The legendary Andre Ward has given his view on a fantasy match-up between Carl Froch and Joe Calzaghe.
Unfortunately for fans, the fight didn’t happen – but it could have. Both men were active when their careers overlapped, albeit briefly.
Froch was an up-and-coming super-middleweight when Welshman Calzaghe had already established himself as a world champion at that weight. He beat the likes of Chris Eubank Sr, Mikkel Kessler and Jeff Lacy but then moved up to also become a world champion at light heavyweight, securing famous wins over Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr before retiring undefeated after 46 contests.
Froch remained at super-middleweight and dominated the division, losing only to Ward and Kessler, though he avenged the Kessler loss and also beat the likes of Jean Pascal, Lucien Bute and, most famously, George Groves in his final fight in 2014.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Ward – who also missed out on a Calzaghe fight – assessed the contest and gave credit to Froch’s durability but sided with the speed of the Welshman and tipped him for a points win.
“I don’t think Froch could have kept up with the pace. Calzaghe had good footwork. That’s kryptonite to Carl Froch, he doesn’t have great feet at all. I’m not going to say Calzaghe would have blown Froch out, cause Froch had the desire, the unwillingness to give up, we saw that with Jermaine Taylor when he kept coming and eventually knocked the door down.
“He’s going to have that in a fight with Joe Calzaghe. I think it would have been a competitive fight but I think Joe’s activeness and punch count would ultimately bewilder Carl Froch even though he’d never yield or give up and he’d have ultimately beaten him on a points victory.”
The debate between Froch and Calzaghe has always rolled on, but the Welshman’s promoter, Frank Warren, has always maintained his man would have got the job done had they fought.
