Prime Roy Jones Jr. Vs Prime Joe Calzaghe, who wins?

Jones UD. He hasn't ko'd much less durable fighters. Calzaghe may have been dropped but he was nowhere near hurt. And it was a forearm bone to the nose, not a glove to the chin.

 

Jones by mid round KO... Jones is shot and was able to knock him down how much more when he was in his prime years?.. u decide

 

:thumbsup

 

Jones.

 

That's the excuse of the day. Jones is shot. He may not have been the same against Calzaghe the other night, but I think Calzaghe would have beaten him in his prime no less. Calzaghe was a much harder puncher when he was younger and still had his speed. I was never sold on Roy for many reasons. And I always said a smart technical fighter would beat him which is more or less what Tarver did. I knew Calzaghe was gonna walk all over Roy because Roy was not a good technician, just a good physical specimen in youth. You have to be a smart fighter to beat Calzaghe and the only one that was closest to that was Bernard. Calzaghe is just really tricky to beat for anyone. If you beat him, you certainly didn't beat him easy. I figure Calzaghe beats Jones in a decision in their youth. Jones was landing close to the same amount he landed in his prime. Its just a fighter who is used to fighting at that pace doesn't go well if their against Calzaghe who just throws to many punches from all angles and is quick and clever for the most part.

 

It would have been a great fight anywhere from 1998 - 2003

I'd favor Jones on points from 1998 - 2001 and Calzaghe on points from 2002 onwards.

 

Have you actually watched any of Roy's fights from his prime??

 

I think you have to take into account when each was at their best and the styles involved. The people who are saying that RJ would knock him out in three rounds are just being silly.
RJJ used to knock the lesser fighters out for fun but he didn't ko Toney or Hopkins and lots of his fights went 12.
No doubt RJJ was in his atheltic and skills prime way back, I think Calzaghe has matured into his prime and his footwork now is exceptional, Jones complained during this fight that he couldnt get near him and yes i know Roy is nowhere near prime but that was because of the way Calzaghe uses his feet..in and out caused him problems.
It would have been a fight that would go to points, no doubt in my mind and I think its a pick em fight.

 

Forearms 2 the nose is not a knockdown! That wasn't the UFC!

 

Jones by stoppage.

 

Same here.
Prime Jones will beat Joe easy and so does prime B-HOP.

 

No. He hasn't. He's a simpleton with no real knowledge regurgitating what he's heard from a bunch of idiotic, illogical Roy haters.

Roy's skills were enhanced by his physical attributes, there's no doubting that. That's because he patterned his game and style around his physical abilities. When a fighter fights like that their entire career it's extremely hard to fall back on a completely different style (or to be nearly as effective at it) when your physical gifts go. Roy was a genius in the ring at his best: a counter-punching master, a great in-fighter (especially off the ropes), a trap-setter, a ring general, a precise puncher and punch-picker, great timing, etc. His physical attributes made all of this possible and enhanced these abilities, but make no mistake, he was a thinker and a technician in the ring. He was unable to maintain this level of excellence because unlike guys like Hopkina and Toney, he patterned his game around these attributes and made them work, whereas they patterned their game around the fudamentals. That's no knock on Roy, as he was a better fighter at his peak than either, it just means his game worked better with his gifts from an unorthodox angle, which is also why he wasn't as successful when he aged. People need to get a clue and get a real perspective.

 

Does anyone on here feel that Calzaghe is just a stylistic nightmare even for a prime Roy Jones with his southpaw stance and insane workrate?

I'm not saying Calzaghe would definitely win but those on here who think prime for prime that Jones would dismantle Calzaghe are just being ridiculous.

Nobody could ever dominate a prime Jones or Calzaghe.

This would have been a sensational fight in their primes.

 

EXACTLY

 

I feel the exact opposite, for reasons both an old Jones and an old Hopkins showed early on before they faded down the stretch (Jones much earlier due to his lack of legs).

Precise counter-punching with ring generalship and great footwork is the way to beat Calzaghe. A guy like Jones in his prime, with his insane speed (even better than Joe's) and counter-punching ability, would offset Joe's workrate and pressure with quick, powerful counters throughout the fight, making it difficult for Calzaghe to keep up his workrate without being set. He'd knock him off balance and on his heels coming in wide the way he often does. The reason he wasn't able to keep this up or work this game as effectively as an old Hopkins was his lack of legs, which used to be one of his best attributes. Hopkins lacked the workrate, speed, and stamina to keep it up against the never tiring Calzaghe. The same wouldn't be the case with a prime Jones, or a prime Hopkins IMO. Both fighters are poison stylistically for Joe, Jones moreso because of his better speed and power.

Another thing, even if Calzaghe were able to work Jones back at times and get him on the ropes, Jones was fantastic there, and held the handspeed and power advantage from any range. I honestly don't see Calzaghe's flurrying working anymore than in spurts, as Jones would get the better of any prolonged exchanges, possibly putting Calzagje on his ass in the process. You can rest assured he'd get a couple more of those using the tactics I described above, mainly with his sharp counters from mid range, especially with the straight right, which was one of Roy's best punches.

However, Calzaghe's stamina, relentlessness, and adaptability would allow him to be competitive (more so in the second half of the fight) and take a few rounds, just not enough to win.