Ok, to start with I am a big Calzaghe fan, but at the same time I do not swallow everything he puts out and I feel that if he wants to end his career with a real high he needs to fight on after the Jones fight. To begin with I am going to look at the fighters that Joe should be looking at. The list is as follows. The winner of Tarver/Dawson Pavlik Glen Johnson The three/four fighters above all have different things going for them in my eyes. First there is the winner of the Tarver Dawson fight. The winner of this fight will rightly become the number two in the division that Joe is now in. If Tarver wins this will nicely fall into the golden oldies policy Joe has taken lately and for me Tarver will never be able to cope with Joe's constant punch output, just watch the Woods fight in which he is running around with his mouth open trying to get as much air in as possible. The only, thing Joe would have to watch out for would be the KO, and I can't see Tarver doing that. Dawson on the other hand would be more dangrous, however he is for me still a green fighter and Joe would be able to figure him out quickly. While in his last fight against Johnson, he was awful. Also, a fight against either of these two could quite easily take place in Wales. The second is Pavlik, who for me is over rated. Yes, he does have good power but if the fight was to take place at around 170-175 would his power be quite so deverstating? I don't think so, also another thing to remember is that Joe does have quite a good chin, its not the best, but Joe can take a flush shot and stay up, or get up straight away. For those of you that don't believe this look at the Kessler fight and see the uppercuts Joe walks right through. While, of those who cite the B-Hop fight, that put down was one of those that simply knocks you off balance. However, I am not saying that Pavlik would be able to put Joe on the floor, I am saying that I would be shocked if he did not get up. Also, another flaw I see in Pavliks locker is his fighting style, he is a simple 1-2, 1-2, 1-1-2, 1-2, 1-1-1-2 fighter (if he was european, everyone would be calling him a typical european fighter). This type of fighter is made for Joe as he would simply come at Pavlik from angles and stay out of range. Although, i do see why Joe is not too keen on Pavlik, as he is the only fighter for me who will cause him problems and also if he fights him in the States (which would be the only place for a fight of this size) he will be going into the lions den and if the fight is close when it goes to the cards, then Pavlik would get the descision. As for Johnson, if Joe was to fight him, it would shut up everyone saying that he avoided him with a fake injury, and it will also look good on the CV as he is the ultimate journey man of his era. Anyways, like I said before I am not happy with Joe ending with Jones. If he beats him as he should he has to go on just to shut up the constant nay-sayers. Also he has taken so long to get to the top it seems stupid to call it quits now (unless he knows himself that he is f**ked). Also if Joe was to go on and beat Pavlik and say one of the others, would it finally shut a lot of you up? Take it easy.
I just don't see it happening. I think he retires after RJJ. He's talked about wanting to keep his 0 and just the fact that he's fighting RJJ should say a lot. A little too little, too late IMO. Having said that, if he fights and beats one or two of the guys mentioned above, i would respect him a lot more. I especially want to see him fight the winner of Dawson/Tarver and Johnson. As you said, i think Pavlik is tailor made for Calzaghe. Pavlik is just too straight forward, methodical, and predictable. Calzaghe is like a rabbit and Pavlik would be like a turtle trying to catch a rabbit. But if he actually BEATS Johnson and Dawson/Tarver, there would be no more questions on my part.
I forgot to be honest. But that race was in a straight line, i was referring more to the square ring. But at the end of the day, it is what it is.
Beautiful scenario but when it's all said and done, he won't retire right away because he will lose his 0 against RJJ !
Dawson will beat Calzaghe if they ever fight. Btw, I am not counting Tarver out, he can punch a lot harder than Joe.
Actually, i was combining what Calzaghe saids a lot ("At the end of the day") and what Hopkins saids a lot ("It is what it is") to make a revoluntionary statement that borders on genius. But yeah, i do watch too many youtube Hopkins videos. I mumble "It is what it is" way too much.