Andre Ward vs Joe Calzaghe

Calzaghe's Kovalev was Bernard Hopkins - a close difficult fight at a higher weight class against the recognized King of the Division that splits opinion as to who won.

 

If Ward has no power why didn't Froch and Kovalev walk right through him?

Calzaghe's strategy for winning was ducking anybody he deemed a threat. He wouldn't have beaten Ward because he would never have stepped inside the ring with him.

 

Well let me preface my statement first by saying that I don't care about Joe Calzaghe or Andre Ward, so in this instance I really don't have a dog in the fight. I do have a couple issues with your post though:

1st off, how is a fantasy matchup definitively solved? It's all speculative and it's impossible to say who would win in a match that would never materialize. I'm not trying to go off the philosophical deep end here, but your statement comes off as absolute in the nature of how the fight would go. It's all speculative and hypothetical.

Secondly, I think you're massively underrating KOvalev's status as a LHW. He's arguably one of the best LHW's of the past 20 years. He might not exhibit the technical capabilities of someone like Ward, but he has a solid foundation of skills combined with elite level power. There's a reason that the lineal champion of the division has been avoiding him like the plague for the past couple years.

Lastly, that version of Bernard you described is not on the same level as Kovalev was as a LHW. At that juncture in Hopkins' career, I wouldn't call him completely shot, but he didn't have much left in the tank. Him beating guys like Pascal afterwards doesn't mean much because Jean's honestly not that good of a fighter in his own right. It was an impressive win for Calzaghe, no doubt about it, but Hopkins wasn't some prime killer at LHW like Kovalev.

Anyway, I'd assume a hypothetical match between Ward and Joe would take place at the SMW limit, and while I rank both men highly at 168, I favor Andre in a competitive decision. It's not like I assume he'd run right over Calzaghe. I just personally think he has the ability to decrease Joe's punch output per round. Andre is that good of a ring technician and a defensive fighter, and if he's able to bring Joe's output down while he himself lands the cleaner punches, it's very possible he could win a decision against Calzaghe.

 

no way, kovalev was prime, hopkins was in his 40s in a run of wins and defeats.

no way does someone compare a fight with a 40something with a prime top guy.

 

also, it clearly doesnt split opinion. everyone knows cowardzaghe inched it on stamina after getting beaten up until bernie gassed out.

 

The fact you started the way you did, and then ended as you did proves you favour Ward.

First off Hopkins went on to destroy Pavlik and then collect his best wins against fighters that weren't blown up WW's, Hopkins faced Kov how many years after Joe? The Hop that Calzaghe put a beating on, i remind you the broken handed, blown up shot Joe, that Hop was VASTLY superior to Ward.

Kov one of the best of the last 20yrs? come on now, Jean Pascal was actually very good and gave Froch hell, remember Ward only edged Froch by a few rounds really, a slow robotic off night Froch, we also can't dismiss the Balco/Conte link with Ward. Ward looks terrible on the outside, if Kov had a body defence he would have been home and dry, this wasn't Ward being great on the body, it's Kov being inept there, but as it is, objectively Kov beat him anyway.

Calzaghe was the master adaptor, now in his hay day he had KO power as Eubank will testify, most people think of Joe and remember him raping Hopkins and that being his prime, when you see prime Calzaghe with loaded hands it was amazing. Calzaghe is a much better inside fighter than Ward and would swarm him, Ward relies on the inside because at distance he is poor, an unbiased ref would help with those elbows and clinching. This is all pointless anyway, there is no debate, if the Shoesalesman Boone didn't convince people when he beat Ward, and Bika who drew in Oakland didn't, well Kov beating him around should have, and if not, then you are a massive Ward fan.

 

Wasn't really close though, Joe easily won 9 rounds, on the verge of stopping Hopkins until the ref gave him that ridiculous time out. He actually raped Hopkins in the ring and toyed with him, he took Hopkins dignity and then made Hopkins emasculated by the way he needed that time out. I loved that fight because soon after the Hoposexuals all said he was shot.... turned out he was prime and Joe was shot, lucky Hopkins ducked him in 2002.

 

A 40 something who was in the P4P top 5, recognized as the Light Heavyweoght King and would remain one of the greatest fighters in the weight division for six year after the fight.

You dont get to run down Bernard Hopkins just because you hate Calzaghe.

 

It was an ugly, damn near unwatchable fight that was close on the cards and difficult to score. Some people thought Hopkins won, some thought Calzaghe won, some thought it a draw. Any result would have been valid.

Hopkins didn't duck Calzaghe in 2002. He priced himself out of the deal because he didn't want all his profits to go to Don King. The word "ducking" implies he was scared or intimidated or whatever but it was a business decision which stopped that fight happening - the money wasn't right for Hopkins, and Calzaghe wouldn't be the only fight Hopkins would price himself out of around that time.

 

Joe by split decision.

 

Slappy Joe can't hold a candle to p4p King Ward.

A green Ward already surpassed Slappy Joe when he beat Slappys best opponent in his first world title fight.

Slappy Joe beat an injured Kessler, I do give him credit for narrowly beating a 400 year old Bernard Hopkins though.

 

He's never beaten Hopkins.

And he beat Kessler dirty. Those headbutts were shocking.

 

It was a close, ugly boring fight that I couldn't stomach to watch a second time, but upon my first viewing, I had Slappy Joe winning 7 rounds to 5, the same score I had for Ward in the Kova fight.

That being said, we saw what a green, inexperienced Ward did in his first title fight against a non injured Kessler. 8)

 

When I said "he" I meant Ward as I was responding to the bit about Calzaghe best opponent.

And hey! Ward beat Kessler yes, but it was a dirty a win. It doesn't invalidate win and doesn't make Ward any less of a great fighter, but personally I will never rate Ward's victory over Kessler higher than Calzaghe's because Calzaghe did it clean.

 

He literally posts in every single Calzaghe thread trying to slate him, he's been doing it now for years. Don't understand how you can hate a fighter that much lol.