160, 168 and 175 pounders you'd pick to beat Sloppy Joe....

dsimon writes:

Yeah I hear you. I agree. :bears:

 

Yeah, Calzaghe would've taken out Ray Robinson, Harry Greb, Billy Conn and Ezzard Charles with no problem. ::

 

of course it was. Joe was a world champion for almost a decade and Bika was a fringe top 10 fighter. He had no business fighting Bika especially when he had a mandatory fight with the #1 contender in Stieglitz. The only reason he wasn't given shit for Bika is because Stieglitz lost after that and Bika came in game for the fight with Joe and put the wood to that ass.

 

Steiglitz probably should've received first crack at Joe, but Bika got an unfair rap against him going into that fight. He gave a good account of himself against Markus Beyer (for however long the fight lasted), but again, out of sight, out of mind. Wasn't shown over here, so nobody cared. And since Joe was fighting him, he had to have been just another bum of the month.

It was never gonna be one for the time capsule, but I never had a problem with Joe fighting Bika at that time. I think Tam and I were two of the few actually defending the choice and the chances of the fight NOT being a complete blowout.

 

I know Andrew was defending Bika as well, because (like us) he'd actually taken the time out and get a good look at Bika. Like it is with most boxing fans, if you haven't seen or heard of a fighter before, he MUST be useless. Afterall, you're a hardcore boxing fan and there's no way somebody could sneak up on you.

It's the arrogance we all have. Some have more of it than others.

 

I don't think we'll ever know because Calzaghe didn't fight enough/any guys who he can get credit for in his prime. I think, physically, that he's hell for anyone at 168 win or lose. Southpaws with his style and speed usually are. And while it's funny to call someone greatest in a 24 year old weight class, a win over Kessler would certainly put some distance between him and thatr short field. I don't know if he'd have beat Jones or Toney, but I think those are excellent fights.

 

One more thing...Calzaghe likely would have losses if he fought in the pool of middle and super middles of let's say 88-85, but that's because both divisions were as loaded with talent as almost any group at those weights in history. No one, except for Jones, got through that field without a loss and Jones in part got through because the HBO/Kingtime feud kept him away from a lot of top talent. I mean, Jones defses after Toney at 168 are pathetic considering who was still around then and patetic in general (Eric Lucas (?) was probably his toughest defense). Had corporate business been less important than boxing business then, Jones could have really tested himself more.

That said, Calzaghe would have fit well then, getting some big wins along the way. Comparisons of fighter a to fighter b on best night are largely retarded. Could he have been a top guy in that field night in and out is a better question and I'd say yes.

 

::

 

Joe would have had to sign waivers to fight Bob Foster. And Foster would have needed to hire a first class lawyer after the fight was over.