Nigel Benn claims Joe Calzaghe would have beaten all four legends:

Well Calzaghe competed at a higher weightclass.

Leonard's best weight was Welterweight.

Hagler's best weight was Middleweight and he was not big at the weight.

Hearns's best weight was Jr Middleweight.

Duran's best weight was Lightweight.

It doesn't mean Calzaghe is better than any of the FAB 4 in regards to P4P ability though because he absolutely isn't.

It's just Calzaghe competed at a higher weightclass and is naturally bigger than all of the FAB 4 by a considerable margin.

But even then I'd give the Hearns who destroyed Andries at Light Heavyweight a solid chance of pulling it off against Calzaghe.

Calzaghe got hit often by right hands and he has never met anyone with legit 1 punch right hand KO power like Hearns had.

I don’t think Calzaghe would be able to take the same liberties walking through right hands like he did vs the likes of Robin Reid.

 

Fundora has an 8 inch reach and 14cm in height advantage over Dmitry Bivol, does HE beat Bivol? answer the question

 

@Dynamicpuncher Nigel Benn is entitled to his opinion. No need to cry.

Calzaghe for sure was a really great fighter.

 

Calzaghe was always susceptible to right hands. He got dropped by old man B-Hop when Bernad wasn't that much of a power puncher at that stage of his career. Meanwhile Tommy's right hand decimated iron chinned LHW Dennis Andries and kept big CWs like Nate Miller at bay.

 

At 168? Calzaghe has all the physical advantages and I don't think their skill is enough to compensate.

 

Crawford also had great definition against Canelo when he actually weighed 168lbs, yet he still made 140lbs, and even started out at 135lbs.

Leonard went from 147lbs-like 162lbs lean, Crawford went from 135lbs-168lbs lean.

Leonard with before day weight ins could’ve easily made 140lbs.

 

Hearns is a LHW lineal champ who beat the best LHW of his era. And lost his title to a MW. No proof Hearns couldn't handle 175 at all.

 

There’s even less to think it was his best division, or even second best.

 

Never said there was.

Just nothing very strange with favouring one of the best in a division which was higher than Hearns's best.

 

You said that you favor Calzaghe over them because he was a LHW in their era. While Hearns and Leonard both won LHW belts. Leonards neither here nor there but Hearns beat Virgil Hill. Other then Hearns Hill won 23 LHW title fights in a row.

For the most part fighters with a natural size advantage are going to be most dominant at the lowest weight class they can make and get worse as they climb the ladder.

Calzaghe had 2 fights at LHW.

 

I did not say I favour Calzaghe over them. I say I understand those who do. That is not the same thing.

I also understand those who favour Hearns, who as you say did good work at LHW.

I can understand a fairly wide range of opinions on something as hypothetical as this. Certainly that such a good fighter as Calzaghe would beat even great fighters that he had a natural size advantage over.

And Calzaghe only had two fights at LHW, yes, but his career was mostly during the day before weigh-in era when fighters rehydrate a lot. I haven't seen any information on his in ring weight, but my best guess is that he would be a LHW in the 80's.

My prediction would be that Calzaghe at his best at 168 with day before weigh-in certainly beats Duran and Leonard. While they both competed at 168, I think they would still give up 10-15 lbs in the ring, not to mention height and reach, and they were also well past their best at that weight.

Hagler was closer in size in his prime, but still significantly smaller so if I had to bet it would be on Joe. As for Hearns, I have no idea.

 

I don't believe there are any recorded Calzaghe fight night weights, but for what its worth, in his autobiography Calzaghe claimed he was usually 178-180lbs on fight night, and stated that he burnt so much nervous energy on the day of the Eubank fight, he only rehydrated to 172lbs, which he believed contributed to him being exhausted as early as the 4th round.