Prime for prime - Roy Jones v. Joe Calzaghe

Calzaghe was nowhere near his best when he fought Jones either.

 

A special talent was Calzaghe. As was Jones.

 

Give over, Roy was getting chinned for fun when Joe finally got over his fear of flying!

 

And?

Calzaghe was very faded and old.

 

A joke of a fight

 

Hahahaha!

Read Joe's book. Enzo had confidence, Joe was deluded and scared. His dad threatened to leave if he didn't fight Lacey as he'd had enough of Joe not fighting the best.

 

Still way less miles than Joe, and less punishment.

Sums up Joe: fought the best if his time when they were ancient.

 

He certainly didn't look old and faded.
In fact he looked better than he did in his last few fights at smw where he was killing himself to make weight.

 

Roy Jones Jr UD12

 

I will take Joe in a SD.

He is just as unorthodox as Jones and busier. I think he confuses Jones for a bit, and starts taking a lead in the early rounds. Enough to pull out a win.

Joe was one of the greats and Roy would be pressured into making too many mistakes. As in their real fight, Calzaghe would win, albeit with a little more trouble.

Roy Jones was only 3 years older- and in their real fight, both were not prime. But both at their peak, I see Roy Jones still losing.

Joe Calazghe is a legendary fighter and undefeated for a reason.

 

Would have been a fight for the ages...

I lean towards RJ but anyone who still writes Calzaghe off is a damned fool and should stick to some of the lesser forums for casuals.

At his best Jones still had trouble with average guys like Tarver and Griffin, Calzaghe was a southie like Griffin but superior in every other category....he would be a problem for Jones anytime they fought.

 

How is reading Joe's book going to help me prove/disprove your point in a hypothetical match up between Joe Calzaghe and Roy Jones when I can just watch 46 fights instead?

Joe not having the confidence to beat another fighter in a mythical match up is weak and pretty unquantifiable/unsubstantiated to be honest. It's also totally irrelevant. Anyone who steps into that ring has to believe they can win or they're getting KO'D pretty quickly. Regardless of your opinion on the match up, Calzaghe isn't going there and getting lit up, at least not straight away

 

It would more than likely have been a very cautious and tactical match up. Roy would never have been aggressive unless Joe was. But if Joe had’ve unloaded huge volume on Roy, then in my honest opinion, they would 100% have ended up in a shootout. Because Roy in his 20’s wouldn’t have laid on the ropes and waited to counter. He’d have just returned fire straight away. And although Joe had a great chin, I’d have backed the guy who was faster, more powerful and much harder to hit. So for me, it would all have depended on Joe’s mindset going into the fight.

 

Did you follow his career?

It was his biggest weakness.

Why do you think he spent a decade defending a lightly regarded WBO belt against mostly low level opposition?

Why do you think he never went to the U.S. or moved up to LHW years earlier?

He never had the confidence to pursue Roy in the late 90’s-early 00’s.

In 1999, he said that he wasn’t chasing Roy, as he didn’t want tough fights.

In 2003, he said that he’d need the ‘Crown Jewels’ to fight Roy, due to the element of risk involved.

In 2008, he finally fought Roy after repeatedly saying that he was a shot fighter.

In 2020, he admitted that he doesn’t know whether he could have beaten a prime version of Roy at SMW.

We don’t need Columbo to work it all out.

Joe was immensely talented. But there’s a reason why he fought a guy like Mario Veit twice, and why he was still looking for a career defining fight in his 30’s.

He’d never have fought a prime version of Roy. He wouldn’t even move up to LHW, even when Ottke wouldn’t unify with him, the division was weak and he was killing himself to make weight.

The thought of him actually pressuring a prime version of Roy and unloading huge volume on him is amusing to me.

He had huge respect for Roy, and he never believed that he was better than Roy. So yes, after watching his entire career, as well as reading and listening to countless interviews throughout the years, I can categorically say that Joe never had the confidence to try and beat Roy Jones in his prime.

 

Him not believing he'd beat prime Jones and him in a fantasy match up where these two fighters are magically in a ring together on their best night are not one and the same. If Calzaghe somehow ever ended up training for a Jones fight and then stepped in with him, I can assure you many things could lead to his downfall, but confidence wouldn't be it