By Nick Hagan: There has been a lot of talk during the last few days, on social media and boxing websites (since Calzaghe went on Sky Sports) on the subject of who would have won If Calzaghe and Ward had ever fought.
From my count there has been three reports alone published on Boxingnews24, with many different people expressing their views on Calzaghe. Most being positive, but with a few negatives thrown In from Individuals who feel that Calzaghe ducked Dawson and Ward and retired rather than having to face them.
I don’t buy into this, as in 2008 when Calzaghe retired, Ward didn’t hold a recognized World Championship belt and Dawson was just the new kid on the block. Calzaghe was right to retire when he did, as he had achieved everything and successfully beaten Jones and Hopkins, the two main rivals of his generation.
However, Ward has since proven his credentials in the ring, by winning the WBC and WBA belts/ the Super Six tournament and also beaten the biggest names In Kessler and Froch within the Super Middleweight divisions. Ward is a fantastic boxer and deserves his ranking of No.2 P4P ratings.
In my opinion it’s no accident that Calzaghe is now talking about Ward and feels that he would have got the beaten of him, had they ever fought. I feel that Calzaghe does have motives behind his talk. Ward has since responded and has effectively belittled Calzaghe by saying “It’s easy to talk from a sofa”. Could this potentially all boil to a boxing ring?
Calzaghe has been away from the ring for four years, however at 41 he probably feels that he has it within himself to climb back into the ring, one final time to face Ward. The Super Middleweight/ Light heavy Weight division’s elite do not rely solely on speed. Hopkins is a prime example of this, who sat 48, relies on technique and all his boxing experience to get the wins. The point that I’m trying to make here is that it’s inevitable If Calzaghe does come back that at 41 he would be a bit slower, however he would be blessed with ten years experience as an undefeated world champion and just knowing what to do, to get the win.
Through the years we have seen boxers come back and win world championship belts, most famously George forman at the age of 45. In all fairness the majority do fail. Recently we saw the return of Ricky Hatton, who unfortunately turned out to be a shadow of his formal self. However it’s important to remember that Hatton abused his body and during his career was in many hard wars inside and outside the ring. Calzaghe is a young 41 and never took any real bad punishment.
Calzaghe earnt approximately $21 million Dollars through his career, which easily could have dwindled to half or even less than this (during the past 5 years), if the money wasn’t Invested correctly. Calzaghe would have done the numbers and realise that he could easily earn $12 – $15 million in one fight against Ward. The interest would be astronomical in the UK and US and would sell massively on PPV.
The build up to this type of fight would be incredible. You would have the old champion in one corner 46-0 against the new champion 26-0. Calzaghe would realise that his entire legacy would also be on the line, but if he were to win, he would cement a position in the top 10 boxers of all time, a very healthy Bank balance and surely no more critics.
Is this the stuff of dreams, or could it really become a reality?
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