What Would Have Happened If Joe Calzaghe and Carl Froch Had Met in the Ring?

Joe Calzaghe and Carl Froch never met in the ring, leaving us to all wonder what might have happened.

That, though, is one of the great things about sport, as it provides us with so many "what if" questions, so many opportunities to debate over who was the greatest or whether someone from a different era would have toppled the champions of today.

Britain has been blessed with some truly great super middleweights, including Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank, two archrivals who fought each other not once but twice.

Calzaghe and Froch, multiple world champions whose eras overlapped to a degree, are also greats who fought at the 168-pound limit.

Welshman Calzaghe retired with a 46-0 (32 KO) record, having moved up in weight to finish his career with wins over veterans Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr.

He claimed his first world title in 1997, getting the better of Eubank—who by that stage was nearing the end of the line—on points in Sheffield, England, to claim the vacant WBO crown.

It was a belt he would defend on 21 occasions, with his reign lasting more than 10 years.

Calzaghe—nicknamed The Prince of Wales—also held the IBF, WBA and WBC titles at some stage, but the WBO version was the one he cherished the most judging by how many times he defended it. Many tried to take it from him, but no one managed to do so.

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As for Froch, his first taste of the big time came in 2008, as he recorded a hard-fought triumph over Jean Pascal in his home city of Nottingham, England, to claim the vacant WBC strap.

The Cobra took part in the Super Six World Boxing Classic, one of a half-dozen super middleweights competing in a tournament that—having initially seemed like an innovative idea with some potential to work out who was the best—fell apart because of the long time frame and a number of high-profile withdrawals.

Froch saw it through to the bitter end though, eventually losing in the final to Andre Ward in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

However, he bounced back in emphatic fashion, steamrolling Lucian Bute to become the new IBF champion. He got sweet revenge against Mikkel Kessler too, the man who had originally taken the WBC title from him, and most recently a pair of wins over fellow Englishman George Groves. 

Whether the 37-year-old fights again still remains to be seen, but he will hang up his gloves without ever having the chance to take on Calzaghe.

Froch pushed hard to face his domestic rival, as he admitted in an interview with ITV Sport: "That was a fight I wanted. He was WBC champion, everyone knew who he was. It was a massive fight back then—I think it would still be a big fight now. I think Joe Calzaghe knew that I was going to beat him."

Despite no chance now of ever meeting in the ring, it hasn’t stopped the rivalry from continuing outside of it.

Recently a tweet from Calzaghe following James DeGale’s successful bid to become the IBF champion—a title Froch vacated on American soil—stirred the pot again:

Froch replied, and from there things escalated, as he explained to talkSport (h/t the Mirror):

"

It ended in bad taste, to be honest. It ended with his son, Joe Calzaghe Junior, direct messaging me on Twitter, and saying really unnecessary stuff about my beautiful partner, the mother of my children. Tasteless stuff about her.

I just thought 'really, is this where we are going with this?' But that is what you are dealing with when you are dealing with Calzaghe. The banter ended there really.

And when I see him, it will be on the cobbles.

When I see him, it will end with him apologising straight away otherwise there will be a roll-around on the cobbles or wherever it is.

"

Hopefully they never settle the spat on social media on the cobbles, but who would have come out on top if the pair had ever actually met in the ring?

Your answer depends on your boxing values: If you prefer combinations and classy punching, Calzaghe has to be your man. If, though, you side with the old-fashioned fighter who has a willingness to stand toe-to-toe, then Froch is undoubtedly your favourite. 

Yet neither of them should be pigeonholed.

Calzaghe was a southpaw who fought with style, but he had his moments when he was under pressure. Both Jones and Hopkins knocked him down, as too did the lesser-known Kabary Salem.

But on each occasion he climbed off the canvas to come out on top. You do not end up going 46 fights unbeaten without being willing to mix it up, without having to dig deep and quickly recover from a setback.

Likewise, Froch is not just a brave warrior willing to go out on his shield in the pursuit of victory. He would never have climbed to the summit simply on heart alone.

Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

There is skill to go with his spirit, not to mention power. Just ask Jermain Taylor, who was just seconds from beating Froch until he succumbed under heavy fire in the 12th and final round.

Groves can also testify to the force delivered by Froch’s punches, though he might not be too willing to admit it.

Would Calzaghe’s technical ability have won the day, or would Froch have found a way to hammer home enough shots to end his foe’s perfect record?

You can make compelling cases for both men, with the only certainty that it would have been an intriguing clash of contrasting methods. You can also be sure the bout would have made the pugilists, not to mention the promoters, plenty of money.

It is a showdown British fight fans would have loved to see. Wembley, in the summer months, would have been perfect.

It would have been a tight fight to predict as well, but Calzaghe would have come out on top, probably on points.

You may disagree (and feel free to say why in the comments section below), but there's no right or wrong answer—it is now just a matter of opinion, a case of what might have been.