Joe Calzaghe vs Andre Ward

[robertzimmerman]

Ho you sure are being objective.

So Joe scrapped by Hopkins and Dre didn't scrap by Kova in the first fight?

Very simple, Joe is a better fighter than Kovalev, stronger mentally and also very akward to fight.

Joe and Kovalev are 2 completely different fighters.

You are looking at 2 completely different fights.

Yes, Andre had a very close fight with Kovalev.

Yes, he fought 20 rounds against him. Which means what? That he couldn't have beaten Joe?

What sort of logic is that?

Andre couldn't have beaten Joe over 12 rounds, because he took 20 to beat Kovalev across 2 fights?

It's nonsense.

How about me saying: How could Joe have beaten Andre, when he struggled with Reid, Hopkins and Bika?

It's obvious that a fight between them would have been extremely difficult for both fighters. But using the fact that Kovalev out boxed him at times as some sort of evidence that Joe would have won, is nonsense. Again, Joe was out boxed by much lesser fighters.

[robertzimmerman]

Mitchell wasn't a C class fighter, he was a world champion.

Dre got dropped by Boone.

Joe would have overwhelmed mentally and physically Kovalev.

So what if he was a world champion?

He was a C class fighter.

His claim to fame was beating a faded Liles.

That was his only noteworthy win.

He was regularly beaten by other B and C class fighters.

[Chollo Vista]

Very interesting matchup. I'm not sure

[Chollo Vista]

Joe had a very high work rate.

Can Ward's clinching and inside fighting and body punches slow Joe down over time?

If you say yes, Ward wins.
If you say no, Joe wins

[robertzimmerman]

How do you know that?

Because I watched Joe's career in it's entirety.


He killed himself to make SMW, coming down from 190 plus pounds, when he could have targeted bigger names and better fights at LHW.

He stayed at SMW for 14 years.

In the early 00's, he remained at SMW even though he knew that Ottke wouldn't fight a unification, and there were no other big fights on the horizon at the time.

He defended a lightly regarded WBO belt for 10 years, racking up 21 defences, where only 7 of those fights were mandatories.

He was happy to fight the Mkrtchyan's of the world, even in his 30's.

He wouldn't fight the likes of Tarver, Pavlik or Dawson, stating that they hadn't impressed him and they didn't warrant a fight. This was despite the fact that he was happy to fight guys like Manfredo and Bika, 2 reality TV fighters.

He wouldn't fight Roy Jones in his peak, stating that he didn't want tough fights, yet he was happy to fight him in 2008, after saying that he'd been washed up since 2004.

He was absolutely desperate to retire unbeaten.


That's how I know.

It's absolutely laughable to even suggest that he'd have fought a dangerous, prime LHW in Kovalev.

I agree that he possessed the physical qualities/attributes needed to have beaten Kovalev, but he sure didn't possess the mental strength that would have been required.

He would never have put his unbeaten record on the line against such a dangerous opponent.

He didn't take those kinds of risks, because he wasn't overly ambitious.

[Chollo Vista]

Because I watched Joe's career in it's entirety.


He killed himself to make SMW, coming down from 190 plus pounds, when he could have targeted bigger names and better fights at LHW.

He stayed at SMW for 14 years.

In the early 00's, he remained at SMW even though he knew that Ottke wouldn't fight a unification, and there were no other big fights on the horizon at the time.

He defended a lightly regarded WBO belt for 10 years, racking up 21 defences, where only 7 of those fights were mandatories.

He was happy to fight the Mkrtchyan's of the world, even in his 30's.

He wouldn't fight the likes of Tarver, Pavlik or Dawson, stating that they hadn't impressed him and they didn't warrant a fight. This was despite the fact that he was happy to fight guys like Manfredo and Bika, 2 reality TV fighters.

He wouldn't fight Roy Jones in his peak, stating that he didn't want tough fights, yet he was happy to fight him in 2008, after saying that he'd been washed up since 2004.

He was absolutely desperate to retire unbeaten.


That's how I know.

It's absolutely laughable to even suggest that he'd have fought a dangerous, prime LHW in Kovalev.

I agree that he possessed the physical qualities/attributes needed to have beaten Kovalev, but he sure didn't possess the mental strength that would have been required.

He would never have put his unbeaten record on the line against such a dangerous opponent.

He didn't take those kinds of risks, because he wasn't overly ambitious.

Good post.. However I can see someone mentioning Kessler and Lacy as a counter. Personally, I've never been big on Kessler. The Lacy win was good and was Joe's coming out party after how many years in the game?

[robertzimmerman]

Good post.. However I can see someone mentioning Kessler and Lacy as a counter. Personally, I've never been big on Kessler. The Lacy win was good and was Joe's coming out party after how many years in the game?

They were great wins for Joe. But fighting Lacy and Kessler at SMW, doesn't compare to fighting Kovalev at LHW.

The fact that Joe only fought at LHW for the final year of his 15 year career, speaks volumes.

Anybody who thinks that Joe would have signed to fight Kovalev, is kidding themselves.

[Chollo Vista]

They were great wins for Joe. But fighting Lacy and Kessler at SMW, doesn't compare to fighting Kovalev at LHW.

The fact that Joe only fought at LHW for the final year of his 15 year career, speaks volumes.

Anybody who thinks that Joe would have signed to fight Kovalev, is kidding themselves.

That's what I'm saying. Over the course of Joe's career, his biggest fights were Lacy and Kessler.

[revs1227]

dirty fight closer than people think ..both guys always find a way to win.. always

[robertzimmerman]

That's what I'm saying. Over the course of Joe's career, his biggest fights were Lacy and Kessler.

Yes.

Joe should have moved up to LHW much sooner.