better fighter today? Mijares or Calzaghe?

Big call..not without foundation though.

I for one will not jump on the bandwagon until he beats Montiel. Mijares is very good but I just dont think he is the unbeatable machine everyone is making him out to be.

 

I think Montiel is the overrated one. Mijares is much more versatile, and Montiel has obvious technical flaws and limitations. Donaire is better IMHO. Mijares beats both though, likely by Decision.

 

I dont think he gets rated that highly to be overrated to tell you the truth.

He certainly has his flaws but offensively he is one of better fighters around those weights. Ill be the first to admit that the Gorres and Too Sharp fights showed he gets confused by a certain style of fighter. I always said he is a boxer-puncher..he can box and he can punch but he isnt a specialist at either, which has shown to have its limits as you said.

Donaire looks very impressive and I hope he moves up the 115. Those 3 are definitely the ones to watch.

 

Mijares is just starting to get the fights we want to see him in. This poll is a bit too early to judge these two on who is better today.

 

Montiel is too squared up and stiff to be a good out-boxer IMO. His lack of balance because of it creates issues when he overextends punches, which the slicksters often force, and I believe Mijares will exploit often. Montiel is a heavy body puncher, but IMO he doesn't have the skills needed to get in on Mijares, and will get pieced up in the process.

 

mijares..takes the better more dangerous fights and is prob the most techinal sound boxer in the world today

 

Mijares.

 

Do you think though that Mijares offers the same stylistic challenge of a Too Sharp or Gorres type fighter?

I dont think he is quite the mover they are. His approach is no less effective but is different.
To a degree Montiel did adapt in those fights as they wore on, though he never looked quite comfortable.

 

Mijares isn't so much a lateral mover as he is just a very skilled ring general. He's a very good judge of distance and is able to control range and time his movements/punches very well. He doesn't overdo it with lateral movement, he uses what is neccessary to stay within the correct range. Roy Jones did the same thing if you've ever studied his footwork, yet both are among the best ring generals and range controllers of their eras.

 

Am thinking the same. Pac- ODLH is a mismatched:roll:

 

I would definitely call what he does efficient.

Though I feel he did take enough shots of Munoz and Kawashima to appear human, which Prime Roy often did not. On the other side of coin however he took them very well and often little subtle leans and slips took a lot of sting out of those shots.

 

Exactly, he's very subtly skilled. Just a very versatile, crafty, intelligent fighter. I have little doubts about his abilities personally.

Now Jones was the better of the two, don't get me wrong, I was just giving a comparison of their style of footwork and its effectiveness.

 

Mijares easily

Calzahge fights like a wash woman

 

Calzaghe has been around a long time. Mijares hasn't been around for a long time. There is absolutely no comparison.Mijares will not be around for much longer when he gets pancaked by Vic on Nov 1.

 

There's no way of knowing the extent to which Calzaghe is on the decline precisely, I think. The reason most people assume he is fading badly is because he had a relatively poor performance against Hopkins. I'd attribute that lacklustre performance more to him not clicking on the night against a cunning and negative fighter, than to Calzaghe's decline. Calzaghe didn't click against Bika either and then look at the way he fought against Kessler; really rolled the years back. The X factor with Calzaghe is not how faded he is, but how motivated and focussed he is, in my opinion. He will retire mostly because he is no longer motivated and focussed in the big fights, than because he is fading, in my view. Of course, he is fading too.

As to Mijares, I think his best performance so far was clearly the one against Munoz, who is a very good fighter indeed. Until he beats Montiel, though, I will not assume Mijares was the best. Montiel might be a bit overrated and not as good or consistent as Munoz on average, but I think he is better and more dangerous than Montiel on their best day, and shouldn't be underrated as a result. Mijares v. Montiel is still the defining fight in the division, I think.

To compare the two right now, I would say Calzaghe was the better fighter, just. His recent performance against Kessler was better than Mijares' recent performance against Munoz, in my opinion. Mijares still spoils some of his performances by losing focus and trading unnecessarily, banking on his toughness and chin, and as a result, he's getting hit more than he really should. Nothing wrong with that per se if he really made a big dent on his opponents when going toe to toe, but he usually doesn't; he just makes them look about as good as him. Mijares has still to improve to become as good as Calzaghe at his best, for me.