Only one possible post-Roy Jones, Jr. fight for Joe Calzaghe: Chad Dawson

If you haven't heard the news, Joe Calzaghe says there is no chance he will rematch

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:

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=17576&more=1

I don't blame Joe for taking this position. He clearly defeated Hopkins the first time around and a rematch won't look any more aesthetically pleasing than their initial bout did.

On two of the official scorecards of the Hopkins fight, Joe won 7 of the 8 final rounds:

http://boxingchronicles.blogspot.com/2008/04/calzaghe-vs-hopkins-official-scorecard.html

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Joe proved his point. Once he figured-out Hopkins' one-punch-and-grab style, Calzaghe got the job done.

Of course,

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cannot be overlooked. Though Roy hasn't aged as well as has Bernard Hopkins, he still has superior speed and should provide Joe with one of his most difficult tests to date. There is no reason to think that Roy can't beat Calzaghe, particularly when it is recalled that Jones has fought at 193 pounds in the past (vs John Ruiz). Joe will have to be at his best for the fight in order to have an opportunity to win.

If Calzaghe gets by Roy, however, there seems to be only one other name that could possibly compel Joe to lace up the gloves a final time:

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.

Do I think Calzaghe will fight Dawson? No. Does Calzaghe 'need' to fight Dawson? No.

Do I hope Calzaghe fights Dawson if he beats Roy Jones, Jr.?

Yes.

There will never be a Calzaghe-

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fight, nor is there any reason to be one. The Welshman would dominate the Youngstown, Ohio native. Pavlik is best suited to the 160 lbs. division, at least at this stage of the young fighter's development.

Calzaghe defeated outstanding fighters

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and

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earlier in his career. In his last five fights he beat

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,

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and Hopkins. He is about to face Roy Jones, Jr. There is nothing left for Joe Calzaghe to prove to anyone.

But I will root for him to fight Chad Dawson, provided Calzaghe can get by Jones. Those two victories would allow Calzaghe to leave the sport basically with all questions answered and no stones left unturned.

Dawson is younger, faster and bigger than is Joe Calzaghe. However, he also has worse defense, a relatively softer chin, less workrate and less of a fighter's heart than does the elder statesman. The one thing observers often miss about Joe Calzaghe is how incredibly competitive he is, particularly inside of the ropes. And, as the Hopkins fight showed, Calzaghe is very adaptable to his circumstances. It was not a coincidence that Calzaghe landed the most shots anyone ever had on defensive master Hopkins.

Fighting Dawson would be no easy chore for Calzaghe. Joe's not getting any younger and his reflexes aren't getting any sharper. And he is the smaller man. That said, I believe his consistent pressure and output would rule the day over Dawson's more lackadaisical, fight-in-spurts approach. Calzaghe's intensity would make

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's style seem retreative by comparison, and we all know how the 40 year old looked against Chad Dawson.

Joe Calzaghe doesn't need Chad Dawson. He's already a lock for the Hall of Fame and he ruled the SMW division for a decade. His resume is complete.

Still, I hope Calzaghe makes the Dawson fight if he survives his encounter with Roy Jones, Jr.

 

BigEddie, I have to go to an appointment right now but will return to answer your post later. Suffice it to say, you're wrong.

 

I wanted to make sure that I got your full post quoted for later. I'm out for now.

Zaryu - Thanks, man. :good

 

Ok, let's get back to BigEddie's ill-informed rant.

First of all, do your homework before attempting to waste my and the other readers' time. That would help. I said you were wrong and let's get that out of the way first thing:

You incorrectly said:

"1. both got knocked down twice in their careers"

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. (actually, they did each get knocked down twice but that is not all that they have been knocked down)

Joe Calzaghe and Chad Dawson have each been down

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in their respective pro careers.

Based on your lack of knowledge on the subject, your subsequent comments are essentially disqualified. But we'll look at them anyways, to further demonstrate the error of your ways, 'mother****er.'

Here are some other things you either don't know or aren't thinking about when you're making what you consider to be an argument:

* Only fighter between Joe and Chad to have ever been put down on the canvas while fighting at 158 pounds: Chad Dawson (vs Willie Lee)

* Chad Dawson: 3 knockdowns suffered in 27 fights. Joe Calzaghe: 3 knockdowns suffered in 45 fights. That's 1 and 2/3rds more fights for Calzaghe, and the same number of KD's.

* Number of times Joe Calzaghe was knocked down before the age of 31: Zero. Number of times Chad Dawson was knocked down before the age of 31: 3 and counting.

Now, forget about Chad hitting the deck at a lighter weight than JC ever did, and that he suffered the same number of KD's in about half as many fights as JC has had. Also put to the side that Calz was never down, and certainly not 3 times, when he was Chad's age.

Dawson was also repeatedly shook by 39-year-old Johnson, and he HIMSELF has said he has chin issues:

http://www.boxing24.com/antonio-tarver-vs-chad-dawson/

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Has anyone, ever, heard Joe Calzaghe declare that there are questions about his chin?

All of the above are important points, but there are two more considerations that help to fully seal the deal:

* Chad Dawson has atrocious defense

One of the reasons why Dawson won't fight Diaconu is because he is so unbelievably wide open for left hooks, Diaconu's best punch. He holds his right hand way, way too low. He's also open for rights (see the Adamek fight), but he's particularly susceptible for lefts.

If you lack defense technique the way Chad does, you better either have huge power or a great chin. Dawson has neither. And so it is only a matter of time before he will get hit and dropped. Chins don't tend to get stronger, and Dawson's style will see him getting hit more and more as time goes along. Look for his weak chin to become even weaker, much the same way Sam Peter's beard has progressively softened after Wlad drilled him late in that fight.

Finally, the most important thing to understand about Calzaghe's and Dawson's respective beards comes from how they fight, how they suffered their knockdowns and how they responded to their knockdowns. This is the true tale.

Calzaghe's KD's came

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. In other words, BECAUSE he knows his chin is good he can fight as he does, in his swarming style. Unlike, say, Chad Dawson, or Lennox Lewis, guys who fight more cautiously because they have to work within their glass jaw limitations.

Calz was dropped by Mitchell after he started opening up on the American in the second round. And by the end of that same round, Mitchell had lost by TKO. Calz got hit hard, too, but he shook it off and lowered the boom on Mitchell in a matter of seconds.

The fight in which Calz was dropped by Salem was a war. Headbutting, dirty tactics, Calz got cut, wrestling, everything. Again, Joe got caught while he was pressing the fight. And he got up and continued to attack and had Salem ready to go in the final round.

Same thing with Hopkins. Joe got suckered by BHop as he was coming forward and got put on his seat. How did he respond? By painting himself on Hopkins and winning 7 of the final 8 rounds on two judges cards by landing more shots on BHop than anyone ever had while pressing the fight.

Lee and Harding each dropped Dawson early in their fights. Was Dawson in a full-out press mode when he was dropped, as was Calzaghe? Nope. That's not how he fights, and has never been how he fights. And he can't fight that way because of his chin.

When Adamek dropped Chad, Dawson was just floating around the ropes doing not much of anything. He sure as heck wasn't on the offensive. And he had chances to take Adamek out but he didn't take them, just as he didn't take them against Eric Harding.

Not only is Dawson soft in the jaw, he seems a bit soft in the head as well, which is why he got an NC against Aundalen Sloan for failing a drug test after the fight.

The reason I say that Dawson does not have the heart or fighting spirit of Calzaghe is that Joe fights every minute of every round in your face. No half-assing, no taking rounds off or going into a shell. Again, even Dawson would tell you that he does this and doesn't press the fight when he could. He did it against Geriatric Tarver as well. His style may be fine, and I understand he has to protect the weak jaw, but his competitiveness and guts aren't anywhere close to those of Calzaghe's. And that's the main reason why Joe would tear him apart inside the ropes. When Chad was looking for that round to coast, Joe would be in his face, on his ass peppering him with combinations over Dawson's lazy right hand. Dawson simply cannot compete with Joe's workrate, and has not likely faced anyone with Calz' speed, either.

What Old Man Johnson did to Dawson would be a good preview of what Calzaghe would do to him. Joe would not hurt Dawson as much as Johnson did, but he would land more punches and do so with greater speed. And if he pressed things enough, he could likely stop Glass Jaw Chad as well with a sustained barrage of punches sometime during the fight.

I hope Calzaghe fights Dawson, I really do. As I said in the initial post, he doesn't need to and he might not be able to get motivated enough to do so. Why would he? I mean this kid has run from Diaconu and sat outside the WBC president's house just to get a 'note from Mommy' to not have to take on Adrian D. He dropped his WBC belt like Bowe did to hide from Lewis. Why in God's name would Joe care about whipping this guy's ass, especially after he saw what happened to Pavlik against Hopkins? If Glen Johnson could roll up Dawson, Calz has to know what he would do against Sad Chad.

If Joe beats RJJ, this is the only meaningful fight left for him. I don't think he'll take it, but I hope he does. Just to shut up know-nothings like you, BigEddie.

The next time you want to try to step up to the plate, bring a real bat and do your freaking research. Actually know what you're talking about. That way, you'll embarrass yourself less and have a real opportunity to win an argument and not lose credibility in the eyes of the entire ESB community.

 

I wish the post wasn't so long, but I had to definitively refute what BigEddie had said. I'll try to be more brief in the future.

:good