BoxRec

The fight that was heavily pushed at a time by HBO and, particularly, Max Kellerman in the aftermath of Calzaghe-Jones fight. Dawson was willing to fight Calzaghe, too.

Calzaghe, though, was thinking more about retirement at that point. And he did retire in 2009 - exactly when this fight (had Calzaghe stayed in boxing) would've been red-hot.

Who would've won between Dawson and Calzaghe in what would've been an IBF/Ring Magazine 175lbs unification?

At this particular time in their careers Dawson could've probably taken him. Both at their best, I'm picking Calzaghe.

Same. I would pick Dawson by UD. Both in their prime I would pick the opposite

Dawson
As an aside, fair play to Joe for leaving on his own terms. He had his big fight with Jones then walked away. Kind of cool.

Noxy wrote: ↑24 Feb 2024, 04:15 Dawson
As an aside, fair play to Joe for leaving on his own terms. He had his big fight with Jones then walked away. Kind of cool.

Yeah that's fitting really. Forget the young guy that's on the way up. The one you'd want to beat as a fighter is the one you heard a million times throughout your career was the #1 guy to beat. Once he did it, he was out.

Calzaghe was no spring chicken when he retired, but I also wouldn't say he was that much out of his prime. Yes, Roy was a shell of his former self. But right before Jones, Calzaghe has beaten B-Hop and Kessler. Kessler was very much in his prime. And Hopkins will do a lot of good things post-Joe.

In my estimation, Calzaghe's speed, reflexes, footwork and stamina were still top-notch in 2008. He saved himself well for his age. To me, Calzaghe was always more or less the same. I can't say that the one that fought Robin Reid or Charles Brewer was that much better than Joe from Kessler and Hopkins fights.

I think, Calzaghe never fought anyone stylistically similar to Dawson. And vice versa. Tough challenge for both.

Dawson had skills to defeat Calzaghe and I was actually picking him to win back then. But some might argue, he could've been lethargic at times and was pron to be frustrated. If you're a Dawson fan (and I am), you wouldn't want that to happen against someone like Calzaghe.

But Calzaghe would find his fair share of struggles against a tall, rangy, skilled and physically strong southpaw.

That's a fascinating match-up with variables.