How long does Kovalev last against Calzaghe?

[1lparm]

Kovalev stops him inside 5 for sure. Just too powerful and Calzaghe wouldn't have anything at all to keep him off or earn his respect.

People used to say the same thing about Lacy and then it was Kessler. Calzaghe was and still is underestimated but the man doesn't know how to lose and his ability to adjust mid fight is always overlooked. Kov can't make adjustments he has 1 style.

[Mooshashi]

Kovalev is already a legend in the boxing world. Calzaghe only has fans in the U.K. Kovalev breaks him down easily.

Interesting comment.....must have been a landslide of UK voters to get Joe inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame.....

[Scott9945]

If Kovalev bases his offense on that booming left jab, he'll be very tough to beat. Much respect to Joe C, but I don't think he has the firepower to keep Kovalev off.

[daggum]

Ffs man do you hear yourself you just compared campillo and cleverly to possibly the greatest smw of all time.....

There is not 1 single Kov opponent that Calzaghe would not have beaten and the Hopkins version Calzaghe beat was much closer to prime than the slower, faded version Kov couldn't stop. I understand you hate him but open your eyes man Calzaghe was the superior fighter even if you give Kov the edge is jabs and footwork he's a million miles slower and has far far less work rate than Joe and that's without mentioning that Joe had a world class jaw unlike Kov who has been dropped in his prime and shook last night against pascal.

where did i compare campillo and cleverly to calzaghe? nowhere. i said he destroyed all styles. those guys have somewhat similar styles to calzaghe but they aren't calzaghe. i didn't think i had to make that clear but some people need everything spelled out for them apparently.

calzaghe was completely dummied vs kabery salem and hit the deck hard vs byron mitchell so you giving him the chin edge is extremely dubious. also calzaghe will be facing kovalev who is a huge puncher and kovalev will be facing calzaghe who can't punch at all. that's how you break down a head to head fight. you dont just say chin! speed! footwoork! how do they match up against each other? calzaghe was a sh-it boxer from range. he had to get close to be effective at all. kovalev if you couldn't tell is great at controlling range. add to that his devastating power and calzaghe doesn't last long. calzaghe was very hesitant on the counters against even old hopkins yet you think he's going to walk through kovalev? sure makes no sense.

[Tay Roc]

Calzaghe via British Ref Stoppage

[babynuts]

You would have to pick Kovalev. Calzaghe was a career SMW who only went to LHW in his last 2 fights when he was basically in his late 30's.

Calzaghe has a lot of haters but what i will say is that his win over a prime undefeated Kessler is a very good win. When you consider Froch went life and death with a past prime Kessler and lost one of those fights. I always said the frustrating thing about Calzaghe is that he probably had the ability to beat many top fighters but maybe not the belief and desire. If he had fought more top level fighters, he might have lost some but i'm sure he would have beaten some very good fighters too and even with a couple of losses, he'd be much more respected. A very talented fighter in my opinion, but he could have done a lot more for his legacy. I believe that's why people hate on him, not through lack of ability, but lack of proving it.

[Dindu_Nuffin]

What? Kessler's chin is made of ****ing iron. He gets buckled but he goes the distance in a war. Kessler is a big, strong, powerful guy. Prime vs Prime it's a 50-50 fight. Please don't overrate Kovalev in fantasy fights, he's doing very well all on his own with real life fights. He doesn't need the GGG fans to come and add TKO wins to his resume now like they do with GGG. Kovalev is more likeable because he actually has really good wins.

This.

I don't know if I'd pick Kessler to beat Kovalev, but to say that Kessler's chin is anything less than world class, is rubbish.

It'd be a great fight... Kessler's jab could prove to be a problem - and he seemed to find his left hook a lot more later in his career.

[Dindu_Nuffin]

That's extremely harsh on Joe.

Unbiased match up

Power: Kov
Speed: Calzaghe
Stamina: Calzaghe
Jab: Calzaghe
Foot work: Calzaghe
Chin: Calzaghe
Experience: Both

So if you look at them both through unbiased eyes then Calzaghe is the superior fighter. Imo Kov hurts but doesn't stop Joe while he is out worked down the stretch losing a wide UD.

Kovalev has shown to have a better jab, IMO.

If only boxing matches were won on paper by checking off boxes...

It'd be a great fight - one for the ages.

[KnockoutNed]

Kovalev would blow him out.

[damit305]

I think Krusher manages to last the distance and loses a wide UD or maybe a late stoppage by Joe. Last night Kov showed he could be countered and he's never fought anyone with the blazing hand speed of Calzaghe, Joe also had massively underrated chin and power and we all know he had probably the greatest work rate of any lt heavy in recent memory. I think he just smothers Kov with his punches and doesn't let him get off.

This would be Calzaghe versus Lacy all over again