Dawson, Pavlik, or Johnson: Who would have the best chance of beating Calzaghe??

[dannyl15]

I see Hopkins or even Johnson as the only ones who could have a chance against Calzaghe, Calzaghe can be hurt and Hopkins looked like he was rocking Calzaghe a couple times, even if he was just buzzing him. Johnson at his best is better than Dawson that is why I put him in there as well. Other then them I really don't see any one else beating him really. Dawson could possibly pull an upset but I highly doubt it.

[Silencers]

Good post, that's why i have Dawson winning against Calzaghe. I think hes naturally too big for Joe do his normal volume punching against and i think hes too good of a boxer for Calzaghe to out box from the outside. Dawson also has the much better experience against southpaws. I just see Joe being vulnerable when he follows Dawson on to the ropes( because Dawson loves to throw that counter right hook( which he did against Tarver and Adamek and stunned them both with it, and they both have world class chins) and i can't see him matching Dawson on the outside either, which limits his chances.

I don't think Calzaghe would have too much problems with Dawson's size and the thing with Dawson sometimes is that he gives away his height, he's 6'3 but he sometimes fights 6'0 because he bends down or spreads his legs pretty far apart which gives a couple of inches away to his opponents.

And there's no guarantee that Dawson would be able to land counter hooks against Calzaghe, Calzaghe is a tough guy to hit, especially as his fights go on, he's most vulnerable in the opening parts of fights because it takes him a few rounds to adapt to his opponents.

Last time Dawson was in against a very good pressure fighter was when he fought Johnson and he looked anything but spectacular, he may have learned something from that fight, I believe he's become a better fighter but he'll need to prove that to us whenever he faces a guy who puts pressure on him from the get go. Calzaghe would do that.

Dawson also lets his opponents get inside on him, he does have a very good skills on the outside and on the inside but if he allows Calzaghe to get inside on him, he's in trouble IMO because Calzaghe is the better inside fighter and Calzaghe is no slouch on the outside either, he has a very good jab, he doesn't use it much with conviction though because he hasn't really needed to.

I just think Calzaghe's experience would win him the fight, he's a fast guy himself, I think Dawson would have success early but like he always does, Calzaghe would adapt as the fight goes on and wins a decision, it would be a very tough fight for him though.

I do give Dawson the best chance of beating Calzaghe though, apart from Hopkins.

[IMDAZED]

You'd be foolish to pick a fighter to beat Calzaghe based on whether or not they can hurt him. He has, if anything, shown amazing recuperative skills throughout his tenure. Dawson has a little bit of every ingredient and is by far the clear standout in others (compared to the rest of the guys on the list). He's easily the clear choice, especially if a Hopkins rematch won't take place.

[Dirk Diggler UK]

Hopkins would probably always come closest just by purely spoiling.

Then its Dawson. His youth and speed would cause Joe early trouble at this stage of his career. But again, I think it would pan out like the Kessler fight. Dawson isnt experienced enough and wont have seen anything remotely like Calzaghe before. I can see him being bemused by it, hell Roy and Hopkins were so I dont see Chad faring too well under the pressure.

If Joe has one more fight, it should be Dawson imo.

[theghost#1]

Calzaghe would be the favorite over any of these guys. B- hop probably still has the best chance, second Dawson.

[dannyl15]

I hate when people say they have fast recuperation ability because they act like it compensates for the fact that they just got rocked. The fact of the matter is as a boxer you should be cautious at all times and avoid that big punch every single second you are in that ring, it's great to take risk for the excitement, but know when to fight and when to cover up.

[slicksouthpaw16]

I don't think Calzaghe would have too much problems with Dawson's size and the thing with Dawson sometimes is that he gives away his height, he's 6'3 but he sometimes fights 6'0 because he bends down or spreads his legs pretty far apart which gives a couple of inches away to his opponents.


And there's no guarantee that Dawson would be able to land counter hooks against Calzaghe, Calzaghe is a tough guy to hit, especially as his fights go on, he's most vulnerable in the opening parts of fights because it takes him a few rounds to adapt to his opponents.

I think Calzaghe would have ALOT of problems with size simply because he uses it to his advantage. When has Dawson given his height away against a smaller boxer? Dawson out boxed Tarver and didn't give his chances to land anything significant, and he out boxed Johnson and banged with him when he had to. What we have to realize is that Johnson an 100% pressure fighter, where as Calzaghe is about 50% pressure and 50% technical boxer.

Calzaghe is always vulnerable when he comes in. We should take a look back at the Hopkins fight. I'm not sure if Bernard missed with a single right hand lead. Straight counter punchers will always be a night mare against a fighter with looping punches, and Hopkins and Jones both exploited that flaw everytime they had they stamina to do it. The right hook is not the only think Joe is vulnerable to, why was Kessler and Jones able to land so many uppercuts on Joe? Joe has been down in his last fights, will he be able to handle Dawson's counter right uppercut( which he always throws against southpaws) or right hook? I'm not sure if we know the answer to that question, i think many people underestimate Dawson's size.

Last time Dawson was in against a very good pressure fighter was when he fought Johnson and he looked anything but spectacular, he may have learned something from that fight, I believe he's become a better fighter but he'll need to prove that to us whenever he faces a guy who puts pressure on him from the get go. Calzaghe would do that.

You have to pay attention to the fact that Johnson has power and snap on his punches and not only that, but hes physically stronger than Calzaghe is and comes in with a high guard. Joe comes in with flurries and they are not intended to do damage, but to only score points. He also doesn't press fights as much as Johnson does. Many boxing observers that i spole to agreed with me that Johnson's high guard and ability to block punches while coming forward ofsetted Dawson's rthymn, and he couldn't land punches so he started to trade a lot which left himself vulnerable. Since when has Calzaghe came in with a high guard? He has good defense in the middle of the ring, but he does square himself up when he comes in.

Dawson also lets his opponents get inside on him, he does have a very good skills on the outside and on the inside but if he allows Calzaghe to get inside on him, he's in trouble IMO because Calzaghe is the better inside fighter and Calzaghe is no slouch on the outside either, he has a very good jab, he doesn't use it much with conviction though because he hasn't really needed to.

Again we are taking this only from the Johnson fight. What other opponent got on the inside of Dawson and stayed there? Here are just some important keys that we need to know when comparing Calzaghe and Johnson.

1. Johnson has power
2. Johnson comes in with a high guard
3. Johnson pressures you for every minute of every round and is not a boxer
4. Calzaghe is a southpaw

Also, Calzaghe is a great inside fighter but Dawson is ''no slouch'' on the inside either. You should see the kind of combinations he was throwing against Eric Harding( another southpaw) and Tarver when they were breifly on the inside, and Dawson is known for his body punching. I have never seen Joe fight another southpaw before either, so we don't know how he would match against this one.

I just think Calzaghe's experience would win him the fight, he's a fast guy himself, I think Dawson would have success early but like he always does, Calzaghe would adapt as the fight goes on and wins a decision, it would be a very tough fight for him though.

I do give Dawson the best chance of beating Calzaghe though, apart from Hopkins.

Great opinion and MANY people will agree, but i think different. I don't think Joe would be able to get his punches off the way he would like to, because i see Dawson timing him with straight hard punches on the way in and using his naturally bigger size, speed, jab, height and reach to control Joe, who has never in his career seen this kind of fighter. I think there's a reason why he never brings this fight up in any interview about future opponents, even before he beat Kessler and that was the same time he was talking about Woods as a possible opponent.

[Silencers]

I think Calzaghe would have ALOT of problems with size simply because he uses it to his advantage. When has Dawson given his height away against a smaller boxer? Dawson out boxed Tarver and didn't give his chances to land anything significant, and he out boxed Johnson and banged with him when he had to. What we have to realize is that Johnson an 100% pressure fighter, where as Calzaghe is about 50% pressure and 50% technical boxer.

Calzaghe is always vulnerable when he comes in. We should take a look back at the Hopkins fight. I'm not sure if Bernard missed with a single right hand lead. Straight counter punchers will always be a night mare against a fighter with looping punches, and Hopkins and Jones both exploited that flaw everytime they had they stamina to do it. The right hook is not the only think Joe is vulnerable to, why was Kessler and Jones able to land so many uppercuts on Joe? Joe has been down in his last fights, will he be able to handle Dawson's counter right uppercut( which he always throws against southpaws) or right hook? I'm not sure if we know the answer to that question, i think many people underestimate Dawson's size.

He gave a lot of his height away to Johnson on the inside by leaning in, allowing Johnson to find him without too much difficulty, Johnson and Calzaghe are the same height, 5'11.

That is true but Calzaghe can be a more pressure fighter than technical boxer when he sees fit to switch to that type of style, as we saw against Hopkins, he became more pressure fighter than technical boxer when he figured he couldn't outbox Hopkins.

As I said, Calzaghe is vulnerable early in the fight, that's when he's really squared up with chin high and all that stuff but as the fight goes on, his technique gets better, maybe it's because he gets warmed up or maybe he just finds out what his opponents do and neutralizes what they do accordingly.

You have to pay attention to the fact that Johnson has power and snap on his punches and not only that, but hes physically stronger than Calzaghe is and comes in with a high guard. Joe comes in with flurries and they are not intended to do damage, but to only score points. He also doesn't press fights as much as Johnson does. Many boxing observers that i spole to agreed with me that Johnson's high guard and ability to block punches while coming forward ofsetted Dawson's rthymn, and he couldn't land punches so he started to trade a lot which left himself vulnerable. Since when has Calzaghe came in with a high guard? He has good defense in the middle of the ring, but he does square himself up when he comes in.

Calzaghe's punching power is underrated, it's exactly as Jones said, he throws a ton of punches then sneaks a power punch in there that hurts, and Jones did say after the fight that those punches hurt more than he expected them to so Calzaghe's power is good, Johnson's do probably have more snap on them though. Calzaghe comes in with angles, he uses his footwork and feints to get inside, it's not only flurries. What's to say Calzaghe's angle and jerky movement won't offset Dawson's rhythm?

Again we are taking this only from the Johnson fight. What other opponent got on the inside of Dawson and stayed there? Here are just some important keys that we need to know when comparing Calzaghe and Johnson.

1. Johnson has power
2. Johnson comes in with a high guard
3. Johnson pressures you for every minute of every round and is not a boxer
4. Calzaghe is a southpaw

Also, Calzaghe is a great inside fighter but Dawson is ''no slouch'' on the inside either. You should see the kind of combinations he was throwing against Eric Harding( another southpaw) and Tarver when they were breifly on the inside, and Dawson is known for his body punching. I have never seen Joe fight another southpaw before either, so we don't know how he would match against this one.

Tarver was on the inside with Dawson as well, he just couldn't do anything about it, they were glove to glove quite a bit in the fight.

I already answered those points.

Dawson can hold his own on the inside, especially with body punches, he digs a mean right hook to the body but Calzaghe is the better inside fighter of the two.

Great opinion and MANY people will agree, but i think different. I don't think Joe would be able to get his punches off the way he would like to, because i see Dawson timing him with straight hard punches on the way in and using his naturally bigger size, speed, jab, height and reach to control Joe, who has never in his career seen this kind of fighter. I think there's a reason why he never brings this fight up in any interview about future opponents, even before he beat Kessler and that was the same time he was talking about Woods as a possible opponent.

Dawson has never seen anyone like Calzaghe either, not many fighters have seen fighters like Calzaghe across the ring from them and Calzaghe is one of the toughest guys to time in the sport, Dawson isn't the type of fighter to time opponents.

Calzaghe's points are valid about Dawson though, not many people know him at the moment, he's mainly known by the hardcore boxing fan and wouldn't present him the big money fight that he wants, maybe the rumored March 14th date on HBO will change that.

[slicksouthpaw16]

He gave a lot of his height away to Johnson on the inside by leaning in, allowing Johnson to find him without too much difficulty, Johnson and Calzaghe are the same height, 5'11.

That is true but Calzaghe can be a more pressure fighter than technical boxer when he sees fit to switch to that type of style, as we saw against Hopkins, he became more pressure fighter than technical boxer when he figured he couldn't outbox Hopkins.

As i stated before, Johnson is a pressure fighter that was willing to take something to get it because that's his only style of fighting. Their styles are nothing alike so we can't say ''Johnson is a pressure fighter so Joe would give him trouble as well''. Honestly Joe has pulled out of a fight with Johnson two times( in Johnson's words) so we really don't what would have happened between them two. Its easy to say that a fighters has a bad style for him unless they actually get in the ring.

Calzaghe is a boxer first then speed volume puncher and he only punches in volume when he has an opponent figured out, i don't think Dawson would allow him to think. Another thing i should mention is that Calzaghe has adjusted to brawlers and one dimensional boxers, but not quite done so well against fighters that are versatile such as Reid and Hopkins. He actually won close controversial decisions in both of those fights.

Calzaghe's punching power is underrated, it's exactly as Jones said, he throws a ton of punches then sneaks a power punch in there that hurts, and Jones did say after the fight that those punches hurt more than he expected them to so Calzaghe's power is good, Johnson's do probably have more snap on them though. Calzaghe comes in with angles, he uses his footwork and feints to get inside, it's not only flurries. What's to say Calzaghe's angle and jerky movement won't offset Dawson's rhythm?

If Calzaghe's power was underrated, then he would have knocked out Jones the way Johnson and Tarver did. I didn't even see him rattle Jones at all. He has great foot work, however again that is against a certain type of style. Against Hopkins and Reid, his foot work was non existent because they were playing the role of the counter puncher, and Dawson would do the same however he is bigger and stronger than Hopkins, so his punches will have much more effect and Joe will think twice about coming in. Jones and Hopkins both had this game plan, but neither had the stamina to do keep it up throughout the fight but was in control when they did. If anyone questions Dawson's stamina, then i would be glad to point them to the Johnson fight.

Tarver was on the inside with Dawson as well, he just couldn't do anything about it, they were glove to glove quite a bit in the fight.

Dawson can hold his own on the inside, especially with body punches, he digs a mean right hook to the body but Calzaghe is the better inside fighter of the two.

That's because Dawson was too strong and Dawson was holding his guard up to where he couldn't be hit in the neither the head or the body and Tarver is a lot stronger than Joe is. I also don't think the judges would let Joe ''slap'' his way through this one, Dawson would be landing the cleaner and more effective blows throughout because he IS the harder puncher and his blows will be telling.

Dawson has never seen anyone like Calzaghe either, not many fighters have seen fighters like Calzaghe across the ring from them and Calzaghe is one of the toughest guys to time in the sport, Dawson isn't the type of fighter to time opponents.

Dawson has fought about 6 southpaws and many of them being world class fighters, now tell me what southpaw Joe has fought and which young versatile elite fighter has he fought?

Also, elaborate on how Dawson doesn't ''time opponents''? I have analyze almost all of Dawson's fight, and trust me, many of his opponents have ran into some vicious counters. Also, check out one of the early rounds against Tarver. He waited for him to lead, Tarver threw a straight left and Dawson times a big right hook that snapped his head sideways. You should revisit Dawson.

Calzaghe's points are valid about Dawson though, not many people know him at the moment, he's mainly known by the hardcore boxing fan and wouldn't present him the big money fight that he wants, maybe the rumored March 14th date on HBO will change that.

Think about it like this, is Kessler more accomplished or is a better fighter than Dawson is? These are two of the best light heavyweight, Dawson is a two time world champion has wins over the best light heavy's. His fight against Tarver got him some press, and in the U.S.A hes much bigger than Kessler. Joe had no problem fighting him or Manfredo recently.

[Silencers]

As i stated before, Johnson is a pressure fighter that was willing to take something to get it because that's his only style of fighting. Their styles are nothing alike so we can't say ''Johnson is a pressure fighter so Joe would give him trouble as well''. Honestly Joe has pulled out of a fight with Johnson two times( in Johnson's words) so we really don't what would have happened between them two. Its easy to say that a fighters has a bad style for him unless they actually get in the ring.

Calzaghe is a boxer first then speed volume puncher and he only punches in volume when he has an opponent figured out, i don't think Dawson would allow him to think. Another thing i should mention is that Calzaghe has adjusted to brawlers and one dimensional boxers, but not quite done so well against fighters that are versatile such as Reid and Hopkins. He actually won close controversial decisions in both of those fights.

Calzaghe is a pressure fighter as well, as Steward said on the broadcast of the Hopkins-Calzaghe fight, no one has put that kind of pressure on Hopkins, his pressure just isn't as intense as Johnson's but make no mistake, Calzaghe can be a very effective pressure fighter.

Calzaghe had valid reasons for pulling out, he has had a history of injuries.

He outworked Reid so he does punch in volume when he doesn't have his opponent figured out and he broke his hand in that fight as well I think so that could have contributed to his performance, and I think the consensus had Calzaghe winning that fight, it was just a close fight and people were not used to seeing Calzaghe in that type of situation so they called it controversial, it's happened before.

If Calzaghe's power was underrated, then he would have knocked out Jones the way Johnson and Tarver did. I didn't even see him rattle Jones at all. He has great foot work, however again that is against a certain type of style. Against Hopkins and Reid, his foot work was non existent because they were playing the role of the counter puncher, and Dawson would do the same however he is bigger and stronger than Hopkins, so his punches will have much more effect and Joe will think twice about coming in. Jones and Hopkins both had this game plan, but neither had the stamina to do keep it up throughout the fight but was in control when they did. If anyone questions Dawson's stamina, then i would be glad to point them to the Johnson fight.

I never said he was a huge puncher, he's not but his power is underrated, he did hurt Jones in the 7th (?) I think it was, he had Jones sliding on the ropes and Steward keenly pointed out that Jones was hurt, I think it was from a straight left hand and he wore down Hopkins IMO, that's some good power.

He used his footwork against Hopkins to get in and out, he also used it to create angles for his punches and to get out of the way of Hopkins' punches, he wasn't always successful but it worked for the most part and Hopkins' timing is still amongst the best in the sport which is amazing.

He used his footwork against Reid too.

As I said, Dawson is not the type of fighter who times his opponent the way Hopkins does and he's not nearly as crisp a counterpuncher, he's a fast handed fighter, no doubt but he's not as technically good as Hopkins and I'm not sure if Dawson punches harder than Hopkins or Jones with one punch.

They had gameplans but Calzaghe adapting played a big part in taking it away from them as well, it wasn't just because they didn't have the stamina, we don't know how Dawson would react to Calzaghe's adaptability.

That's because Dawson was too strong and Dawson was holding his guard up to where he could be hit in the neither the head or the body and Tarver is a lot stronger than Joe is. I also don't think the referee would let Joe ''slap'' his way through this one, Dawson would be landing the cleaner and more effective blows throughout because he IS the harder puncher and his blows will be telling.

Or Tarver was old and couldn't get his punches as effectively as he used to, I'm not by any means saying Tarver is done but Calzaghe is much closer to his prime than Tarver is.

Dawson has fought about 6 southpaws and many of them being world class fighters, now tell me what southpaw Joe has fought and which young versatile elite fighter has he fought?

Also, elaborate on how Dawson doesn't ''time opponents''? I have analyze almost all of Dawson's fight, and trust me, many of his opponents have ran into some vicious counters. Also, check out one of the early rounds against Tarver. He waited for him to lead, Tarver threw a straight left and Dawson times a big right hook that snapped his head sideways. You should revisit Dawson.

Who would these world class fighters be? An old Tarver and an old Eric Harding? He hasn't fought a southpaw like Calzaghe. Who would be the experienced versatile and adaptable fighter that Dawson has fought? Works both ways.

I'm not saying he can't time opponents, but he's not the sort who does it like a Hopkins or a Jones, he uses his movement and jab to set up his shots against opponents and then punches in bunches when they are open.

Think about it like this, is Kessler more accomplished or is a better fighter than Dawson is? These are two of the best light heavyweight, Dawson is a two time world champion has wins over the best light heavy's. His fight against Tarver got him some press, and in the U.S.A hes much bigger than Kessler. Joe had no problem fighting him or Manfredo recently.

Kessler is probably more well known in Europe than Dawson is in the US, and for some reason I wouldn't be surprised if about the same amount people know who Dawson and Manfredo are. Not saying they're better fighters, I haven't said that but Calzaghe's reasons for not fighting him are valid and it doesn't mean I wouldn't like to see the fight, I would. Calzaghe was also in a different situation when he fought Manfredo.

Also Kessler was a very established fighter at that point, beating top 10 fighters at 168, while holding 2 of the division's belts.