Pound 4 Pound... who is the better fighter ? Calzaghe or Lewis ?

but that doesn't account for how their attributes may change with weight. Would JC be able to keep his workrate up if he weighed and extra 3 - 5 stones? Would Lewis get much faster and busier if he was about 6 stone smaller? Would his power be the same?

This is the whole problem with the entire p4p thing.

 

If Calzaghe's at HW, then Mitchell, Hopkins and Jones may have all been lights out instead of just knockdowns.

That's the peril of being a HW, one clean punch can end it at any time.

The truth of the matter is, Lewis has a much better resume and because of that, I'd say he's the better fighter.

 

Skill wise, personally, I think Lennox's skills are far superior P4P then Calzaghe's. I couldn't ever see any heavy weight in the history of the division (over 100 years) making Lewis look as amateur(embarrassing) as a 43 year old Bernard Hopkins (who eventually got defeated on work rate and stamina alone) made Calzaghe look at times.

 

Lennox Lewis pisses all over Calzaghe, the man who thinks hes above rematches, even when he wins by dodgy majority decisions.

Lewis beat them all, had trilogies the lot, Calzaghe? When was the last time he even KO'd someone?
Sorry to make my argument so basic, but when you look at the basics Lewis was the complete package, & Calzaghe? well, he wasnt.

Basically.

 

I'm a big fan of both of them, used to love watching LL fight. If I had to choose one over the other I'd give the edge to Calzaghe - very close though.

 

Lewis had trilogies? :huh

In fact the only rematches he ever had were ones where he got KTFO in and the Holyfield one.

Calzaghe > Lewis p4p.

Holyfield > Lewis p4p.
Tyson > Lewis p4p.

I could go on. Lewis was a great fighter but come on look at the physical advantages he carried in the ring with him. Holyfield gave Lewis a competitive fight in the second fight despite being the much smaller man.

 

No way, the skill difference between a 43 year old, recently twice beaten Hopkins, and Joe was clearly evident. Calzaghe could hardly land anything of note - nobody does that to Lewis! The fact that Joe scraped a much debated split decision by outworking (the same thing a younger busy Taylor did to Hopkins twice before Joe) over a 43 old Hopkins really does cloud the gulf in skill that was clearly evident in that fight. When Hopkins was more busy, and not gassing badly (ultimately due to age), he was winning the fight.

Lewis does better against any heavyweight in the over 100 year history of the division, then Joe does against at least two names in the last 15 years around 168, imo.

When people talk about amazing skill, and Calzaghe - I really don't see this! I see a guy with exceptional stamina, a very good chin, and a huge "punch output". Of cause he is more then that, but those are the main things he brings to the table.

Joe's defence is not that tight or skillful - he often gets caught, and saved by his chin; he often leaves himself wide open. His offence largely consists of throwing huge volumes of punches that are not accurate, and it's debatable whether a lot of them are actual punches - he also has very poor power. Lewis is streets ahead skill wise, imo, he is the complete package.

Bill I think your fondness of Joe the fighter is somehow clouding your judgement. The fact that you say Calzaghe could do very well, and cut it in the Cruiser division (25lbs extra weight) by " ...unleashing a big bomb every now & then just to keep the cruiser guessing" - says it all. You also have Joe as the current P4P no1 when he clearly is not! Now you have him as being Greater then Lennox Lewis. Fair enough if those are your opinions, and you're entitled to them - but unlike you, personally I do not think he would cut it against the top Cruisers, he's not the current P4P no1, and he's not Greater then Lennox Lewis.

 

Don't forget Bruno was outboxing LL prior to getting stopped.

 

Lewis is so self evidently superior to Calzaghe that the argument is just not worth making

 

exactly:good

 

I can't even believe this question is being asked.

Even TFFP (probably Calzaghe's biggest OBJECTIVE fan on the Brit forum) put Lewis in a top 5 - with Calzaghe 6-10 on a British ATG list.

Must say I am inclined to agree, with Lewis at #1.