Yes, Kessler looked better against Froch than Dirrell did. Dirrell also looked better against Abraham than he did against Froch. Froch and Dirrell were both guilty of ugly, sub-par performances when they met. Saying that Kessler looked poor (relative to how he's looked in the past) doesn't have anything to do with Froch's abominable fight against Dirrell.
Kessler was out of his element. He had to go into the fire to beat froch. That was his only way. If kessler would have came out to be the counter puncher and let froch dictate than kessler would have lost. Kessler rarely fights in this way and is not used to holding his ground without backing straight up. His trainer obviously worked with him to stand his ground, block and dodge shots and you could see he was doing that. He looked akward and anxious at times because he isn't used to doing that. Froch playing the countering mobile guy was different for him also but to me he gameplanned to push kessler back with flurries off the ropes. When kessler started holding his ground mid fight then the fight changed in his favor. His trainer montoya begged him not to go straight back so kessler had to stand his ground like I've been saying. That was the only way he could beat froch. He saw froch isn't as good going backwards and realized his own weakness is going backwards. I applaud kessler for standing in the fire and showing he can do something knew to him.
Excellent observation. I had the same sentiments - Kessler would never have won the fight using normal style. So Montoya must have convinced Kessler that he had to leave his comfort zone to get the victory. I should be interesting to see how he fights against Allan Green.
Kessler/Montoya is looking to be a successful pairing so far. You'd be hard-pressed to find another trainer capable of squeezing as much efficiency out of whatever it is that Kessler has left. Chemistry is a huge thing in the fighter-trainer relationship. Look at Jermain Taylor and Emanuel Steward, or Chad Dawson and Floyd Mayweather Senior. Sometimes a good fighter and great trainer doesn't translate to huge success and improvement. The chemistry has to be there (ie Wladimir Klitschko and Emanuel Steward). And really bad corner chemistry can ruin a fighter for a time (look at Malignaggi while under McGirt) - it's not that the trainer is bad, they're just a bad fit. Montoya's a good fit, hopefully this is further proven in the next Group Stage and all the way to the Finals.
Good observation. I also noticed that when Kessler stood right in front of Froch he was ocassionally able to slip his punches by using lateral movement. Not something that Kessler is usually any good at.
I agree with this post except that I think Kessler looked pretty pedestrian against Sartison and Haussler too. Why did Kessler lose his skills after the Calzaghe fight? I guess a combination of age, inactivity, loss of confidence and injuries catching up with him
He said himself that he lacked motivation. He said this in an interview right before the Ward fight. This was probably an important factor.
Froch doesn't telegraph his shots. Kessler does. The reason Froch was slipping him so easy is because Kessler telegraphs with his legs and really is the most basic fighter in the super 6. You can say Kessler looked poor but he was better than he has been since he fought Calzaghe, he's just not that good of a boxer. Dirrell isn't that good of a boxer either.
He didn't lose skills, he simply never had them. Before Calzaghe he was beating up on chumps. Now he's fighting the elite boxers and he can't use the basic telegraphed 1-2 punch combo that he always does. He's mechanical and the only reason he beat Froch is because Froch didn't attack him aggressively enough. Froch was tactically outboxing him and it's not because Kessler is old or Kessler suddenly lost his skills, it's because he telegraphed his punches all along. Kessler just never was as good as he looks. Now it's easy to see why Calzaghe destroyed him, he was nothing more than another Jeff Lacy.
Froch has a better jab, better uppercut, better footwork, and better defense than Kessler. Kessler was just more aggressive throwing combos. Don't let your hatred for Froch make you believe that Froch can't box or that he was outboxed. He was not outboxed by Kessler or Dirrell although Dirrell certainly outboxed him in the early rounds.