Ward vs. Calzaghe... who wins?

[Snowball]

Too bad we'll never see it. I'd be open for any bet, because I'm certain that Cal takes it.
Especially with a ref who doesn't allow subtile fouling, which is something Ward is known for.

 

[HelpYouFall]

Why are you calling out people like they're lunatics for saying Ward wins this comfortably when you're doing exactly the same?
You just as much come across as if saying Calzaghe is such a vastly superior boxer and you're 'certain that Cal takes it'.
Which he isn't and which is far from a certainty.

As for me, I'd say they both could beat each other on any given night and Ward would beat him in a trilogy.

 

[Snowball]

I said they're on par and as close as two boxers can be skillwise.
Two different styles though. Ward is a traditional US amateur stylist, Cal has his own unorthodox style, which would be the deciding factor in the fight. Carl Froch was unorthodox too, but not as fast and not as busy as Calzaghe. IMO Calzaghe has a higher ring IQ than Froch as well.

 

[Hard To Tell]

Calzaghe fans put way too much stock into the Hopkins win. Yes, he was still operating at a high level and it was a good win (although debatable) but he still well past his prime. Just watch Hopkins from around 1996 to about 2003, anyone claiming that the version Clazghe faced was anywhere near the same level of fighter, or that Calzaghe was just as far removed from his prime, is simply wrong.

Plus Taylor and Dawson both dealt with the same version of Hopkins far more convincingly than Calzaghe did, yet you never see anyone heralding those victories as some sort of all time great wins - because they weren't.

 

[HelpYouFall]

I said they're on par and as close as two boxers can be skillwise.
Two different styles though. Ward is a traditional US amateur stylist, Cal has his own unorthodox style, which would be the deciding factor in the fight. Carl Froch was unorthodox too, but not as fast and not as busy as Calzaghe. IMO Calzaghe has a higher ring IQ than Froch as well.

Why is Froch a measuring stick here? Ward beat him handily ...

Again, not saying Calzaghe wasn't an amazing fighter, just playing the devil's advocate.

 

[PUO3]

I said they're on par and as close as two boxers can be skillwise.
Two different styles though. Ward is a traditional US amateur stylist, Cal has his own unorthodox style, which would be the deciding factor in the fight. Carl Froch was unorthodox too, but not as fast and not as busy as Calzaghe. IMO Calzaghe has a higher ring IQ than Froch as well.

“A traditional US amateur stylist”

You word for word took that from the video you posted lmao.

 

[Alanf7]

Ward is simply too smart.

 

[JayE]

I said they're on par and as close as two boxers can be skillwise.
Two different styles though. Ward is a traditional US amateur stylist, Cal has his own unorthodox style, which would be the deciding factor in the fight. Carl Froch was unorthodox too, but not as fast and not as busy as Calzaghe. IMO Calzaghe has a higher ring IQ than Froch as well.

I don't know where you get the idea that Ward had a very traditional style from. Is it from that Adam Booth video? I'd argue that's not particularly accurate, and even if it was accurate for Ward pre-Froch, it certainly isn't/wasn't accurate for him post-Froch. Ward is arguably the best in-fighter in the sport, right now (or was before he retired), and he rarely hangs out at mid range. Sergey Kovalev is more of a pure boxer than Andre Ward.

 

[JayE]

Calzaghe fans put way too much stock into the Hopkins win. Yes, he was still operating at a high level and it was a good win (although debatable) but he still well past his prime. Just watch Hopkins from around 1996 to about 2003, anyone claiming that the version Clazghe faced was anywhere near the same level of fighter, or that Calzaghe was just as far removed from his prime, is simply wrong.

Plus Taylor and Dawson both dealt with the same version of Hopkins far more convincingly than Calzaghe did, yet you never see anyone heralding those victories as some sort of all time great wins - because they weren't.

Taylor didn't deal with Hopkins very convincingly, and Hopkins had declined a bit more from the Calzaghe to the Dawson fight, but Hopkins had declined a lot from 2003ish to 2008 even if he was still elite due to his smarts and style.

 

[RudimarChute]

Why is Froch a measuring stick here? Ward beat him handily ...

Again, not saying Calzaghe wasn't an amazing fighter, just playing the devil's advocate.

Froch is Wards best win behind Kovalev. Kovalev’s best win is BHop like 6 years older than when Cal beat him.

Think about that.

 

[JayE]

Froch is Wards best win behind Kovalev. Kovalev’s best win is BHop like 6 years older than when Cal beat him.

Think about that.

That's debatable. Kessler is every bit the win Froch is. Even Dawson is fairly comparable. Kovalev is understood as a great win more because of his perceived quality and the fact that he was a bigger man than his total resume. Stopping Kovalev is clearly more impressive than anything Calzaghe ever did.

 

[RudimarChute]

That's debatable. Kessler is every bit the win Froch is. Even Dawson is fairly comparable. Kovalev is understood as a great win more because of his perceived quality and the fact that he was a bigger man than his total resume. Stopping Kovalev is clearly more impressive than anything Calzaghe ever did.

Well Calzaghe beat Kessler two years before Ward did..

Ward is praised for beating Kovalev whos best win is BHop. Calzaghe beat BHop 6 years before Kovalev did. Calzaghe went up and beat BHop and Roy Jones Jr, two of the best of their era. Nobody gives him the credit he deserves for that.

RJJ was past his prime no debate there, but Calzaghe’s hands were shot by that point and he was only 3 years younger than Jones.

 

[OGquickdraw]

Ward is praised for shutting down and embarresing almost every name on his resume.

Krusher is more a cherry on top. Kovalev, only gained so much hype and notoriety because the fashion in which he was ending his fights. True his resume is littered with C+ to B- Fighters however he was turning their lights out.

Even against the shells of the best competition Joe fought he showed weaknesses in both matches.

 

[JayE]

Well Calzaghe beat Kessler two years before Ward did..

Ward is praised for beating Kovalev whos best win is BHop. Calzaghe beat BHop 6 years before Kovalev did. Calzaghe went up and beat BHop and Roy Jones Jr, two of the best of their era. Nobody gives him the credit he deserves for that.

RJJ was past his prime no debate there, but Calzaghe’s hands were shot by that point and he was only 3 years younger than Jones.

He doesn't deserve much credit for beating Jones as Jones was beyond shot by that point. Hopkins gets no credit for beating Roy Jones Jr. about a year and a half after Calzaghe beat him. Calzaghe does deserve credit for winning a drawish fight over a 43 year old Hopkins, and he generally gets it. That is clearly the best win of his career.

 

[Woldog]

Calzaghe was amazing simply because he made it where he was with such little power compared to other fighters.

 

[Stormtrooper85]

Calzaghe was amazing simply because he made it where he was with such little power compared to other fighters.

He had power but he also had brittle hands and had to adjust his style to be more volume based instead of power based.

As for the fight I personally think Ward would just be too smart for Joe, I think Ward would disrupt Joe's rhythm all night and out box him for a clear decision

 

[Gregoire1]

Ward 60/40 IMO

 

[ironfist05]

Too bad we'll never see it. I'd be open for any bet, because I'm certain that Cal takes it.
Especially with a ref who doesn't allow subtile fouling, which is something Ward is known for.

Calzaghe wasn't afraid to foul either. Watch the Lacey fight, Calzaghe slipped really subtle elbows in with a lot of his flurries if I remember correctly. He slipped in a few headbutts against Sheika too. Not that those guys are on the level of Ward, but still, Calzaghe wasn't afraid to get dirty with it.

On the other hand, let's not forget that Calzaghe had a fair amount of dirty fighting opponents to face up against: Salem, Hopkins, and Bika come to mind.

 

[D 1 Wrestler]

Ward via headbutts, low blows and clinching

 

[JayE]

Ward via headbutts, low blows and clinching

lol, it's a shame you didn't have any balls to back up any of your pics against Ward over the last few years (starting with your claim that he'd never fight Kovalev to begin with).