Joe Calzaghe vs Roy Jones Jr

[JStone1984]

Calzaghe will come up against the most skilled opponent he has ever faced on Saturday night, but I feel that age will be a huge factor in this fight. Calzaghe has dealt with big punchers before and has a solid chin, having withstood Kesslers uppercuts and having not allowed Lacy to land a powershot over the course of 12 rounds. Calzaghe has an awkward style, a southpaw stance and wickedly fast hands which he loves to let loose. I think that Jones' power will be the major threat that Joe will face and Jones will use his boxers brain and skills to land big shots and avoid being hit. However, Joe is also a very intelligent fighter and I expect him to have worked out Jones' style by rounds 5-6 and then take over the fight, as was the case against Hopkins. The pace will be raised and his work rate will be too much for Jones. Calzaghes fight adaptability and work rate should be enough to beat Jones, although he is a formidable opponent and one slip by Calzaghe could ruin his final fight as Jones will exploit any weaknesses.

Your thoughts...?

[Dan...]

I think your assessment is reasonable.

For me the key to the fight is Roy's straight right counter. Calzaghe is going to be coming forward at Roy all night and is going to be throwing a lot of punches. If Roy does not land that straight right with a high degree of accuracy and on a regular basis he pretty much has no chance in this fight. His best bet is to land some very good rights early and hope this slows down Joe and makes him think twice before coming in with high volumes. If he can do this, Roy could then potentially control the fight at arm's length and mix in some more combinations.

Overall though I am not sure how likely the situation I posted above actually is. The safe bet is a Calzaghe UD in this fight, but I am not willing to completely write Roy off.