Ex-world champion Calzaghe retired in 2008 undefeated having beaten all the top fighters in and around his division, although the 41 year-old is consistently rumoured for a sensational comeback to the ring.
As Ward dominates Joe’s old 168lb weight-class and rides high in the pound for pound rankings, Calzaghe Sr. has no doubts that his son’s stranglehold at the top would have still remained intact even if the American was around a few years earlier.
“Joe would have beaten Andre Ward because style makes fights and Ward is easy to expose,” Calzaghe told World Boxing News.
“On the other hand, Joe is very hard to expose so obviously if they came to fight there is no way that Ward could consistently dominate Joe for twelve rounds as he does with other fighters today.
“Joe could easily find a remedy to dominate Ward because of the effectiveness of his style.”
With Calzaghe’s last two opponents in Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. still fighting on approaching their fifties, there continues to be a niggling feeling amongst fight fans and media alike that Joe could still cut it at the top of the sport today.
Enzo has a slightly different view on the matter though as the Welshman sees the sustained success of current IBF light-heavyweight champion Hopkins, 49, coming at the expense of entertainment value, whilst Jones Jr. has no business climbing through the ropes on current form.
“People say Hopkins has reinvented himself, but I don’t think he has, he has always been a top class act,” said Calzaghe.
“Hopkins is very astute. His method is always to spoil his opponent’s style and that is why he is called a very wily old fox. You have to measure success and if you can still be successful, there is no reason why we should impose an age barrier on Hopkins. The age barrier means nothing at all as Hopkins has continued to prove.
“Talking about Jones is a different story as he should not still be boxing because of the greatness he once had. Jones has really spoilt his domain of being one of the best pound for pound fighters of all time and tarnished the once dominant name of Roy Jones Jr.”
UK tabloid press have recently quoted 46-0 Calzaghe stating that he definitely will not be joining Hopkins and Jones in lacing up his gloves again after six years out of the ring, although Enzo says no doesn’t always mean no when it comes to his son.
“Joe is a yes and no person,” he explained. “It could be yes, it could be no. Basically I don’t know if its yes or if its no. Yes could be no and no could be yes.”
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