H2H: Peak James Toney v Peak Joe Calzaghe

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by joecaldragon, Aug 13, 2008.


  1. joecaldragon

    joecaldragon Guest

    OK, I think Toney's peak was from:

    JANUARY 1991 when he took Merqui Sosa's unbeaten record
    til
    JULY 1994 when stopped Prince Charles Williams

    In this period, Toney also beat...

    Michael Nunn (36-0), Reggie Johnson, HOFer Mike McCallum, Doug DeWitt, Iran Barkley, Tim Littles

    He didn't lose a fight, won the IBF middleweight title, the IBF super-middleweight title, and The Ring Fighter Of The Year 1991.

    In July 1994, he was pound-for-pound no.2 behind Pernell Whitaker.

    ______________________________________________________________

    And I think Calzaghe's peak was from:

    JUNE 2003 when he stopped Byron Mitchell
    til
    NOVEMBER 2007 when he outpointed Mikkel Kessler
    (*sorry but I did not think Joe performed well against Hopkins)

    In this period Calzaghe also beat...

    Jeff Lacy, Sakio Bika, Mario Veit, Kabary Salem, Mger Mkrtchian, Evans Ashira

    He didn't lose a fight, and won the IBF, WBC and WBA supermiddleweight titles.

    In November 2007, he was pound-for-pound no.3 behind Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

    ______________________________________________________________


    SO... how do you think a fight between these two greats would have gone? Please vote as well.
     
  2. Xplosive

    Xplosive Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    The Toney that fought Barkley, takes Joe apart and wins a punishing UD, if not a late TKO.

    Because Toney is so fat, and so much of a joke now, people forget how good he used to be. He was at one point very possibly the P4P best, before a man named Roy came around.

    Toney at his very best would give ANY middleweight in history a tough fight(except Jones), and would have beaten alot of others.
     
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  3. DINAMITA

    DINAMITA Guest

    I think Toney has the perfect style to defeat Calzaghe convincingly. A tremendous counter-puncher with great strength, mental toughness, and punching power. Toney by late KO.
     
  4. Sweet Pea

    Sweet Pea Obsessed with Boxing banned

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    Toney was never P4P best. He was a very good fighter in his prime, but as good as he was at his set style, he was a tad limited to be honest, in that he didn't perform nearly as well against out-boxers and movers as he did come-forward fighters who played right into his stationary counter-punching style. I've always thought Toney was a tad overrated and would lose to the likes of Hopkins.

    With Calzaghe, both have strengths on each other really, so it's harder to call. Joe leaves himself open a lot, which could lead to a lot of countering opportunities for Toney, but he also has a good jab and great footspeed, which could give Toney problems setting up on the in and out Calzaghe. His combos would more than likely land often(at least 1 or 2 of the flurry), while he may get countered nicely every now and then. But overall I just don't know if Toney has the footwork or the style to effectively beat the out-fighters, aside from the lazy Nunn who he happened to catch down the stretch in a fight he was trailing in.

    I'd say it would be a closely contested fight though, Calzaghe outworking and taking Toney off his game, Toney landing the cleaner, harder shots. I'll take Joe by Close Decision. He may be overrated in the General Forum, but he gets underrated elsewhere, while Toney is almost universally overrated IMO.
     
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  5. Holmes' Jab

    Holmes' Jab Master Jabber Full Member

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    Agree with that last post. Excellent analysis Pea.
     
  6. Fergy

    Fergy Walking Dead Full Member

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  7. MarkusFlorez99

    MarkusFlorez99 Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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  8. BCS8

    BCS8 VIP Member

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    Calzaghe for me. Toney was best when counterpunching and making big hitters whiff air with their power shots. Calzaghe didn't load up much, dumped blisteringly fast combinations and was himself extremely slippery. Basically, while Toney would no doubt have his moments, I think Calzaghe's engine and workrate, coupled with a style that is not ideal for Toney, would see him win on points down the line.
     
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  9. ETM

    ETM I thought I did enough to win. Full Member

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    Joe could outhustle Toney. He would have an advantage in quickness.
     
  10. Scratch

    Scratch Active Member Full Member

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    I've no idea who'd win but that'd be an absolutely phenomenal fight.
     
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  11. Loudon

    Loudon Loyal Member Full Member

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    He was never slippery.
     
  12. BCS8

    BCS8 VIP Member

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  13. Loudon

    Loudon Loyal Member Full Member

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    I knew that you’d come back with that.

    What a joke.

    He was never slick or slippery.

    He had a lot of great attributes.

    But his biggest flaw was his defence.

    He was very hittable.

    Always susceptible to right hands.

    James would have had a Birthday with his right hand.

    Many of Joe’s fans are delusional.

    He wasn’t a Loma.

    A Nunn.

    A Pea.

    He wasn’t a slick southpaw technician.

    Yes, he could have beaten James. And especially if James had just turned up, gone through the motions and underestimated him.

    But the smart money would have been on James.

    He was far more technically skilled.

    More experienced.

    He fought better competition.

    He was far more confident.

    And he beat Nunn, Reggie and Jirov.

    Joe never saw anybody as skilled as James in his entire career.

    Joe did absolutely nothing in his career, to have been FAVOURED over a prime, motivated version of James.

    There is no evidence to support him being favoured.
     
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  14. BCS8

    BCS8 VIP Member

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  15. Loudon

    Loudon Loyal Member Full Member

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    Brilliant.