Its been fun Kessler but please call it a day

....

 

spot on.

 

Hes clearly faded... this was by no means a "prime" Kessler.
I would not label him shot though, but i do think he should retire soon.

 

I think Kessler still has something in the tank. He fought well yesterday, but he didn't commit to offense like he should have in many rounds.

I'd like to see what he could at 175.

 

Kessler's not shot, but he's badly faded and taking a lot of punishment on top of his body breaking down completely. He might as well call it a career. He's still a top 5 super middleweight, but he can't beat the very best and will only continue to rack of injuries and blows to the head. It's been a pleasure watching him and I would support him 100% if he retired.

 

I see exactly what you're saying. He certainly does look like an athletic shell of his former self.

 

I personally wouldn't call Kessler shot - yet! He was still able to take a world class operator as Froch distance and hurting him along the way. He is not yet losing fights to lesser opponents or getting kayoed, which to me signifies a shot fighter.

But I see your point, that Kessler is no longer nearly operating at the same level he once did. Yesterday, he managed to get by primarily based on resilience and willpower, no longer on skills nor speed. If he does continue he will end up getting badly hurt, and he has already accumulated a lot of damage.

As a dane, I thank him for an entertaining career, but I really hopes he quits.

 

Kessler was never close to being a great fighter, but he's nowhere near as sharp or precise a puncher as he used to be. If he fights Froch again, I definitely think he'd get stopped.

 

Kessler is clearly past his best but he's not shot either. If he retires than thats fine, he's had a good career. But, I think there's still a number of good fights out there for him.

I think fights against someone like Bute, Abraham, or Stiegitz would be big type of fights that Kessler can win. He's not going to beat Ward or Froch anymore but the rest of the division is there for Kessler if he wants another fight or two.

 

Kessler could probably still beat each of the three boxers mentioned. But apart from adding some money to his bank account, I don't see any of either fights adding significantly to his legacy.

I don't really see any point in trying to be the best of the rest of the rest...

 

Spot on regarding no longer being able to implement a gameplan. In general, I think we more or less agree, apart from the semantics about being shot vs. faded.

 

Not much but a win over someone like Abraham or Bute would add some to his legacy and they would probably be pretty rewarding financially for him as well.

I see it as if Kessler still wants to fight and his body can do it than there are quality options out there for him. Probably 99% of all fighters are simply fighting to be the best of the rest, no shame in that.