Beterbiev v Calzaghe

A new account troll is wondering if Joe "The Italian Dragon" Calzaghe could beat Beterbiev.

No one else is wondering this. Blocked.

 

I have indeed done amateur boxing and know that dedication it takes.

That said, what I said of Calzaghe's conduct in the early 2000s is every bit true. He did pull out of numerous fights and had confidence issues. He was also close to pulling out of the Lacy fight too. This is absolute fact and documented.

Don't let my words cloud your judgement

 

Beterbiev faced Usyk 3 times as an amateur

He faced Kovalev twice as an an amateur and beat him

He faced Gvozdyk as an amateur and as a pro. Both times he TKOd him

He beat Dorticos and Michael Hunter as an amateur too despite giving away considerable size.

He is 295-5 as an amateur and fought opponents from all over the world. Calzaghe - slick, fast, southpaw - is nothing unusual.

Go watch the Marcus Browne fight. Easy work after he figured him out.

 

Slappy Joe, got to got with the legend written over the story being told. If Beter keeps on track he'll have a good argument for Joe.


Slappy one of the hardest asks in history. Spinks and Charles would be a hell of an ask as well.

 

Calzaghe is a not particularly large LHW and Beterbiev is a guy that probably has to cut a crazy amount to make LHW. He's also chiselled AF. There's a clear size advantage for Beterbiev. I'd also say Beterbiev has beaten some very good opponents, not least Gvozdyk who at the time I thought was markedly superior to Bivol. I like Calzaghe a lot and I'm always loath to write off a guy who has as much speed and talent as he does. Unfortunately he'd have a big mission in taking on a juggernaut at a weight that isn't really his best weight. Artur always seems to find a way to accumulate damage throughout a fight and by the later rounds (if they make it that far) his opponents are running on fumes.

 

I would 100% root for Calzaghe but realistically he has very little chance against a prime Beterbiev.

Beterbiev is a massive LHW and hits like a truck (probably the most heavy handed LHW in history) and a small LHW / SMW is not going to be able to stand up to the power. It might take him half the fight to figure Joe out, but Beterbiev's skill is such that he will land big at some point; it's not like Joe was particularly difficult to hit.

 

Agreed.

Artur is a bad style match up for Zaggers, and Joe's propensity to get dragged into a tear-up would prove his undoing here I think.

That said, on his best night, footspeed and angles and workrate would give Beterbiev an interesting puzzle to solve. I can't think of many 168lbers I would favour against Artur to be honest.

Such a shame we are not getting the Bivol showdown, whilst Dmitry is not Zags, I feel to beat Artur they would both have to execute similar gameplans, and execute them near-flawlessly