Joe Calzaghe - Modern Day Fantasy Gauntlet

It always makes me chuckle when people pick other fighters to knock Joe out, and many of the fighters they pick to do so make it even more amusing, like he didn't have an excellent chin in his prime. He fought a lot of big punchers and he wasn't running or holding on for dear life he went to war with many of them and he fought numerous ones whilst injured and not even having sparred. Joe was a if you hit me, I'm immediately going to get me get back type of fighter.

Chin

This is Joe vs the fighter Froch says is the hardest puncher he ever fought, an injury-ravaged Calzaghe who had only sparred 14 rounds in 2 years.

He doesn't only eat massive flush bomb KO shots he eats many KO or KD shots in quick succession and he eats them like a boss

You simply cannot watch these videos and not be very impressed by his chin and his heart too

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Again

Eating flush bomb after bomb from the big punching Eubank. Observe how Joe walks through them all and many head clashes without it even deterring him one bit

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Carl Froch Best I Faced:

BEST PUNCHER

''Robin Reid: He hurt me the most with a single shot. I can’t say George Groves because he caught me square on in the first fight, when I left my feet behind me. That was a heavy knockdown made worse by my balance being off. Also, after his fast start dwindled, I came on strong, so I can’t say Groves. I remember Reid hitting me and saying, ‘beeping hell, that hurt.’ Jermain Taylor had me down, but that was more of a sharp shot. Robin Reid could really bang, and in my opinion he deserved the win over Joe Calzaghe in their fight. That said, Calzaghe had to be tough to walk through the right hands he took from Reid.''

''Froch does hit hard but again not the hardest puncher I've been in with ROBIN REID hit harder when he was in his prime.''

--Tony Dodson

Richie Woodhall

BEST CHIN

''Calzaghe: He was a tough geezer. I wasn’t a devastating puncher; I was more of a worker, and that showed against Calzaghe. I hit him many times but nothing affected him''

Mikkel Kessler

''Joe was also awkward and effective. And he could take a punch. I would say I hit Joe with some of my hardest shots ever and he took them. Carl is more a hard hitter but he’s slow. But Carl doesn’t respect anything. Even if you hit him really hard he will still come forward''

 

Power

Prior to his metacarpals becoming as brittle as twiglets, Joe was a big puncher

How do you recall the (Joe) Calzaghe fight?

''The main thing I remember about Calzaghe was how hard he punched. I thought he had bricks in his gloves at one point. On top of that - he was big, he was strong, he was hearty, he had fast hand speed and he had a very awkward southpaw stance.

He was unbeaten, he didn't know how to lose.

On top of all that, he puts me down in the opening 15 seconds, for only the second clean knockdown of my life. (Laughs) .''

''I've never been knocked down in the first round before Joe hit me with a powerful left-hand punch, which I never saw, and within half a minute of the bell ringing I was having to pick myself up and deal with the realization that I was in for a long night. That punch really hurt and thereafter it was a tough fight.''

Joe obviously went on to be an exceptionally great world champion.''

--- Chris Eubank

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''I started out [professional] with the Ingles. I used to do a lot of body sparring with the likes of Bomber Graham, Johnny Nelson and Naseem Hamed. Nelson never had any bottle: he used to nick fights running away. But Naz was ******* brilliant - so elusive and he hit really hard. Even when he were just 15, he told my uncle to get his autograph 'cos he were going to be a superstar.

Nigel Benn used me seven times over in Tenerife, including for the Gerald McClellan fight. I had a big bet, three figures, on McClellan to win in the first round at about 10-1. And he would've if the ref hadn't kept interrupting. Nige and me would spar half-an-hour a day, then both go out on the ****. We always had a headguard and 16 oz gloves and often I'd outjab him. Nigel weren't a liberty-taker.

But the best I've been inside the ring with was Joe Calzaghe in sparring. Beforehand, I thought he were quite boring to watch and looked as if he slapped but, **** me, he punches hard. If he slapped, Bernard Hopkins would've stood toe-to-toe with Joe, but he [Hopkins] got on his bike, didn't he? If Joe and Nigel had fought, I think Joe would have been able to take the pain and would've ended up hurting Nigel, bit like Michael Watson did.''

--- Tony Booth

''I thought I'd been hit by a lorry''

--- Karl Barwise

''This kid has everything''

--- Spencer Alton

''I've never been hit so hard and so often''

--- Andy Flute

"After working with Robin Reid last month I was already buzzing, but when the call came to work with Joe, well he's the best on the planet," he told Seconds Out.

"I was invited down to work with Joe for five days and I've enjoyed every minute. This has been a fantastic opportunity for me.

"I can see why he's the champ now. Joe punches hard and fast''

--- Tony Quigley

''Calzaghe can punch very hard''

--- Nicky Piper

''A lot of people think Joe can't punch but he's actually very heavy handed''

--- Enzo Maccarinelli

The hardest puncher I fought (long pause) that?s a real tough one

''I dished out a lot more punishment than I ever took during my career, but I'd have to say the toughest and most exciting fight I ever had was with Joe Calzaghe,'' Brewer said.

Joe was not a one-punch KO kind of guy, but he overwhelmed guys; he had those ridiculous combinations! And I deviated from my game-plan that night in Wales, and we just warred; we went two-to-toe for 12-rounds. It was a battle of heart and guts. Joe was just a great technical, mentally draining, puncher''

--- Charles Brewer

Even in the amateurs with big gloves and headgear on he was a big puncher

He stopped all but one of his opponents on route to winning his 2nd and 3rd consecutive ABA titles and at different weights, meaning in his first year at LMW he stopped all his opponents, and in his first year at MW he stopped all but one of his opponents and these weren't scrubs - two of them went on to become professional world champions and one of the others a really talented European pro champion

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