BoxRec

If the 'injuries' and domestics hadn't scuppered their meeting, can any one make a case for a Calzaghe victory?

I say he would've got outhustled in a split decision that should've been UD. Johnson is solid, tenacious and willing to fight 180 seconds per round. Something Joe hasn't managed since Eubank (though he got close with Brewer).

Sounds about right to me.

Johnson by KO.

Johnson by KO

can't see how Joe would keep Glen off

Looking at it like that over and over, makes you realise that Joe must have a fornicating good chin, to take that shot and get back up. He does seem to have very good powers of recovery.

I can remember most people being very much in favour of a Calzaghe victory before he fought Salem. Joe is looking very ordinary. If you are only good as your last performance, then Joe doesn't look a cut above any more.

It's all well and good saying he's inactive and rusty, but that's the way it is. Joe is slowing down his career and he's over 30 now. I think Calzaghe would have got beaten by a few other fighters if he'd fought that way.

Maybe his preparation and motivation aren't there right now, but even so, he'd better pull out something a bit more special against a big young puncher like Lacy.

With the quality of opposition Joe's had lately, coming up against someone as hungry as Lacy would be, could turn out to be a real shocker. It's one thing pulling the shit out of the bag against an opponent who hasn't got the class to really take the fight to you, another entirely when there's someone at or near your own class.

I think the gap between the rest and calzaghe has definetly shrunk significantly after that performance, Joe's not looking unassailable.

I think Joe needs some better fights if he's to keep himself mentally and physically sharp, Salem never really pressed him that even after dropping him, others would.

jamesmcdonnell wrote:I think the gap between the rest and calzaghe has definetly shrunk significantly after that performance, Joe's not looking unassailable.

I think this is a very valid point, Calzaghe is just plain arrogant or stupid if he claims there are no more challanges at SM....the point i always made is, ok there may NOT be many challenges at SM but if he is going to stay at that weight then there are certainly better challenges than Salem out there. Don't insult our intelligence Joe by making out that the Salem's of this world are the best out there and they "Deserve there shot at the title" (Joe's own words) because he doesn't deserve a shot at the title...for goodness sakes the guys are there at Super Middleweight and as James said...the gap is most definately shortening.

The Super middleweight talent pool is better now than at any time I can think of since the late 90's. There are more and more young fighter's coming through and a number of accomplished European fighters too. Since Ottke retired, things have improved quite dramtically as there are more competitive fights going on.

SN's policy of matching Joe poorly over the years will ultimately come to bite them on the bottom.

If Joe is forced to go to the well against a Lacy he may well find it's not there anymore, he's never really had to do it before anyway. Of course Warren may argue Calzaghe has earned X over the last decade and ended his career relatively unscathed and he would be right, however on the grand world boxing stage his career will be looked upon as a bit of a joke and even his modest acheivements to date will be tarnished if he gets flattened by a Lacy or Green or even worse.

That is precisely my worry. It's easy to say 'Oh, I fought to the level my opponent.' But when you're only fighting once every 8 months, against the likes of Mger the unpronouncable and Salem, what gurantees are there that Calzaghe will have it in the tank?

Imagine if that had been Green or Lacy who had dropped him, do you think Calzaghe would have been let off the hook like that. Salem didn't show a great deal of ambition considering he had just hit Calzaghe with a booming right hand.

I am sure Calzaghe can fight better than that, he has done in the past, but he needs to sharpen himself up quick if he's going to move up and fight Tarver or Johnson. If he stays at SM, then he'd better stay active, because the guys coming up are hungry and some of them hit bloody hard.

I really hope Calzaghe's career goes out with a bang and not a whimper. It will be a real sore point for me, after all I've been bragging about Calzaghe as one of our best fighters for years, but the fights simply haven't materialised.

I'm sure the Johnson fight, had it happened, would have been a completely different story.

Motivating yourself for Salem cannot be compared to motivating yourself for a fighter like Johnson. I'm sure the preparation would have been much improved had Johnson been the man in front of Calzaghe at the weekend. He seemed complacent, lacklustre, and even bored on friday. Now whether that is because he's washed up, or his much publicised problems have taken their toll, or that his competition wasn't of a suffiently high calibre to bring the best out of him, only Joe knows.

I think it's much too early to write Calzaghe off, in terms of ability (but maybe not in terms of him getting a big fight before he retires), but i do agree with the fact that his best days are behind him. It'd still be a competitive fight with Johnson, but i'm not as convinced as i was that Joe would win.

Of course, I am sure that not being motivated is a factor, but looking at what's happened to Roy Jones in recent years, you can see how dangerous that is. I am sure that he would train with a lot more intensity for a Johnson clash, but would he train with as much intensity as Glen?

My fear is that Glen is hungrier than Calzaghe, he's got so much to prove after a career that's been filled with dissapointment, he's not likely to be giving up those belts without walking through fire first.

There's a lot of questions surrounding Calzaghe at the moment, and they won't be answered until we see him step back up in class again.

Fair point about Johnson being the hungrier of the two. I think Joe's financial situation, and the fact that he's taken the easy route have detracted from the desire he once had. But criticism can sometimes bring back some of the hunger, hopefully he'll be stung into turning in some performances now.

But i think people have got to remember that Johnson is hardly an unstoppable force, just because he's beaten Jones. He's had two close fights with Woods (who is only fringe world class), and has been beaten by some names that aren't even up there with Woods. It's one thing beating a fighter who looks shot, it's another beating a man who might have something left. One thing's for sure Joe doesn't have as many miles on the clock as Jones, and age will not affect him as much as Jones either.

True, but the counterpoint to that is that Calzaghe is used to having the offensive advantages at SM, will he have the same pop at light heavyweight. Remember, Johnson has only ever been stopped by Hopkins, early in his career too, like Hopkins, he is probably a better all around fighter now than he was then.

Johnson has been in with some far bigger men than Calzaghe. When Calzaghe got decked by Mitchell, he reacted by getting up and laying right into him. He might not like what happens if he tried the same thing with Johnson.

I am not saying Joe won't win if they fight, just providing the counterpoints to consider. All my crticisms of Calzaghe are borne out of dissapointment and frustration at the last couple of years.

You're far from the only one who's critism comes form frustration where Calzaghe is concerned. I think pretty much everyone is in the same boat.

However, i think there is a little too much haste to dismiss him as a fighter, and i for one think that whilst Johnson is very solid, and can definitely fight a bit, Joe still has the tools to get the job done, unless he has nothing left in the tank. If he turns in a performance like that one against Salem, then he will be stopped.

My big worry if the fight was to happen (which i don't think it ever will) is that i can't see how Calzaghe could put a dent in Johnson. I don't think the power that he has will be enough to keep Johnson off or even dicourage him. Which considering Joe looked as if he was blowing about halfway through on saturday, it doesn't bode well if a fight with Johnson gets to the later rounds.

Yes, Glen has been cracked by some big punchers in the past, but only Hopkins was able to put a beating on him. I remember Clinton laying some pretty big uppercuts on Johnson to no effect whatsoever in both their fights. Johnson tucks his chin down well and so isn't easy to hurt.

I think the only way you are gonna stop Johnson is if he punches himself out and tires badly.

Or brutalise him for the whole fight, which is what I think Nard did. Must download that one.

Strange thing is, he's not a very big light heavyweight, but there's hardly a pick of fat on him, how did he make middlweight?

Mind you, If toney was a middleweight once, anything is possible.

picture of toney as a super middle.

Hopkins' style is a wearing down with hard but not KO shots. Woods could have been comparable but wasn't busy enough. Calzaghe on his day is busy, he COULD do the business on Johnson.

But if the fight was on the cards, I'd have to say that Johnson would get my money. Calzaghe's getting sloppier the less he is challenged. I'm getting a bit sick of guys like Vilches and Salem who seem to think it's a triumph to have lasted the full 12. Calzaghe's not as sharp as he was and the rest of the division is also coming up to meet him.

Or maybe this was a cunning ruse to make Johnson think Calzaghe is vulnerable.