Fantasy Match-ups

Enjoyed this when someone posted it earlier in the week

Calzaghe v Ward
Vitali v Larry Holmes
Morales v Naseem
Collins v Froch
Manny v Valero
Bhop v Hagler
Hearns v Floyd

Seanusarrilius wrote:Enjoyed this when someone posted it earlier in the week

Calzaghe v Ward
Vitali v Larry Holmes
Morales v Naseem
Collins v Froch
Manny v Valero
Bhop v Hagler
Hearns v Floyd

Thanks!

Manny vs Valero?! Wow....what a stormer that would have been!

Mine would be:

Calzaghe vs Froch
Vitali vs Wlad
Pacquiao vs Mayweather
Joe Fraizer vs Mike Tyson

Calzaghe vs Ward - Close Calzaghe UD but I feel ward hasn't hit his prime yet

Vitali vs Holmes - Holmes points

Morales vs Naseem - tight one, Morales points, a little too rounded and has the chin not to he tblown away

Collins vs Froch - Froch on points

Manny vs Valero - Manny points, Valero was a little too slow but had the power to knock manny down likewise Manny hit hard enough to knock down but not out

Bhop vs Hagler - I think hagler may wear him down late to a TKO

Hearns vs floyd -If hearnes cathes him like Mosley it's lights out bit if he doesn't he beats him over 12 like he was doing to Leonard (before the 13th and 14th rounds where he gassed)

Ward decisions Calzaghe, for me. Aside from work rate, I don't really see where Calzaghe holds any major or significant advantages. Ward's quicker, can box going away (never one of Calzaghe's strengths), has a great left - the punch Calzaghe was most susceptible to - and is as strong as an ox at 168 lb. Ward seems to be developing that aura of being able to beat his opponent any way he likes, and I think he just has a couple of dimensions too many for Calzaghe. Aside from Jones in his pomp, I can't see any other Super-Middleweight boxing thirty-three rounds against Kessler, Froch and Dawson and losing only half a dozen of them (at the most) the way Ward has. A competitive fight but I think Ward takes it by three or four points.

I'll give Holmes a narrow points win over Vitali, but I think he'd have a torrid time of it. At the risk of sounding like LRR, ol' Larry did have trouble holding off the bigger guys with his jab sometimes, and took risks - as well as big shots - when he didn't need to. That said, he had much better movement than Vitali and had the whiskers to survive the bigger mans's clubbing blows. I think Holmes uses enough of the ring to avoid taking more than one or two shots at a time and hangs on to claim a tight verdict.

Assuming we're talking about the Ingle-trained Hamed here, I think he may just have stopped Morales had they met around 1997 / 1998. Morales could box very well but tended to forget himself a little, not a good idea against a Hamed who, at the time, was throwing four or five punch combinations and still moving his head. Hamed by a late TKO around 1997, Morales by decision two or three years later.

Froch all day against Collins, for me. Easily strong and iron-chinned enough to brush off Collins' best shots at Super-Middleweight, and just an all-round better boxer in almost every area, particularly now he's putting his punches together so much better. I think he'd beat Collins in a similar manner to how he beat Glen Johnson. Froch by comfortable decision.

Valero-Manny would have been a massacre had it happened in 2010, when Valero was briefly flavour of the month. Too open and too untested at the highest level for Pacquiao. Slam-bang fighters like Valero invariably run in to someone that little bit harder, bigger and tougher than themselves eventually and when they do, thanks to everyone crumbling in their wake beforehand, they're seldom prepared for it. Pacquiao would have given him a thorough beating, I think, and stopped him in the late stages.

Hopkins-Hagler is a difficult one. Hagler hated it when his man didn't meet him head on, and if Hopkins is at his canny best it might be a long night for Marvin. Hopkins has a good record against lefties, too (appreciate that Hagler could box both ways round, but he was at his best as a southpaw, I think). I get the feeling that Hopkins might just upset the odds here and sneak a decision, possibly split.

Hearns beats Mayweather all day long, for me. If peak versions of Ray Leonard and Wilfred Benitez (both naturally bigger men than Floyd, let's not forget) can't outbox Tommy, then I can't see how Mayweather hopes to do it, either. I think Floyd's too good to be disgraced but I see Hearns getting the decision by a comfortable margin, with Mayweather never really getting in to the fight. Leonard got to him eventually, of course, but Floyd hasn't got that same Welterweight power as Ray had, is less likely to be able to stand up to a Hearns onslaught if it catches him on the button and doesn't set the kind of pace which is going to take Hearns' legs from under him in any case. Picture the first twelve rounds of Hearns-Leonard I, only slightly more one-sided, and I think that's what you've got here; Mayweather stuck on the outside, unable to get past Tommy's jab and having to settle for surviving to the final bell. Hearns 117-111 over twelve, 146-139 over fifteen.

Think I almost entirely agree with Chris here. Not so sure on the Ward vs Calzaghe bout, though. Ward is an incredible fighter, granted, but he hasn't faced anything like Calzaghe (same can be said of Joe, of course). I find it too tough to call, so will say a draw

Excellent analysis from Chris, I'm not sure I would favour Ward or Calzaghe if they were to meet, that is a very close one to call.

Calzaghe UD tight one - Ward has a suspect tank and calzaghe has an awesome one. Ward takes first 4 rounds and begins to wane and Joe turns on the heat. Ward I think is a better boxer but spends too much time coasting.

Holmes UD/SD just that bit quicker and more fluid. Ugly fight.

Naz makes morales insane with rage and gets off the floor to total el terrible. naz ko 5-8

Froch stops collins. Once he gets Collins hurt he'd shrug off his punches and beat him to a pulp. Like Chrith ought to have done.

Manny - only way you can go on evidence although he might have given him a scare or two.

Hagler sd I think - BH not suited to Haglers style - just won't engage - ugly fight with the aggressor winning tight rounds

Mayweather TKO Or Hearns UD. Hearns went after the smaller guys like they'd shagged his wife and wiped themselves off with his pillowcase. I can envisage Hearns just knackering himself out but more likely a comfortable win for the hitman.

Seanusarrilius wrote:Enjoyed this when someone posted it earlier in the week

Calzaghe v Ward
Vitali v Larry Holmes
Morales v Naseem
Collins v Froch
Manny v Valero
Bhop v Hagler
Hearns v Floyd

Calzaghe vs Ward - Calzaghe SD for me. Think his workrate is something Ward has not witnessed so far in his career. I think Cazlaghe out punches and outworks Ward throughout the fights, using his experience along the way. I think Ward would make it slightly dirty and will have some success, but feel Joe has that little bit more to scrape a SD. Slightly contraversial as people see it as UD, but with it being in Wards back yard, the points are closer.

Vitali vs Larry Holmes - Vitali by KO. One of the highest KO percentages in the history of HW boxing, with a granite chin to match. I feel his spearing jab and straight right is enough to stop Larry in the later rounds.

Morales vs Naseem - Morales via UD - Morales is known for his granite chin and brilliant boxing ability. Hamed was exposed by Barrera when things didnt go his way. I think Morales has too much. Morales to come off the deck early on to tally up a boxing masterclass.

Collins vs Froch - Froch by SD. First few rounds will be an absolute war with fighters trading in the middle of the ring. I then think Froch would utilise his boxing ability and stick to the jab closing out a tremendous battle. Later rounds will be very close as Colling uses his workrate and pressure to score some points. Froch will take a few big shots whilst landing his own to complete a SD victory in Nottingham.


Manny vs Valero - A war from the word go. I think Pacquiao gets knocked out in round 6. His defence is too open at times and Valero will expose it. Pacquiao will have Valero on the deck en route to a disaster stopping performance by Edwin.


Bhop vs Hagler - Going for a technical draw - Hagler starts the fight very fast unloading punches to Bhop - Bhop runs out of gas after 3-4 rounds before messing around and using his tactics against Hagler. Clash of heads forces scorecards early around round 10 - 5 scored each resulting in a draw and a lot of media bashing of Hopkins.

Hearns vs Floyd - Floyd by UD - Too good defensivly and will cope with the pressure from Hearns.

MM, couldn't disagree more with the Valero verdict. If anyone is wide open, it is Valero. Manny beats him to the punch all night and dismantles him rather brutally, I'd think.

Again, Floyd to beat Hearns is perhaps a brave call. Tommy outboxed Sugar Ray Leonard - I don't see what Floyd has to not go the same way, and he certainly doesn't possess the late charge to stop Tommy as SRL did.

You're also forgetting Larry Holmes cast iron chin.

Actually, I almost entirely disagree with your post, but appreciate that it is all a matter of opinion.

ShahenshahG wrote:Calzaghe UD tight one - Ward has a suspect tank and calzaghe has an awesome one. Ward takes first 4 rounds and begins to wane and Joe turns on the heat. Ward I think is a better boxer but spends too much time coasting.

Holmes UD/SD just that bit quicker and more fluid. Ugly fight.

Naz makes morales insane with rage and gets off the floor to total el terrible. naz ko 5-8

Froch stops collins. Once he gets Collins hurt he'd shrug off his punches and beat him to a pulp. Like Chrith ought to have done.

Manny - only way you can go on evidence although he might have given him a scare or two.

Hagler sd I think - BH not suited to Haglers style - just won't engage - ugly fight with the aggressor winning tight rounds

Mayweather TKO Or Hearns UD. Hearns went after the smaller guys like they'd shagged his wife and wiped themselves off with his pillowcase. I can envisage Hearns just knackering himself out but more likely a comfortable win for the hitman.

Had me chuckling, too.

Fists of Fury wrote:MM, couldn't disagree more with the Valero verdict. If anyone is wide open, it is Valero. Manny beats him to the punch all night and dismantles him rather brutally, I'd think.

Again, Floyd to beat Hearns is perhaps a brave call. Tommy outboxed Sugar Ray Leonard - I don't see what Floyd has to not go the same way, and he certainly doesn't possess the late charge to stop Tommy as SRL did.

You're also forgetting Larry Holmes cast iron chin.

Actually, I almost entirely disagree with your post, but appreciate that it is all a matter of opinion.

Do they have that simulation fighting thing AKA Rocky vs Tarver?

Would be interesting to see how these got on!

Love the fantasy match up idea, be great if we could witness it (apart from on a gamestation)

These fights would not be close.

Calzaghe would beat Ward easily. Different class altogether. The fighters around now are not in Calzaghes league.

Holmes would knock him out. This is the worst ever era of heavyweights. The heavyweight champion now would not be a champion in any other era.

Morales would beat Hamed on points in a similar way Barrera beat Hamed. Morales was slightly worse than Barrera, he lost to him twice but bat him once. Both of these fighters were better than Hamed though as Barrera was able to show.

Collins would beat Froch. Collins was able to beat fighters like Eubank and Benn who were a class above Froch. He wasnt a strong puncher though so I think he would win on points. No chance Froch would be able to knock him out because Collins was very tough. Calzaghe was the only fighter Collins feared.

Manny Pacquaio? Pacquiao would knock out Valero quite quickly.

Hagler would give Hopkins a beating. Not even close. Watch the Hagler v Hearns fight. Hagler was a wrecking machine.

Hearns would knock out Mayweather. It is not a fair fight. Hearns was alot bigger and stronger than Mayweather. Check out what happened to Roberto Duran when he fought Hearns and Duran was better than Mayweather!

Froch - Collins
Might disagree with the consensus. IMO Collins was a seriously scary fighter and I reckon would outFroch Froch. On his night I think he does everything just a bit better than Carl.

Gordy has sorted it peeps. Thanks Gordy.

Ward gets dominated by Calzaghe, apparaently. Not even close. Yawn

I'd like to see (pre Watson 2 / Benn 1) Eubank versus any of the following:

Toney
Calzaghe
Froch
RJJ
Ward

I liked this from Michael Rosenthal at the weekend:

I think Calzaghe proved to be the best of the UK’s super middleweights. Benn was always my favorite, thought. I loved the Dark Destroyer’s take-no-prisoners attitude.

Froch has certainly accomplished enough to be mentioned along with those former champs from various parts of the UK, but I don’t agree with Collins’ comment that The Cobra would have defeated them all. He would have given them all a good fight, though. I think Froch and Collins would have battled each other to a near standstill. I can see Froch edging Collins on points because he’s naturally bigger (taller and rangier) and a little more versatile. If Froch’s vaunted chin held out against Benn, I can see his greater stamina getting the better of the super banger in the late rounds of a war, but that’s a BIG “if.” Froch could have outworked Eubank but it’s hard to envision mythical matchups with the enigmatic Brit because his style was so unorthodox and he was so very good at making adjustments during his fights.

Calzaghe had too much talent and toughness for Froch to overcome in my opinion.

I think Froch v Collins is a pretty close, hard fought fight. Id probably back Froch to do enough but I think Collins is the busier fighter that doesnt give Froch alot of time and space to work with. I could see see the slightly cleaner, heavier punches from Froch taking a decision from the busier but less eye catching work of Collins. I think its a tough fight though.

Hagler v Hopkins I find tricky to call and probably one that could swing either way. Both are pretty well rounded fighters which I think would mean they struggle to get to grips with each other style. Who presses the fight and is deemed the busier could make the differance. If it becomes a kind of phoney war chess match like Taylor/Hopkins then it really becomes open to interpretation which I could envisage both fighters winning a close decision.

I think Morales could beat Hamed any which way. He has a great chin and good boxing skills so I think he wins a brawl or a boxing match. Probably not as disciplined as Barrera but is he goes hell for leather at Hamed I still dont see Hamed winning a scrap. He was open and vulnerable himself to a fighter of Morales calibre.

The others I would pretty much agree with Chris on.

I actually believe that Hamed would have stopped Morales, Manos. Certainly the earlier version of Hamed, anyway. Gutted this one didn't happen actually because I think it would have been the pick of the potential fights around that time, a brutal war.

You cant rule someone with Hameds power out, but for me Morales was the better, more well rounded boxer. I think if he gets careless he possibly could find himself on the floor but I think his chin is good enough to survive unless he really is repeatedly wide open.

Hamed was a little bit reliant on his power for me and prefered room to throw single power shots from strange angles. I could see him catching Morales occasionally but Im not sure enough to take him out as his tempo wasnt very high. His own defence was very suspect though and I think Morales would really exploit this. If it becomes a war I think Morales is better suited. I alo think Morales is a bette boxer, and he showd against Pacquaio in the first fight that other than a gung ho final round he could box a more disciplined game.

Im someone who rates Hameds record as probably better than most but I do feel alot of his flaws are likely to get more penalised at the highest level by fighters of Pacquaio/Barrera/Morales/JMM calibre.

Calzaghe v Ward - This is a difficult one as for all Ward's praise he hasnt fought anyone with the punch output and relentless stamina Calzaghe had so its difficult to gage. Ward is the better technician and i think he would probably just do enough to win a close points decision by landing the more eye catching punches.

Morales v Hamed is a very tasty one and one i used to stick in some of my fantasy match ups on the old 606. If it the fight takes place between 96-98 then i fancy Hamed to stop Morales as Morales was still raw around that time and Hamed was bang in his prime, using quickfire combinations and planting his bombs with much more accuracy than he did from 99 onwards. Morales for me if they fought anytime after late 98.

Collins v Froch - Collins was a very tough sob and would always be a hard hard fight for anybody but i think Froch does everything better than Collins did. This would be the difference. Both men still standing after 12 but Froch's superior jab would see him land a points decision

Valero V Manny - Valero punchers chance but thats it Manny the much better fighter and i think he has too much for Valero who would be stopped around the 8th.

Hearns V Floyd - Floyd's brain is the key here. Mayweather is very apt at always finding a way to win and i think he would do the same here. Hearns would give Mayweather hell thats for sure. That jab was phenomenal but he was clumsy and i think Mayweather would be always on the move, in and out, in and out forcing Hearns into mistakes by frustrating and tying up Hearns. It wouldnt be pretty but give Mayweather a SD.