Benn was a brawler. Great boxer but gets jabbed and outfoxed to a clear 12 rd decision. Very easy night for calzaghe tbh.
Both of the fights you mentioned happened when Benn was 160....Most people realize that while Benn was a powerful puncher at 160, his overall game and ability were much stronger at 168 where this fight would take place. I can respect your choice of Calzaghe even if I disagrre with it....Benn is no Manfredo or Mitchell (the last 2 guys Joe took out in less than 6), and I see no way he gets Benn out of there that early..and I doubt he could take him out all. I assume you know who Watson is and Watson fought a brilliant defensive fight and wore the inexperienced Benn out...at 168 benn is not inexperienced and calzaghe is not going to magically morph into a defensive wizard for this fight. Joe would try and out work Nigel, and I don't think he has the power to discourage Benn or keep him off of him for a whole fight! I think it would be an entertaining scrap that Joe would either take narrowly on the cards or Benn would stop Joe.... Joe has never been stopped, so that is not a foregone conclussion, but I still believe Benn would be able to stop him and does around the 8th or 9th
I don't believe it is because they are revered Brits...but rather because it is calzaghe we are discussing. It seems here on ESB he is one of the most controversial fighters to discuss... His phans are blinded by his unblemished record, and believe he would destroy every other boxer ever at any time... His detractors point to his less than stellar track record and believe he would lose to every single great and most fringe greats as well. It is hard to have a rational discussion about him, due to those factors. Joe has grown on me over the past few years, and I think he would give anyone a good fight in his weight class...I think he would win some and lose some beased upon stylistic advantages. A great boxer with lunatic huggers and haters makes for irrational annalysis!!!!!
The 18 morons that voted for Benn should be slapped around the ear. You are voting with your heart aka your hate of Joe rather than your brain. Calzaghe beats Benn, no doubt at all, the only doubt I have is whether or not Benn lasts the distance.
Put down the glue bag, Joe dominated Eubank, he won at least 10 rds + floored him with a cracking left hook seconds into the opening rd for a 10-8 rd.... it was the 1st time Joe had to go 12 rds & he says he felt exhausted but his performance from rds 1-12 wasnt one of an exhausted fighter, far from it, this is when I realised that Calzaghe was the real deal & a great fighter in the making. Its laughable to say Benn beats Calzaghe... he would be thoroughly outboxed by Calzaghe, I wish you biased ****s would wake up & smell the **** tbh.
If you think Benn is better than Hopkins, Kessler or Eubank (I wont say RJJ, he was too far gone + there would be fkn heart-attacks on here if I did include him as a good win for JC).... I do not think Benn was as good as those 3.
the inexperienced benn !?!? benn and watson had the same amount of experience as each other when they fought. they were BOTH inexperienced !!. benn still got beat up and stopped by a jab. his chin was very shaky. at 160 and 168. his chin didn't become good all of a sudden by moving up a division. he was going in against bigger punchers so this was a negative, not a positive. plus, his punch had more affect at 160 than it did at 168. yes, he had more experience by the time he got to 168, but his ability certainly didn't improve. on that note you're talking rubbish. saying calz didn't have the power to hurt benn is also absurd. calz certainly had the power to put someone like benn away. throw in the angles that joe can create, it becomes that much worse for benn. go and watch calzaghe vs sheika to see how well he does against someone who comes forward with all guns blazing. not a problem. you also ask me if i know who michael watson is. no, who is he ?
Watson had clearly more experience than Nigel at the time. He had a more extensive amateur career despite turning pro at a much younger age, and had already beat up one of the most dangerous Americans in Don Lee when Benn was at the 12-month mark of his career. Nigel really hadn't fought anyone... Watson had also annihilated Ricky Stackhouse, who did v.good against Herol Graham and Roberto Duran. The KD/KO of Benn from Watson's jab was much more a case of exhaustion on Benn's part than a dodgy chin. Benn was throwing bombs wildly, non-stop in that fight...hitting the arms, gloves and elbows of Watson's tucked defense. But let's also not overlook the offense that Watson unloaded on Benn (of which Benn took....), in the 2nd round Watson hit Benn with every shot in the book - leading and countering with rights, hooks, uppercuts, combos, body shots from every angle... Benn took it all and kept firing. And man, Benn at '68 had improved tenfold - say '94-'96 you saw a patient boxer-puncher who used v.nice footwork and v.nice evasions to position himself for power-counters and jabbed his way in if leading off, I thought he looked excellent in the Collins fights flaunting that flamboyant bob-and-weave style he'd developed. The Benn of the Eubank rematch slipped, weaved and ducked his way through the fight on the front foot so well it made it appear as if Chris was throwing 12 rounds of inaccurate shoeshiners (when infact CE was looking sharper than ever in training). I think also Benn's KO ratio went down because he was fighting guys 2-3 weight classes above him in essence, mostly light-heavies/cruisers coming down whereas he was trying to grow into super-middle and could still make middle.
I just visualize Benn being drawn into a fight/brawl with Calzaghe, and vice-versa. And Calzaghe was the bigger, stronger man with such a dangerous left hook-cross and such sturdy whiskers, such fast hands in-close...Benn was vulnerable to a short or counter left hook (rocked badly by Barkley and Eubank with it and dropped by DeWitt with it)...
The Benn-Watson ko was actually bogus imo. Benn definately beat the count of ten. iirc, Benn literally threw no straight punches in that fight :think