I would love to see Joe C. make a fight with.....

[MELLY-MEL...]

Bad Chad Dawson. I think that is the best fight for him. Chad would give joe all he could handle imo. Potential to be a great matchup. Thoughts?

[Dan...]

I agree however I don't think it is a good matchup for Joe. If this fight were to come off I would be picking Chad in a decision so I think Joe should steer clear. He can get a far easier fight with Pavlik that would actually do more for his legacy also.

[MANGLER]

I don't think Dawson has the skill to decision Calzaghe or the pop to KO him.

[Dan...]

I don't think Dawson has the skill to decision Calzaghe or the pop to KO him.

Obviously he would not knock Joe out but I just think Joe is starting to deteriorate and a young, quick and pretty skillful guy like Dawson would cause him serious problems IMO.

[abadger]

Bad Chad Dawson. I think that is the best fight for him. Chad would give joe all he could handle imo. Potential to be a great matchup. Thoughts?

In boxing terms, this is the best and most challenging fight Joe could take, though Tarver would not be far away either. First up, Joe is not really a LHW so although Dawson is not a big LHW, he would still be bigger, and I think at this stage he has both faster hands and feet than Joe. Immediately you have removed quite a number of Joe's usual advantages, and I actually think the size issue is maybe the most important, because what people don't realise about Joe is that he is almost always stronger than his opponent and will bully them if he can. This was a big part of the reason he struggled with Hopkins, who you could see was bulked up massively for the fight.

That aside, you have stylistic issues, Dawson is both lefty and a counterpuncher, which is about as far from the typical Joe opponent or favourable Joe style matchup as it is possible to get, so again Joe would have a lot to overcome, though it should be noted this probably goes both ways. The main advantage that Joe has is that although Dawson has superficially good boxing skills, he is not the best tactical boxer, i.e he doesn't always 1) put his skills to the best use or 2) know how to respond to his opponent. This is a massive plus in Joe's favour, as he is about the awkwardest most unpredictable customer there is and always does everything with a distinct goal in mind, and tries to stay several steps ahead of his opponent.

In short, this is a hard fight to call, I could envisage almost anything from Calzaghe one sidedly outclassing a befuddled Dawson to Dawson winning most rounds because Calzaghe can't impose himself and Dawson lands the cleaner harder shots. I have to say that if the counterpunching dawson can struggle with a tough but limited pressure fighter like Johnson then I'm sure Calzaghe could give him kittens, but the style and size matchups of the fighters I described would preclude me making any bold predictions because it would be something i think Calzaghe had not seen before and that might not suit him.

[AntonTheMeh]

i've wanted to see this more than the jones fight.right after the hopkins fight.

[MELLY-MEL...]

In boxing terms, this is the best and most challenging fight Joe could take, though Tarver would not be far away either. First up, Joe is not really a LHW so although Dawson is not a big LHW, he would still be bigger, and I think at this stage he has both faster hands and feet than Joe. Immediately you have removed quite a number of Joe's usual advantages, and I actually think the size issue is maybe the most important, because what people don't realise about Joe is that he is almost always stronger than his opponent and will bully them if he can. This was a big part of the reason he struggled with Hopkins, who you could see was bulked up massively for the fight.

That aside, you have stylistic issues, Dawson is both lefty and a counterpuncher, which is about as far from the typical Joe opponent or favourable Joe style matchup as it is possible to get, so again Joe would have a lot to overcome, though it should be noted this probably goes both ways. The main advantage that Joe has is that although Dawson has superficially good boxing skills, he is not the best tactical boxer, i.e he doesn't always a) put his skills to the best use or 2) know how to respond to his opponent. This is a massive plus in Joe's favour, as he is about the awkwardest most unpredictable customer there is and always does everything with a distinct goal in mind, and tries to stay several steps ahead of his opponent.

In short, this is a hard fight to call, I could envisage almost anything from Calzaghe one sidedly outclassing a befuddled Dawson to Dawson winning most rounds because Calzaghe can't impose himself and Dawson lands the cleaner harder shots. I have to say that if the counterpunching dawson can struggle with a tough but limited pressure fighter like Johnson then I'm sure Calzaghe could give him kittens, but the style and size matchups of the fighters I described would preclude me making any bold predictions because it would be something i think Calzaghe had not seen before and that might not suit him.

good post badge. i agree with much of it.