That logic doesn't really fly to me Ward's best wins before Kovalev (and I will come back to that) were easily Kessler and Froch Calzaghe had already taken a closer-to-prime Kessler's 0 and laid the blueprint for Ward Kessler then took Froch's 0 in that titanic battle in Copenhagen Ward's win over Kessler was (severely IMO) tainted with incredibly dirty tactics, with some downright egregious headbutts, that he would NEVER have gotten away with in Copenhagen - Ward probably still would have won, but it would have been more competitive and fairer IMO. Then there is Kovalev, and of course that was at 175 not 168, but still worth commenting on. IMO and many others, Ward DID NOT win that first fight - even Ward himself was gobsmacked when the results came out - he knew he had lost. However, even then I gave Ward tremendous credit for somehow getting back into the fight after that early knockdown, and Kovalev dominating through the first 5 rounds. Ward showed his heart and willingness to do whatever it takes to win, regardless of how dirty he got. I believe that decision took something vital out of Kovalev, as he never to me looked like that same force again. So, whilst Zags resume can be scrutinised / called into question, so can Ward's and although I don't subscribe to triangle theory, Kessler being the common link between Cazlaghe and Ward, IMO Joe has the better win there, beating a prime and undefeated Kessler, without the dirty tactics. And Kessler also having beat Froch before Ward did means that Ward's best wins at 168 were maybe prime, but they were not undefeated and both he somehow managed to fight in the US, being the only guy in the original Super 6 not to need to dig out his passport and travel to an opponent's backyard.
It’s interesting. Ward’s best win was over Froch. His win over Dawson wasn’t great, as Dawson was drained. You could also argue that Kessler was past his best. Joe’s best wins at the weight were against Lacy and Kessler who were both in their prime.
Probably. But the point was: Joe beat prime undefeated guys in Lacy and Kessler, whereas Andre didn’t.
In retrospect Lacy might have been overhyped. But he did look unbeatable at times before he ran into Joe. I don't know what happened to Lacy against Joe, it was obviously a great performance by Calzaghe, but was that the same Lacy who had been tearing through his opponents up to that point? Do you think it had something to do with that he fought Calzaghe in the U.K.? It might have been a different story if Joe fought Lacy in America.
He was a dangerous puncher. Round 1 vs Calzaghe, Lacy had Joe in a bit of trouble. Joe was on the ropes and Lacy landed a big right hand, Joe took it well though. I just think Calzaghe's style was all wrong for Lacy, Lacy needs room to set up his big shots, and Joe's speed and work rate were a problem, Calzaghe could just pepper him with combos or smother him on the inside. But if Prime Lacy had someone in front of him who was more economical and threw one punch at a time, Lacy could time you with a big shot and end the fight with one punch. Lacy was overhyped and didn't have the best defense, but the guy could punch and would have been a problem for a lot of good fighters.
Canelo has just a handful of fights at SMW... the main bulk were BJS, Plant & Smith.. the best win between all three of them is a near shot George Groves .. combine that with the fact that in two of the above fights he LOST multiple rounds, one of the 3 is a career MW , the other was inactive coming off a questionable win & the other is most known for being the Mayweather gym floor mopper.. To put that above the achievements of men like Calzaghe, Ward, Froch, Toney, Eubank, Jones, Kessler etc is ridiculous fanboyism .. I couldn't give a fk if he won all of those trinket titles.. they are meaningless when the substance behind them is Caleb fkin Plant
Caleb Plant is better than almost every Calzaghe win at 168 with the exception of maybe 3-4. Is Richie Woodhall even better than Plant?
