Joe Calzaghe vs Andre Ward

[robertzimmerman]

I think he meant better complexion....

Ha!

This is a fun thread.

[BattlingNelson]

This is a great post.

But some points are missing though.

Regarding Joe, you have to take into context, that Kessler fought him with a broken hand that needed surgery afterwards. Hell Kessler didn't spar for Joe.

Regarding Andre, you have to take his fouling into consideration. Surely his fight with Kessler would have been a dq loss in any other country and his fights against Kovalev is dubious to say the least. Another thing is his win over the extremely drained Dawson. Looks good on paper, but in reality it isn't worth much. Remember also that Dawson was ko'ed by Miranda the week before the fight.

So again. Context gentlemen.

[robertzimmerman]

Joe was not good enough to make it a tough fight.

No offense....no defense...no courage.

I think if Joe had been 100% confident and he'd have fought to his full capabilities, he'd have been very awkward for Andre. But realistically, he probably wouldn't have taken the fight.

[robertzimmerman]

But some points are missing though.

Regarding Joe, you have to take into context, that Kessler fought him with a broken hand that needed surgery afterwards. Hell Kessler didn't spar for Joe.

Regarding Andre, you have to take his fouling into consideration. Surely his fight with Kessler would have been a dq loss in any other country and his fights against Kovalev is dubious to say the least. Another thing is his win over the extremely drained Dawson. Looks good on paper, but in reality it isn't worth much. Remember also that Dawson was ko'ed by Miranda the week before the fight.

So again. Context gentlemen.

I agree with most of this.

I don't give Andre much credit for his win over Chad, as I read John Scully's account of the nightmare that he had losing weight. But if Joe had beaten him, I'm sure many of his fans would have given him a pass. They think Joe's win over Eubank was great.

Regarding the Kovalev fights, I think Andre won the first one, and although the rematch was stopped prematurely, Kovalev had nothing left to give at that point. And only the last blow was low, and I don't think it was intentional. It also wasn't ridiculously low like in the Bowe-Golota fight.

Not many people talk about Kessler being injured against Joe, and I agree that Andre's fight against Kessler was rough.

[hugh grant]

JC would win, he wouldn't be drained and wards below belt punches wouldn't effect JC.

Ward would just be the next lacy to expose JC and would get beaten by JCS volume. Not punch bag like lacy though

[MDPopescu]

... context-wise... Ward beats anybody anytime, anywhere in the U.S...

... while Joe gets a "win" in the U.K...

[Kigali]

JC would win, he wouldn't be drained and wards below belt punches wouldn't effect JC.

Ward would just be the next lacy to expose JC and would get beaten by JCS volume. Not punch bag like lacy though

If Slappy Joe had the goods to beat Ward......he did a damn good job hiding it.

What kind of a soft wimp would idolize trash like Joey Calzone??

[Madison Boxing]

In a fantasy fight between Joe and Godzilla, you'd favour Joe based on his work rate.

i would if godzilla got down to 168

[petero]

Andre wouldn't have had to fake low blows to catch his breath. Because he's obviously not 43 years old.

Joe being the longest reigning champ at SMW isn't a huge accomplishment. It just shows a lack of ambition. Nobody else would have squeezed themselves down from 190 pounds to spend 14 years there.

His 21 WBO defences weren't that great either. Look at who he fought. They were mostly B and C class fighters, and only 7 of the defences were mandatories.

Say what you want, It's a record that still stands & within 6yrs of retirement he was in the H.O.F. And Hopkins wasn't "old" at 43, he had major victories after he got beat.
It's hard to believe how people can't acknowledge success. Joe is a legend 46-0. 21 title defenses retiring undefeated. Not much else could be said.

[petero]

Joe had 0 offense....poor defense....and the courage of a squirrel.

Speaking of the HOF

Joe has an entire wing dedicated to him in the cowards HOF

People are amused at how ignorant you are. Your posts are always good for a laugh.