must think B-Hop sucks. Remember he beat Tarver, And WW quite Handily, Not so much with Calzaghe though, who was at his worse that night and still came out on top. Calzaghe, years of wear and tear on his hands are starting to show.

he wasn't at his best cause he was fighting hopkins and no i don't think he sucks cause i think he beat calzaghe as most reasonable people thought. you can't use the wear and tear excuse when your in a fight with a 43 year old. doesn't work too well. still wondering how calzaghe came out on top in your mind without landing any punches. windmill hypnotism?

[Zocalo]

Anyone who picks Joe is clearly an idiot. They are not worthy to ever dignify a response on this forum.

[daggum]

Anyone who picks Joe is clearly an idiot. They are not worthy to ever dignify a response on this forum.

yeah its really quite sad and pathetic. i think they are windmill hypnotized. you should pay your respects to a real great fighter not some clown college dropout who can't hit nothing but air.

[slicksouthpaw16]

Calzaghe is not matching well against these straight counter punchers with punching power and he is also inexperienced against fellow southpaws. Hes simply too squared up when he throws and does not look good when the fight is at a technical standpoint. Thats where he would run into problems with Hagler. Hagler could not only box brilliantly, but he could also bring the fight to his opponent and out brawl them on the inside and wear them down that way and Calzaghe has been known for trading when discouraged. There is nothing that Calzaghe has that Hagler has never seen before or would be concerned about. I like Hagler by decison.

[slicksouthpaw16]

hagler would **** him and hopkins up in the same night.

Believe it or not, i would give Hopkins a better shot at beating Hagler than Robinson simply because Bernard was always a huge middlweight and would be physcally strong enough to imploy his game. Hopkins is a very crafty, cagey fighter that could out think Hagler and throw him out of his game with those rough house tactics. I think it would be a very close fight.

[BattlingNelson]

This is a more difficult matchup than most posters seem to think. Two major things would favor Calzaghe. The weight and the distance. Hagler was always comfortable at 160 and he was definetely a 15 round fighter. The fight being over 12 at 168 is not good for Hagler.

A prime Hagler was relentless with underrated boxing-skills and arguably a top-3 all-time MW. The pressure and determination Hagler possesed would surely not please Joe. But then again the volume and work-rate of Calzaghe wouldn't suit Hagler. There might be only one Marvin Hagler, but there certainly is also only one Joe Calzaghe.

The popular choice according to the poll is obviously Hagler and I also think he will win. But it would be a very close decision fight that I could see go either way.

Forget a stoppage. This is 2 of the best chins in boxing history.

[daggum]

This is a more difficult matchup than most posters seem to think. Two major things would favor Calzaghe. The weight and the distance. Hagler was always comfortable at 160 and he was definetely a 15 round fighter. The fight being over 12 at 168 is not good for Hagler.

A prime Hagler was relentless with underrated boxing-skills and arguably a top-3 all-time MW. The pressure and determination Hagler possesed would surely not please Joe. But then again the volume and work-rate of Calzaghe wouldn't suit Hagler. There might be only one Marvin Hagler, but there certainly is also only one Joe Calzaghe.

The popular choice according to the poll is obviously Hagler and I also think he will win. But it would be a very close decision fight that I could see go either way.

Forget a stoppage. This is 2 of the best chins in boxing history.

calzaghe's wide open amateur style would suit hagler just fine. hagler would land so many punches on calzaghe it's not even funny. there is no way he would survive the whole fight. best chin my ass he's getting knocked down by salem. hagler would eat him up.

[BattlingNelson]

calzaghe's wide open amateur style would suit hagler just fine. hagler would land so many punches on calzaghe it's not even funny. there is no way he would survive the whole fight. best chin my ass he's getting knocked down by salem. hagler would eat him up.

Look at Joe what do you see? He isn't a fighter who has taken a lot of punishment over a very long career. I am not a Calzaghe studier so I might be wrong, but I cannot think of any fight where Joe has taken more than 2-3 hard punches in succession and Joe has never looked even remotely hurt.

And remember that Hagler is not a big puncher at all.

[SorceryatCaesar]

depends on how much hagler respected calzaghe.

hagler was mediocre against duran and leonard because he was in awe of their fame and celebrity.

[slicksouthpaw16]

This is a more difficult matchup than most posters seem to think. Two major things would favor Calzaghe. The weight and the distance. Hagler was always comfortable at 160 and he was definetely a 15 round fighter. The fight being over 12 at 168 is not good for Hagler.

A prime Hagler was relentless with underrated boxing-skills and arguably a top-3 all-time MW. The pressure and determination Hagler possesed would surely not please Joe. But then again the volume and work-rate of Calzaghe wouldn't suit Hagler. There might be only one Marvin Hagler, but there certainly is also only one Joe Calzaghe.

The popular choice according to the poll is obviously Hagler and I also think he will win. But it would be a very close decision fight that I could see go either way.

Forget a stoppage. This is 2 of the best chins in boxing history.

I think that Hagler's punching power, infighting and counter punching ability would disrupt Calzaghe and make up think twice about coming in. No fighter has had success at bring the fight to Hagler. Joe's workrate could actually play against him rather than help him. You have to out box Hagler and out think him, which is why i believe that Hopkins could give him a run for his money. You make a good point about the size though, although Hagler was always in excellent condition.