Joe Calzaghe and Carl Froch have a couple of high-profile opponents in common.
Calzaghe and Froch are two of the best fighters Britain has produced. Although they famously never came together in the ring, both had hugely successful careers that somewhat overlapped.
Calzaghe retired unbeaten after 46 fights. His last two contests were at light heavyweight after dominating the super-middleweight scene, where he beat Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr.
Froch, a career super-middleweight, famously ended his career with a pair of fights against George Groves. The first he won, but after what many thought was a premature stoppage, the second was a conclusive knockout at Wembley Stadium back in May 2014.
Danish champion Mikkel Kessler did that with both. He fought Calzaghe in 2007 when he was undefeated. He lost on points, losing his WBA and WBC titles to the Welshman.
Kessler then fought ‘The Cobra’ twice. First time out, he edged a close contest in what was considered one of the best fights of the Super Six tournament in 2010. In the rematch in 2013, he lost on points to the Brit in another hugely absorbing and action-packed contest.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Kessler broke down both of his former opponent’s best assets.
“It is difficult to say who is best. Joe was not a puncher – he was fast but he was hitting with the inside of his glove but he got the points when they landed. He was mentally strong. He was in very good shape all the time. Carl is more of a fighter and throws lots of punches one after the other. He wants to trade punches. If Carl was in there throwing his big punches and his uppercuts, then he would have hurt Joe.”
He then chose a victor and sided with the Welshman, just.
“Who would win out of those two? I would think Calzaghe. Maybe.”
Both Froch and Calzaghe have since been inducted into the Hall of Fame.
