Who takes this fight? Canelo had great pressure, head movement and explosive power but Calzaghe has workrate, underrated skills and can box well both going forwards or on the back foot.
Calzaghe has a good work rate, but is very stiff and basic. Canelo would slip punchs till the cows come home and pepper Calzaghe with hooks and combinations. Joe would be very marked up by the middle rounds and may even hit the canvas. Canelo's just on another level.
I agree that Canelo might slip punches but I disagree that Joe could be described as "stiff and basic". He was a decorated amateur and has good Ring IQ and skills. He also is adept at figuring out a fighter, much like Canelo or Ward.
Calzaghe had faster hands than anybody Canelo has fought and he was a southpaw, I feel Calzaghe`s 1-2 to the head and body would do well v Canelo, jab to the head followe by the straight left to the body, I feel he would out-work Canelo.
Joe would put on a boxing clinic. 9-3 or 8-4. Joe could fight outside and inside, and would probably stop Canelo. To put in perspective, Sir Joe Calzaghe was that good he would probably even beat GGG @ 168lb
I don't think you can call Calzaghe stiff, plus he was much fitter and had a much higher output than Canelo, good chin and big heart. He wouldn't be as easily put off his game as Smith tonight and would come forward with genuine intent. Calzaghe by UD
As others have said if you think Calzaghe is stiff and basic then you don't know what you are looking at. I'm not a Calzaghe fan think he wasted most of his prime due to lack of ambition but he was far better than his resume suggests. His foot work for one is really underrated, he had great movement it's why he was able to cut the ring off on the ever elusive Hopkins and how he was able to change tactics vs Kessler mid fight to turn the fight his way and out box Kessler. The Kessler and Hopkins fights also show how he was able to adapt mid fight, he had good ring IQ, not many fighters can switch tactics mid fight. That combined with his hand speed, combinations, endless stamina, iron chin and immense work rate made him a handful for anyone. He also had concussive power too before his hands became an issue. The last thing Calzaghe was is basic, Smith is basic with the lack of head movement, basic high guard defence and lack of movment, Calzaghe is on another level, Calzaghe would of done a Viet job on Smith and slapped him silly and stopped him early.
That's what I suspect too. Calzaghe's movement would be problematic for Canelo, we know he struggles vs movers. I don't think he can easily out box the taller more agile Calzaghe like he did vs Smith who's a stationary target who basically sits in front of you when he throws, he doesn't use angles like Calzaghe or boxes of the back foot like Joe did. Even if Canelo can cut off the ring on Calzaghe and work away Calzaghe was more than just a boxer, he can turn a fight around with one punch as the Byron Mitchell fight showed and he can become aggressive and simply smother you with a work rate than Canelo can't match. Canelo would struggle to win rounds vs a guy who throws as much as Calzaghe.
He's got fast feet and fast hands, but Calzaghe is too easy to be hit. He bounces around moving in random directions hunched over and starts slapping. Look at the early rounds vs Kessler, Kessler was tagging him with some big shots. Calzaghe's best defense is his offense, but the problem with Canelo is that he can slip Joe's bursts and hurt him with counters when Joe tries to throw too much.
sorry, but you just have to be british... calzaghe's best win against a fighter in his prime was kessler and you have him dominating canelo? seriously, stop snacking on the local mushrooms.
