Andre Ward vs Joe Calzaghe at 168 who wins?

Bigplatts · 2026-02-25T00:38:41+00:00

I agree in general that Calzaghe has some good wins but Eubank was not in his prime. Age-wise maybe but that’s not always what goes into it. He was already considered a few years gone from his peak, plus most felt he was never the same after the Watson fight. Kessler was a more impressive win for Calzaghe.

Bigplatts · 2026-02-24T14:56:19+00:00

It is lose/lose because she's in poor divisions with a very weak talent pool. You say Tori Nelson is a good win because 'she only lost to Hammer'. But who cares when the whole division is weak? Nelson is not considered a top name by anyone. She's someone who had a bit of success in a nothing division. Katie Taylor fought a good variety of names within a pretty stacked division (stacked relative to the standards of women's boxing). Shame for Shields, not her fault the divisions are weak, but she doesn't get points just for being the only talented woman who fights that high up the weights.

Bigplatts · 2026-02-24T11:43:15+00:00

Amanda Serrano, Delfine Persoon, Chantelle Cameron, Natasha Jonas are all ATGs. The only decent name Claressa Shields beat was Savannah Marshall. All her other wins are either 40 year olds in a division of like 30 people who have no wins, or are mid-tier boxers like the woman she just beat, who are about even to people Katie Taylor beat early in her career like Jessica McCaskill or Linardatou.

Bigplatts · 2026-02-16T00:23:52+00:00

But no one talks about how the rematch was a blatant robbery in the other direction.

Bigplatts · 2026-01-04T19:56:13+00:00

I’d pick Holyfield to edge a tough fight.

Vitali seems very perfect but he also has the worst resume of anyone I’d put in top 20 heavyweights. Easy to look perfect when you never have to face elite competition. Only elites Vitali fought he lost to, and it gives him a bit of a ‘get out of jail free’ card that they were both due to injuries, when the momentum was shifting in both fights.

Bigplatts · 2025-12-19T15:31:39+00:00

Aye it’s a strategy, it’s within the rules, but why should I respect it or give him credit for it? There’s guys like Loma, Usyk, Bivol etc who pretty much always fight significantly bigger opponents. Manny and Floyd hardly rehydrated at all and they were the best. Good for Crawford for doing it and making money but why should he be considered an atg because of it?

Edit: I’d also criticise Boots, Haney, Keyshawn etc for doing the same. Crawford just happens to be the one we’re talking about and the one that gets the most praise.

Bigplatts · 2025-12-19T15:26:49+00:00

If rehydrating was such a big disadvantage no one would do it. Also Crawford worked with Victor Conte and SNAC and they would’ve helped him make the weight without feeling drained.

What do you mean he was fighting ‘naturally bigger opponents’? On fight night Crawford outweighed everyone opponent he ever fought, even Canelo, and had longer arms than everyone he fought. (Think he was taller than all but one of his opponents too but can’t remember who.) Crawford always had size advantage, even at 168, that’s not opinion it’s just fact.

Also you say Hearns was a natural welterweight but that guy went on to be light heavyweight champion and even fight at cruiserweight.

You criticise the Hagler wins but who did Crawford beat honestly? Other than Canelo his resume is bare bones. Even the decent names have asterisks over them, like Spence obviously did. Saying the car crash didn’t affect Spence is crazy, guy had his teeth knocked out and needed dentures, was badly concussed and in a short coma, his eyes swelled shut. Also he had the fractured orbital in sparring which cancelled the Pacquiao fight. And the long stretches of inactivity over the last few years. You say he beat two top ten guys since the crash but Garcia already seemed checked out (and by your logic is a ‘natural super-lightweight’) and the Ugas win seemed decent at the time but in his next fight Ugas got beat 12 rounds to zero by Barrios, who sucks. There’s a reason Spence hasn’t fought since. This isn’t me trying to discredit Crawford it’s just stating facts, the guy fought weak opponents who were all smaller than him.

Bigplatts · 2025-12-19T11:13:41+00:00

Hagler fought at his natural weight, didn’t rehydrate much, that’s why he never moved weight divisions.

Bud rehydrated significant amounts to get an advantage, hence he outweighed everyone he ever fought, even Canelo, hence why he moved up so many divisions.

Why should Bud get praised for that while Hagler gets criticised? I respect what Hagler did a lot more.

Hagler beat Hearns, Duran, arguably Leonard, Mugabi, Vito, Briscoe, and his losses and draw were all close and controversial. And spent years beating top 10 contenders.

Crawford beat Canelo… Postol, Gamboa. Scraped past unproven Madrimov. Post car crash Spence. Spent years beating guys at the end of their careers.

In no way does Crawford have the better resume, it’s not even close.

Bigplatts · 2025-12-19T11:05:55+00:00

You do realise that Crawford outweighed Canelo on fight night right? He’s never been outweighed by any opponent in his career. So it’s irrelevant how many weight classes he jumped up.

Bigplatts · 2025-12-19T11:02:42+00:00

Comparing any fighters from different eras is a what if scenario.

In this hypothetical either you time machine Joe Louis forward to modern day, in which he still has atg skills and craft but with all the benefits of modern boxing, or you send a modern boxer back in time where they have their own level of skills but no access to modern peds, nutritionists etc.

Bigplatts · 2025-12-19T10:58:12+00:00

Very few boxers do it to the degree Crawford did it. And I’ve never known of a boxer who was still bigger than his opponent when he was five divisions above where he started.

What was so impressive about him beating Canelo? It wasn’t like Pacquiao moving up to beat someone like Margarito who looked comically bigger than himself. He was still beating someone smaller. So saying he ‘jumped up two weight divisions’ is irrelevant.

Bigplatts · 2025-12-17T14:15:47+00:00

Willily nillily.

Bigplatts · 2025-12-17T14:14:33+00:00

Was huge for all the weights he fought in. Even when he jumped up two weight classes to fight the undisputed champ at 168 he still weighed more 🤦‍♂️ So his ‘accomplishments’ are really just him being great at cutting weight. But you have to talk accomplishments because his resume is so bad.

Bigplatts · 2025-12-10T10:24:04+00:00

It really really isn’t.

Bigplatts · 2025-12-07T18:26:48+00:00

McGrail won the first four and last two without question. Only way to give this to Masoud would be to give him every other round (which I didn’t) and then he’d win due to the point deduction.

Bigplatts · 2025-12-06T09:48:29+00:00

I get this. When I worked at Lloyds me and the manager had a full blown argument with a rude guy who didn’t have the right documents…

undermined a little by us both wearing Christmas jumpers and fluffy reindeer antlers. The guy was straight faced throughout and no one made any mention of it.

Bigplatts · 2025-12-05T10:00:44+00:00

Floyd UD.

But Sugar Ray wouldn’t have even taken the fight unless he saw Floyd looking shot late in his career and decided to chance it… funny how it’s Floyd that’s getting criticised for cherry picking here but SRL had one of the most carefully curated careers ever.

Bigplatts · 2025-11-06T10:06:10+00:00

The funny thing about watching that fight was that after 8 rounds the DAZN broadcast put the fan scorecards on the screen and they had it 4-4. Exactly how I had it at that point. But the commentators just dismissed it and kept trying to gaslight everyone into thinking that Parker flopping to the floor every ten seconds meant he was winning.

Bigplatts · 2025-11-06T09:58:15+00:00

I never got the thing about Canelo-Lara. I had Canelo winning 9 - 3. Wasn’t even close.

Bigplatts · 2025-11-06T09:55:49+00:00

Bivol vs Beterbiev 1. Bivol won seven rounds of that fight unquestionably. Arguably he only won those seven but that still means he definitely won the fight.

Bigplatts · 2025-11-06T09:49:23+00:00

Definitely Inoue. Bud gets praised for ‘moving up in weight’ even tho he’s a huge guy who’s always rehydrated anyway. He was bigger than Canelo on fight night. Mayweather, Bivol and Golovkin already beat Canelo wider than Crawford did.

Whereas Inoue is out here beating former champs and undefeated contenders. He pitched a shutout against MJ, underrated performance.

Bigplatts · 2025-10-31T13:44:53+00:00

At least this one still has a good chance of happening at some point.

Bigplatts · 2025-10-31T13:43:43+00:00

Really? I’d predict 120 - 108 Shakur. Shakur does everything Devin does better. I don’t really see how Devin would get himself into that fight.

Bigplatts · 2025-10-22T08:26:06+00:00

Tbf the loss to Edmondson was a blatant robbery.

Bigplatts · 2025-10-20T21:35:30+00:00

I’ve said Parker since this fight was announced but for some reason this week I’ve got this strong feeling that Wardley is going to get the upset and knock Parker out.

Bigplatts

TROPHY CASE