Prime Roy Jones vs Prime Joe Calzaghe @ 168!

Either a wide decision or late stopage for Jones i would think.

 

Where is the venue for this fantasy match ? , i based my verdict of an easy decision for Calzaghe with the bout being in the States.
Roy Jones has never boxed as a pro outside of the USA, if the fantasy bout was to be held at the Millenium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales, infront of 60,000 or 70,000 mad taffs i take Calzaghe to win by a stoppage around about round 9 or 10. {and yes i do know we are talking prime v prime}

 

Calzaghe. in a close fight. he has way more hear and grit. they are both equally talented fighters and evenly matched for strength and speed. both very clever. Yes a washed up version of jones put him down but sometimes that happens. Calzaghe only really ever goes down early when he gets caught cold. his chin hardens throughout a fight

 

Jones has never fought a strategic fighter with exceptional footwork like Calzaghe, Rjj was an exceptional talent but this fight would have been a very tough one in my opinion.
Both primes were in different era's though IMO so its very hard to know.
Even though RJJ was way past prime Calzaghe showed the way to beat him was with good movement, in and out and make him miss. Its funny that before the fight everyone who fancied Roy was saying that his handspeed and power were his advantage and keys to victory. No doubt RJJ is slower now, but he can still hit but he couldn't get near enough to do it regularly enough. He admitted he couldnt get near him during the fight.
In a tough fight it comes down to sheer will, did prime Roy ever go through the trenches and could he have dug deep enough or had the patience not to get frustrated over 12 rounds?

 

Joe was over 30 when he fought Lacy. That was his most famous performance from an American audience's point of view, but his peak would have been when he was in his mid-20's. It's just that you only accept his peak being when he dismantled Lacy.

If you want that Joe to be his peak, fine. That Joe would have to use a time machine to fight the RJJ at super middle the night he fought James Toney for it to be a fair comparison. Joe is an ATG at 168. Roy's mature greatest years were at Light Heavy, but he had a great moment at 168 as well, i.e., the night he decisively beat Toney.

I don't think anyone's claiming Joe is one of the greatest light heavyweights of all time. Just that his performance, at an advanced age, at above his best weight, is clear (albeit circumstantial) evidence of how great he actually was all those years at 168 in which he was getting no credit from the American boxing people. He really would have beaten the American 168 fighters of back then (other than RJJ, who became a light heavy pretty early on), and done so easily. He's that good.

There's no real, fair, prime for prime fight for these two, unless they fought at a catch weight, or used a time machine.

Gotta invent one of those. Obviously I never will or my future self would have sent me back instructions as to how to build it.

 

in jones prime his movement was second to non his combinations were second to non. he use to move in and out when fighters through punches. watch the second round agaisnt joe when he lands his two punch combo. that is how roy used to beat his oppenents they could not get set.

i think if they had both meet in there primes. roy would have went out hard made joe feel his power and that would have slowed the pace of the fight.

i also think when he through his straight right he would flow in to a combination.

watch some of jones fights from 1997 to 1999.
even in the first tarver fight watch him land the straight right and then flow it up

i ask you this if roy had landed on joe when he was not afaird to get hit.
say by roy from the griffen fight. in the first round when he caught joe. do you think joe would have been able to carry on

 

But we're talking about a prime Calzaghe as well. :nono What if Calzaghe still has his chin?

Having said that, a guy with Roy's talent theoretically has a shot at KOing anyone. But I always thought Calzaghe had a great style to trouble Roy with. If Roy doesn't take him out in the first round or so, I think Calzaghe would get into his rhythm and outbox/outwork him from there.


But having said all that, the REAL answer to this poll should be: "Both fighters turn down chances to fight each other in their primes, and then agree to a fight when both are well past it and looking to cash out at the end of their careers". That's what happened, and that's how both fighters should be judged.

 

RJJ had greater handspeed (altho very close) Prime for Prime
RJJ has greater power (without a doubt) Prime for Prime
RJJ had better Reflexes Prime for Prime
RJJ had better ring Movement Prime for Prime

Calzaghe's defense being his quick slap movements wouldnt have been enought to defend against RJJ's left hook.

RJJ would have UD him, easy.
People must have forgot how good Roy was, and people are elavating Calzaghe too much.

 

No, obviously haven't watched any of Calzaghe's fights in his 20's. Go look up some of those fights on youtube. He had very little of the hand speed and boxing accumen that made him a beast against Lacy. He was a pedestrian champ with good power ruling over what was at the time one of the worst divisions in boxing.

 

cant beleave how after joe beat a shot roy who throws i punch a time. think he would have beaten roy in his prime

roy made undeafeated fighter look bad glen kelly over 25 wins no losses. griffen beat tony twice. roy fought him when griffen had over 25 wins. after roy k.o him he was never the same. i bet you if roy never meet him he would have built a record of over 35 fights before he lost

 

Good point.

Everyone keeps talking about how long Roy's been past his prime, but people were saying Joe was past his prime too just prior to the Lacy fight. I know over here in America, everyone was saying that, and most people here picked Lacy to win (the odds here were about 2-1, maybe 3-1 for Lacy). But after Calzaghe pulled off the upset, everyone just said "Well, Lacy's a bum".

The revisionism on the Lacy fight is despicable IMO.

 

So did Calzaghe.

 

jones by KO, RJ landed a lot fo clean shots on Calzaghe sat night, but at this stage of his career, he can no longer put 2gether punches, foot speed is gone.

At 168, add back the footspeed, the handspeed, combinations, reflexes everything else.

RJ would embarass calzaghe, if calzaghe got KD in the 1st round against a prime RJ, its pretty much over after that.

I see in no way ROy Jones losing

 

Goodbye Joe.

 

I think this thread answers all the necessary questions we need, considering it was posted right after the fight--ie, the most favourable time for Joe--yet less than 30% see him winning the fight.