that was not the same kessler who fought calzaghe.

:rofl:rofl And to think, Kessler was one of Joe's best wins!

 

Hey man, what would you say has been Ward's best win? :hey

 

Not really because Ward outboxed Kessler where as I expect Kessler to probably out box Froch and get slowly worn down by Froch's heavy handed shots.

Also I dont agree that Froch got a gift decision and it was if anything a close fight that could have gone either way.

 

I'm a Calzaghe fan and it sligthly hurts his legacy because Kessler was suppose to be the best prime fighter on it. With that said Calzaghe without a doubt is an ATG who would have been great in any era.

 

Good, I realise you just had to be reminded of things you've posted in the past before you entered fullblown USA-nuthuggery/Eurobum mode :yep

 

It's got nothing to do with the nationality and everything to do with the fighters. If Dirrell had fought Froch throughout the fight the way he fought the last 3 rounds he would have won, no question. He just fought ugly, dirty, and without confidence, and it was still a VERY close fight.

Kessler, on the other hand, has NEVER shown that he has the ability to beat a guy like Ward who gives him so many looks, angles, speed, and is willing to work him over on the inside. Kessler lost basically every round of the fight. It was never close and Kessler never showed that he COULD beat Ward, whereas I think Dirrell caused Froch a lot of trouble. Kessler was not overrated, he was the most proven at 168 and he deserved the top seed, but he is not the most TALENTED at 168 and I don't think anyone ever believed that he was. The question was always whether the talented young fighters in this tournament would step up to the level of competition. Ward did, Dirrell didn't.

My gut feeling is still that Abraham is the guy to beat, not Ward, simply because Ward made a lot of mistakes that Kessler couldn't or wouldn't capitalize on. IF he leaves himself that open against Abraham, and he gets caught, that could very well be it. Abraham's durability, his power, and his solid, if unflashy defense, make him dangerous for all 12 rounds of every fight. That's a scary proposition for any of these guys.

And just to make things even more interesting I think Dirrell has the tools to beat Ward, it just depends on how much he grows up after his last fight. You're apparently watching flags, and I'm watching fights, which is perhaps why we disagree here, though.

 

Kessler as of now but the guy is still young and I can almost assure you that his resume will get better given his level of talent! On top of that, super middleweight is loaded, so he will get some quality names on his resume.:yep

 

Yes it was.

The only difference I saw is that Ward never let him get a footing in the fight, while Calzaghe did. Joe fought with his usual hands down, wide open style, which allowed Kessler to get somewhere with his right hand, especially the uppercut early on. Ward gave him absolutely nothing easy to target, and Kessler lost his composure. The cuts didn't help either.

Where are all those people saying he looked great in training two weeks ago? They sure dried up quick.

 

Aye, Ward came out aggressive and rough, and threw Kessler completely off his gameplan. Kessler is traditionally a slow starter and Ward never gave him a chance to make adjustments. It's not like Kessler got old overnight, he just didn't fight a smart fight and he looked confused and tentative for most of it.

It'll be interesting to see how he adjusts for the remaining two rounds. At the very least it's got to make him hungrier.

 

All speculation. Kessler shouldn't be too far off from the Calzaghe fight and he did claim to have broke something right. Ward Calzaghe would've been a good scrap. Hard to favor anyone clearly over Calzaghe because he's smart and the amount of slaps he can manage over an entire fight almost defies belief.

 

Kessler - Froch is a VERY interesting fight. It had to be encouraging for Carl to see Kessler looking that easy to rough up on the inside. If he can walk through Kessler's right hand (a big if, obviously), he could make it another long night for Denmark.

 

I think Kessler's a great fighter when someone is right in front of him, but he will always have trouble with footspeed and good footwork. He wasn't quite sure what to do in there. He will KO Froch though.

 

Looked like the same fighter. Just fighting Ward so it just looked different. Calzaghe isnt as fast. No where near it , really.
Calzaghe basically ran head first into kesslers shots. Kessler was able to time Calzaghe coming in . Timed him with the uppercut because Calzaghe comes in hard and fast.

Kessler couldnt do that with Ward because Ward is too good.

 

Aye, should be fun to watch though I think Kessler takes it as a) I expect him to to be more motivated and b) I don't think he has to footspeed to approach without getting clobbered the way Ward did. Kessler does have a good right hand, and if he is willing to let it go when Froch gets in range I don't *think* Froch will walk through it.

Froch may also have issues as his natural tendency really is to counterpunch whereas both guys who beat Kessler have been willing to really press the action and force Kessler to try and think on his feet. Will Froch be willing to do that, or will he try to hang back and trade and hope to catch Kessler with something big? Kessler has a pretty good chin, so it could be a long night for both guys in that case.

 

Thank you for a succinct answer...

Is this the same Kessler who is now being described as overrated, a never-was, one-dimensional, etc? :think

Just wondering, nome sane? :yep

If Kessler is his best win, why the need to justify it with the below waffle?