Better fighter: Joe Calzaghe or Oleksandr Usyk

2 undefeated southpaws known for their boxer-swarming style, high workrate, versatility, stamina, use of angles, and ring smarts. Resume and skill wise who would you say was the better and greater fighter overall?

 

Usyk is better and will be remembered as greater.

 

Usyk, and it's not particularly close imo

 

One cleaned up a division, then moved up in weight and beat a much larger good quality champion, the other avoided challenges.

 

Usyk by far

 

Usyk easy. Joe's best win is a 'styles make fights' win over a 43 year old, fuck Calzaghe.

 

In Joe's defense, I would say his best win is Kessler.

That was considered a 50-50 fight going in, so Calz does deserve credit for the win.

He deserves some credit for the Hopkins win because B-Hop went on to score good wins afterwards, but obviously it wasn't vintage Hopkins.

Roy was shot to pieces, and that win should be discounted.

 

Aye, its close between Kessler and old-Hop. After that it's pretty poor fare.

Carl Froch's best 5-10 wins are superior to Joe's, tbh

 

Calzaghe is a better jazzerciser than Usyk

 

While Usyk is definitely greater, I think they are at around the same level boxing wuse

 

Calzaghe is basically despised on this forum. Doubt he'll get more than a couple of votes.

MTF

 

Calzaghe beat much more handily the best win on Froch's resume and a younger, undefeated version at that.

Froch has a much better resume overall than Calzaghe and it isn't especially close, but Calzaghe's best two wins are better than any of Froch's.

MTF

 

I don't hate Calz at all. I'm 100% neutral on him. I'm neither a fan nor a detractor.

I think he would've beaten Froch by a mile.

 

Really? I dont see usyk struggling with fighters at the level of reid, salem and bika, at least not at cw

 

I like Joe. But I think Usyk is better.

 

Aye I won't argue. But I still think there's less in their resumes than average uk fans will admit. And its a wee bit of a bugbear for me because Slappy Joe's rep lives so large off that padded '0' while Froch gets reduced to borderline journeyman status in most uk fans memory due to those two losses. One (razor thin, I had it even) in Kesslers backyard, the other to Ward. Two risks Joe would never have taken in his life.

Fans: we hate duckers
Also fans: if you take a real risk and lose a decision you're crap now

 

Word

 

Usyk is the Better, More Accomplished Fighter w/Very LITTLE Argument, if Any...



REED

 

Great great post. I dont get the adoration calz gets from fans. His career was a travesty, bar for the last few years, and.he wasnt nearly as dominant as most claim he was. Had a ton of struggles and close,.contentious if not downrigjt controversial decision.

Dont get me wrong, he was a good fighter, but he get put on a pedestal beacause of his shiny undefeated record.

And yes this hypocrisy/double talk from fans really gets on my nerve. Another bugbear of mine is fans complaining thst there's too many weight classes, yet complains when a boxer fights a boxer from one weightclass below

 

Usyk is better but not by much. Guy is basically a superstar because he could box a lot better than Joshua, whose own career is essentially based on a 2012 Olympic medal he never won and a Life-and-Death struggle with ancient Klitschko.

 

I would actually agree that he isn't better than Joe by an overwhelming margin. I take into account the fact that the sport's talent pool was deeper in Joe's era than it is today. However, Usyk will go down as greater because he dared to test himself in a way Joe didn't.

 

Let's not go overboard, AJ has a pretty solid resume

 

The Calzaghe narrative would be a lot more positive if he were in his prime right now. There is no one at 160-168 currently that's in the same universe as a Jones, Hopkins, or Ward.

Calzaghe would beat Canelo, Benavidez, Charlo, and Plant handily.

 

I dont see calz has being levels above these guys. Id make him a favorite, but it would be competitive. Old ass brewer gave a good fight to calz, he wasnt better tjan most of these guys

 

I think he's the only hw champ ever with two losses to a former Cruiser champ and the only HW since Holmes to lose two fights to the same lower division guy.

 

Ehhh tyson....

 

Calzaghe shut out Brewer. At best, maybe Brewer won a round.

I don't think Plant or Charlo would beat Charles Brewer.

 

He didnt win a lot of rounds, but pretty much all of the rounds were competitive

I cant see charlo not eventually shattering brewer glass jaw. Him vs plant is a pick em

 

True enough. Mike a small guy too though. Plus its Holyfield

 

Brewer was massive. Guy was like a giant spider.