Prime Roy would beat prime Calzaghe at 168

I love reading everyone's opinions on this.

It sure is fun to speculate.

I always respect your opinions on any subject, but I can't agree with what you've wrote mate. Of course you may well have been right and I may have been wrong, but I honestly just can't envisage it at all. I don't think he'd have had a shootout with Roy. He'd have been too open.

 

I respect your opinion as well too pal.. How do you see it going? Do you think Joe would go into a shell once he realized he was outmatched like many other Jones opponents? I am actually a bit of a Calzaghe fan and give him the benefit of the doubt and would like to think he would try exchange with Roy mid fight. I could be wrong.

 

In my honest opinion I believe Roy when he said Joe would not have been able to keep prime Roy off of him. Stylistically I see nothing right for Joe in this fight. Prime Roy didn't really get tired either.

 

In my honest opinion mate, I don't think he would have taken the fight. That's not me hating on him or anything, it's just how I feel. Again, I could be wrong, and for all I know, he could have fought Roy and he could have stopped him. But from watching him for years and reading numerous interviews etc, I feel as though his ego was so huge, I don't think he'd have put himself in a fight that was even 50-50. His unbeaten record meant the world to him and I don't think he'd have put it at risk. You can read various comments that he's made regarding Roy, and they tell me that he had too much respect for him. He'd have been facing someone who was faster, more powerful and more accurate etc. I know Joe may have been avoided by a few guys, but the reality of the situation, is that you don't defend a lightly regarded belt for years if you're not happy to do so. Again, I'm honestly not hating, Joe was truly a great fighter. But if you look at his resume, his intentions were quite clear. My opinion is, if he really truly believed he could have beaten Roy, then he would have gone all out to try and secure the fight. So the fact that he didn't, along with the comments he made, tells me all I need to know.

If we assume they had've fought for the sake of the thread, in my honest opinion, it would likely have been a very cagey fight. People just assume that Joe would have fought Roy like he did everyone else, throwing hundreds of punches, with great speed and stamina. But I don't see that. I don't see him bombarding Roy and pressuring him like Tarver did. I see Joe cautiously playing a game of chess. Again, his comments and his career path tell me that he didn't have the will that a guy like Tarver possessed. So I think he'd have been hesitant, which would have negated many of his great attributes. Realistically, apart from a guy like Benn, I can't see many people blitzing Roy with a barrage of shots either. Sustained, calculated pressure, yes, but not the lightening fast combos that Joe used to throw. You wouldn't want to get into a shootout with Roy in his prime, again unless your name was Nigel Benn. In my honest opinion, Joe was a level above Benn. But he didn't possess Benn's ferocious will, or his power. So a shootout wouldn't have been an option for Joe. As great as Joe was, he left himself open like Benn did. And there's a world of difference between having a macho tear up with a guy like Byron Mitchell, and having one with Roy at 25.

Give Joe Tarver's drive and a time machine, and he'd have been Roy's worst nightmare. If you had to invent a fantasy fighter to beat Roy, when you'd listed all the attributes needed such as: a tall southpaw, who had great speed and power, with incredible stamina and a great chin etc, you'd basically be describing Joe. But none of those attributes could have been put to full use, without the belief. Without the drive and the confidence, those attributes couldn't be fully utilised. Could you imagine Joe, with the mindset of someone like Ricky Hatton? He'd probably have been a superstar.

Those are my honest thoughts. I just wish we had the Delorean to watch it unfold. But again, I'm seeing a pretty boring fight with Joe's average output less than halved due to not wanting to fully commit himself, due to him having hardly any offensive advantages for the only time in his career. I just don't see how he'd have won. Like yourself, I don't think he could have out boxed Roy, and again, I'm absolutely certain that he wouldn't have out fought him in a tear up. To me, those actions would have resulted in a TKO. Styles make fights. Which is why boxing is so incredible. Joe was a better fighter than the likes of Eric Harding and Tarver who Roy struggled with, yet they would always have presented him with more issues in my opinion.

So to finally answer your question, yes, I think he'd have gone into his shell, and Roy would have fought a cautious fight enroute to a points win.

If I could match Roy in some fantasy fights, I'd have a huge list. But right at the top would be Michael Nunn and Frankie Liles.


:good

 

When Roy was prime, he quickly broke down guys psychologically.

 

Stupid thread is stupid. All this about prime this or that is delusion. There's only reality stop the make believe and watch what actually happened when they met in the ring

 

Your right we should focus on what happened when they met ..Joe Calzaghe beat a shot RJJ by UD

 

Joe wasn't stupid enough to go to America when Roy was at his best. :conf

 

That's how great Roy was he was quick enough and had power to keep guys honest he was able to get away with stinking out the joint a bit.

 

He had a fear of flying that all changed once Roy was shot

 

I have always thought that this would have been a difficult fight for both men and it would have been close, however I would favor Jones if only for the fact that he was always in better physical shape than Calzaghe - which is not to say that Calzaghe was in bad shape, that would be a ridiculous thing to say given how much stamina he had and how high his work rate was, just that Jones didnt have the problems with his hands that Calzaghe had with his.

 

roy toys with calzaghe and joe knew it, waiting till roy was pushing 40 before suddenly magically getting cured of fear of flying to America.

 

how much younger exactly was the welshman? not too much.

 

yeah genius everyone gets older. even calzghe gets older when he waiting for legends to get shot2shyte so he can suddenly get braver and challenge them. do you expect one person to not get older whilst everyone else does?

he didn't challenge them till he reckonened they got shot2shyte, that's a fact, don't pretend it didn't happen.