160 lb Hagler vs. 168 lb Calzaghe

Its hard to say, Haglers power was vastly over rated despite him being one of my favourite boxers, Joe by a thin UD. Bigger Pressure volume fighter than leonard that used the advantages of being a southpaw which hagler didnt.

 

I imagine this would be a great matchup and a hard fought one at that. Won't try to pick a winner.

 

Calzaghe is like Leonard, technically not as good or skilled, but his workrate and stamina is better, he's stronger and has a better chin (because of his size). I think it's a close fight to go either way

 

I would take a 160 Hagler over 168 Joe C. I don't think Joe would be able to handle 12-15 rounds of Hagler's pressure.

 

Hagler is a much cleaner and straighter puncher , I go for Hagler to put on a performance and win by UD.

I dont see Hagler having the power to stop Joe, it would take Hearns like power to do that.

 

Ive seen Joe fight a few times and he punches too wide to give Hagler any real problems , look at how an old Hopkins was able to come right through the middle with correct punching , Hagler would have had a field day in the pocket all night.

 

Calzaghe can throw straight down the pipe when he wants to, Lacy and Kessler matches were the best recent examples. Remember, Calzaghe still won against Hopkins, and old Hopkins is still beating world-level opponents years after that match.

To add, this matchup is NOT merely 160 Hagler vs 168 Calzaghe. 168 Calzaghe had one-day before weigh-ins so he would be as big as 178 on fight night at an average. Calzaghe is a bigger man by 18 pounds on fight night, has the speed of a WW, has the skills that SRL praise and love, and has a fast paced high volume style that most people cannot outpoint. If they fought in the pocket, Calzaghe would outmuscle Hagler because of the massive pound difference. Calzaghe was not averse to wrestling his opponents.

Joe used his feet more, has handspeed, high volume, a fast pace fighting style that can last an entire fight, a very good chin and high recovery, and he's also very skilled in legal and illegal tactics.

This is one of those matches that a bigger man (Calzaghe) has skills that were comparable to the littler man (Hagler). This isn't a case where a littler man (Pacquiao) was heavily more skilled than the bigger man (Margarito). And that is why this fight isn't easy for either man.

ATG-wise, this shouldn't ruin any of their rankings. They're both ATGs, Hagler's higher on the rankings than Joe though. That's all. But losing to an ATG doesn't ruin your ATG ranking. You're still an ATG. You just make the other ATG look better.

 

Good post.

 

Basically a repeat of Alan Minter vs Marvin Hagler

 

Since your boy Larry Merchant said so! Then he said....



<--------- He is the Hardest hitting Middleweight he ever saw!

 

A bitter pill for many but Calzaghe wins a comfortable decision.

 

Hagler's just a better fighter. Fundamentals, timing, power, defense, crisp/meaningful punching, counterpunching, etc. Calzaghe would give a good account of himself, but fall short. No shame in losing to one of the most complete fighters ever.

 

He sure is. In a H2H sense when coupled with the size difference and all other things considered, though, we have reason to suspect Calzaghe may pull it out. Not to hold it against him, but Hagler never moved up. This doesn't mean he couldn't hold his own against bigger fighters, so much as we have to factor in that possibility. We would also have to consider whether he'd face difficulties with weight gain (if he decided to move up for this bout) or how effective he would be versus Calzaghe given the size disparity.

Nonetheless, I think Hagler at his best takes Calzaghe at his best. I really despise making an argument this simple, but if we refer to the Hopkins-Calzaghe fight wherein an old, inactive man was able to throw in crisp counters, it is fair to assume that the relentless, switch-hitting, proficiently sound boxer who is able to cut off the ring will find Calzaghe. While Calzaghe has shown to have a good chin, and we should assume that Hagler's punches may not hurt Calzaghe that much per being the smaller guy and not a murderous puncher, i. Hagler does have killer instinct, ii. Hagler will not tire and will not lose steam in his punches, and iii. Hagler will slow down Calzaghe's vaunted speed if he catches him enough. Maybe not enough to stop him, but enough to start landing regularly and or making Calzaghe gunshy.

That's my two cents, anyways.

 

I don't have an issue with the first part. Calzaghe would outweigh Marvin by a good 15 pounds probably, but I think Hagler's skill advantage and sharpness would see him through :good