It’s a fair question. I voted for Kalambay on points but did he ever face a fighter quite like Benn? I definitely favour Sumbu because he is fundamentally better but bearing in mind what happened to him against Michael Nunn, you just never know.
Yep it's alway the Nunn fight that comes to my mind when I think of this. Benn sure had the speed a power.
Kalambay beat aggressive fighters like Barkley, DeWitt, Collins, fairly easy. And also gave a prime Mike McCallum who was a level above Benn a boxing lesson aswell. Benn couldn't deal with someone like Thulani Malinga, I don't see how Benn wins this match up barring a surprising early KO.
The Nunn fight was a freak occurence, if they fought 100 times it probably would never happen again. Kalambay was an outstanding Middleweight, and one of the underrated skillful Middleweights of all time. I think Kalambay at his best is a level above Benn and stops him late on.
I don’t disagree with your verdict, D. I think a Kalambay win is the likely outcome and I voted as such. I think you can argue the Nunn KO was a freak occurrence - it probably was - but it does sew a seed of doubt and a fight with Benn would have been high-profile. Did Kalambay just get caught cold by a lucky punch or was the scope of the event a factor? Like you, I think the only way it happens is by an early KO. The other thing in Kalambay’s favour is that he’d be expecting Benn to go straight at him so he’d been on high alert, unlike how he fought with Nunn where he probably expected a cagey opening.
Kalambay also got knocked down early by Graham didn't he ? Which suggests that maybe Kalambay could be caught cold early. But the issue I have Jel is that Benn at 160 was a bit reckless, and not as refined as he was at 168. And also seeing Benn puzzled by a cutey like Malinga, don't really suggest to me that Benn could beat Kalambay. The only way I see Benn winning is by early KO, which possibly could happen. But my money would be on Kalmabay by late stoppage or decision.
