Rafael Marquez vs Joe Calzaghe. You have seen them both fight. Hypothetically, Pretend that they are the same size. What does Rafa have that would trouble Joe and vice versa. Who would win this fight?
Marquez fought at 122, moron. And Calzaghe isnt a coward like Oscared, fighting little midgets. Thanks for playing, and see you next time on "Get Schooled by Jack!":good
JK. Hypothetically, I like Calzaghe against anyone from Lt Heavy on down, he throws crazy punches from all angles for 12 rounds. But against this Mexican windmill, it would be a helluva fight.
I think Calzaghe still wins, with Marquez being a live dog to knock him out. Joe's never faced someone with that kind of power, on a P4P basis, and I believe he would have a bit of a reach disadvantage as well. Purely on style, there would be little to prevent Calzaghe from swarming though, unless Marquez's power makes him think twice. It would be a very exciting fight, and probably close for about 8 rounds, but I think Joe's superior conditioning would carry him to the end. On a P4P level, here are a few guys I could see Calzaghe having trouble with, if you blow them up to his size, due to style and physical characteristic matchups: - Christian Mijares - tricky southpaw with comparable boxing skills - Juan Manuel Marquez - Joe can leave himself open to being countered, and Marquez is more active than Hopkins - Chris John - same argument as JM Marquez. Would be more of a dog than Marquez though because he has less power. - Celestino Caballero - Considering he would be about 6'8" if he was at 168, and Joe's always had problems with awkward fighters - Paul Williams - Wouldn't be able to win the workrate war, and Williams is a harder puncher P4P. - Miguel Cotto - Would wear him down to the body, to neutralize flurries, also key that he's more active than Hopkins - Ivan Calderon (prime) - I'm not sure Joe would be able to catch him when popping in and out And some top P4P guys he should be able to beat: - Pacquiao - similar to R. Marquez, except with less boxing skills. Would be a live dog to knock him out, but he'd probably get hit way more than Joe does. - Margarito - Joe knows how to handle that type of stalking style well. - Klitschko (if he was shrunk) - Almost like a less active Kessler, would probably be a blowout - Ricky Hatton - See Margarito
I can see the argument too. I didn't mean similar in terms of tools, but I meant similar in terms of fighters who tend to box top level opponents and then who turn into stalkers when they sense weakness in their prey, and similar in how they would have a chance at beating Joe. As I said elsewhere, one thing Calzaghe does very well is deal with stalkers, and I just don't know that Pacquiao has enough skill as a pure boxer to look much better than Kessler did when he tries to box on the outside. If Pac was more comfortable fighting on the inside, I'd give him a better shot. However, until Calzaghe suffers more than just a flash knockdown in his career, I'll just assume that his chin is good enough to handle an elite puncher without getting KOed.
