BRITISH FORUM ANALYSES: Bob Fitzsimmons vs Joe Calzaghe@168lbs

Look at the defense ....

Look at the head and foot movement ....

You could say that football is still basically a game you have to put the ball in the net to win the game ....

 

As said, widely different eras and styles but in the spirit of the thread, here goes...

Given the punishment Fitz was able to ship against HWs of his day I don't see Calzaghe being able to stop him, even with an acclumination of punches. Whereas, even with Joes reliable chin, I think it would be possible to Fitz, one of the hardest punching HWs of his day, to have Calzaghe in trouble.

So I'm (rather simplistically) down to 2 possible results a workrate based Calzaghe points win or a counterpunching KO win for Fitz. What could make all the difference id if Fitz had had the chance to watch some of Calzaghes fights beforehand so he wouldn't being facing the number of punches and movement of Calzaghe, which were totally unheard of in Fitzs era, without prior warning.

If Fitz goes into the fight "blind", seeing Calzaghe for the first time then I think he loses, I think the adjustment and the culture shock of Calzaghes style would be too much for Fitz to make in fight whereas "all" Calzaghe has to know is that he's fighting a big punching counterpuncher, a much easier adjustment to have to make.

So, to cut a longish story short. As one off fight with neither fighter knowing what he is up against prior to the first bell then I'll take Calzaghe PTS but if Fitz was give chance to see what he was up against and prepare a battleplan he could very well realize what he was up against, realize that he might have press more, cut off the ring more aggressively etc. against a fighter like Calzaghe than he is used to in his own era and score a late round KO as the fight slows down.

 

Okay Joe Louis one of the greatest fighters ever .... How is he comparable if in his prime he was to fight ...

1- Lennox Lewis
2- Tyson
3- Vital Klitch

There is no cut off just the human body is evolving getting bigger , quicker and stronger its a proven fact ... so how would Louis get on against those I think he would lose with consumate ease against all 3 im afraid...

But for his era he set a bench mark for these guys ....

So turn the table a prime Tyson ... How would he get on in Joe Louis golden era during the late 30s n 40s ?

 

In your opinion ...its a sport of many contrasting opinions !

Modern techniques were probably misleading he refined rechniques before and made them his own ... his dad always said he wanted the movement of Leonard and the left hand of Hagler for JC ...

Are u an admirer of Calzaghe? He seems to get alot of dish on ere to be honest which is unfair IMO :good

 

Calzaghe participated in a completely different sport than Fitzsimmons. In Fitz's day no-one moved around the ring as Calzaghe did and, as a consequence, it would be an easy victoy for the Welsh man.

 

Fitz problem would be workrate, he just won't have been up against a guy throwing 100 punches a round before in his career. You can say the Calzaghe won't have seen a fighter like Fitz before, and thats true, but I think he has less of an adjustment to make. Calzaghes main problem would probably be getting hit with 5oz gloves.

 

fleaman wrote:

I don't know enough about the old fighters to make an analysis but I really don't think the human body has evolved either. Why would it evolve when we've become less active and no longer have a need to be men? It makes no sense. Read this article. It goes waaaaay back but I still think even a hundred years ago people were in better physical condition than they are now.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070208100643.htm

People talk about modern training methods but what is it about modern training methods that makes them superior? Look at old time strongmen. They did some crazy ass **** that aint gonna be topped. Gym fitness is different. Gym fitness aint gonna do ****. These old skool mother****as had a different kind of toughness. The type that comes from having a hard life. That's why they did 15 rounds.

There are exceptions with records in sport being broken etc but generally, I truly believe that people in the past were in better physical condition than today. Let's compare the two.

Old skool man=hard physical labour, lifting free weights to get stronger, natural food, being a real man.

Modern man=Desk job, all these machines in the gym, lifting weights only for looks, food that's been pumped full of chemicals. putting on make up, shaving legs and under-arms is considered normal, being a symp i.e. you gotta go home when your woman tells you to, gotta ask permission from your woman to go anywhere, and being proud of it etc.

I can't see how a man can evolve physically if he is no longer required to be a man. In terms of technical boxing, I don't know but I don' believe that the human body has evolved. If anything it's probably devolved due to the modern man being required to behave in a feminine way. One thing I am sure about is that they were tough mother****as back in those days.

 

Me either, the question is what could Fitz do to stop Calzaghe piling up the points? Could he faint Joe and land his single big shots? A worry for Fitz is that big shots that are not set up as part of a combination almost never land these days.


IMHO Fitzs best chance is to try and get to the body with those 5oz gloves when the fighters are in close and hope that pays dividends.