Can Canelo overtake Joe Calzaghe as greatest SMW of all time?

At super middle?

Time is not on his side.

 

Big difference. Roy wasn’t completely shot when they fought. I think Joe would have beaten a prime RJJ but it would have been close. Roy still had power and speed when they fought.

 

No, as highly as I rate JC, Roy was beyond shot, it was a marquee last paycheck for both of them IMO.

But as I noted previously, Joe was well past prime as well, but nowhere near the ghost that was RJJ.

The guy who made Toney, Virgil Hill and many others look ordinary was done after he came back down from Heavyweight. If Roy had retired then his legacy would have been UNTOUCHABLE IMO.

Incidentally, that body shot on Hill - no one, not Calzaghe, Ward or Froch or anyone would have got up from that!

 

That body shot was one of the most brutal body KO’s in boxing against a good opponent. I agree, they were both near the end (it was Joe’s final fight before retirement) and past prime.

Roy was one of my favorites and the Hill KO was the last time the HOF version of RJJ entered the ring (not Ruiz which was more of a side show fight IMO) because afterwards he went on to fight a bunch of no hopers, and lose to Johnson and Tarver before fighting JC.

I still would favor prime JC over prime Roy but it would have been a much closer fight. I just don’t see RJJ knocking Joe out because Joe could take serious punishment and continue to press forward. It’s too bad they didn’t fight sooner because it would have been a great fight.

 

i hate it when people out themselves as british (in this instance) simply by their bias.
this was jones' 4th loss in 7 fights.
it signalled his worst ever run of results.

calzaghe couldn't have held a candle to prime roy, who was P4P king for years, which is exactly why he waited until both jones and hopkins were dethroned, past prime, and losong as many as they were winning before crossing the pond.

you say you "think calzaghe would have beaten a prime roy", when the best fighter he ever beat who was in their prime was mikkel kessler!

 

Roy couldn't win a round off of Glen Johnson 4 years earlier.

He was completely finished as a top level fighter in 2008.

Although he still had great hand speed for his age, as well as power, his legs had betrayed him at the highest level. And he had diminshed reflexes and punch resistance.

Joe himself literally labelled him as being shot before they fought.

Joe did nothing in his career to have been favoured over a prime version of Roy.

 

It would more than likely have been a very dull fight, where they'd have gone feint for feint with each other. But if Joe had've fought Roy aggressively, he'd have gotten knocked out. He wouldn't have come out on top in a shootout with a prime version of Roy.

If you truly believe that Joe would have been the favourite, you'd have to question many of his actual performances and then also ask yourself why he never pursued the fight earlier.

 

I like when idiots out themselves as total morons. I’m from Chicago, so you might want to check a map to see which part of the Britain I’m in, idiot.

 

Legit points. No way JC would have won a shootout with prime Roy but I don’t think he would have attempted one. Joe had a good chin and absorbed some big shots in the RJJ fight without blinking or slowing down. I think he would have outworked Roy and won a decision. A close one.

I don’t recall Roy pursuing the fight either when he was prime. After the Hill fight he chose to distract himself by rapping and playing pickup games of bball before fights. There may have. Even substance issues and steroid issues but those were later in his career. Roy may have lost interest in boxing or maybe he was too arrogant to take opponents seriously later in his career. I just think JCs style and stamina would have given Roy problems as it did when they fought.

 

Calzaghe isn't the greatest SMW though. He's number 2 just behind Prime Roy Jones jr. Actually based on resume even Andre Ward is close to Calzaghe

 

Needs to get with Frank Warren and go on a WBO or WBU title defense rampage.

 

Better question: is Joe Calzaghe a top 10 h2h fighter at any weight class?

Nah

 

Madness. List 5 better at SMW. H2H Is but that was largely era and super 6 format. Timing. Not many others Joe could have beaten or faced back in the day

 

fair enough, so why do you think a fighter who's best win against a prime fighter during his entire career was mikkel kessler, could beat the P4P king roy jones?

 

As we say in London, cheerio! I think that’s what we say, maybe, God save the Queen. Ello Govna. Gotta go, tea time.