Mikkel Kessler vs. Bernard Hopkins

i dare you to refute what ive just said - read my last post too

 

Ahh I see... So by your logic Vitali Klitchko is a gatekeeper at HW and LHW is nothing but gatekeepers.

 

i'm talking about SMW
as much as i respect froch and kessler (who wouldn't), the truth is they have never been legit world champions

opening the door to legitimizing paper champs, even though both froch and kessler have deservedly got their reputation from fighting the best available, is a recipe for keeping boxing 'broken'

 

But Kessler and Froch is the opposite of paper champs, they fought and beat the current champs of the SMW division to get their titles/belts. (I understand and concur that the current WBA title of Kesslers is kind of a joke)

So all in all it comes down to your very biased view on fighters, but calling world champions gatekeepers is just plain disrespectfull to fighters everywhere.

 

They're not gatekeepers in any way shape or form. Kessler and Froch are both very, very good fighters who reside just below a special talent in Andre Ward.

They're both future HOF'ers with excellent resumes and fighting abilities. A gatekeeper is someone who you have to beat in order to reach world level, someone like Yusaf Mack or Brian Magee, both of whom Froch and Kessler have just dismantled inside 3 rounds.

 

this

 

kessler lost to calzaghe, and both lost to ward
they are the only 2 legit SMW champs in recent times

look, i'm not trying to undermine either froch or kessler, because both deserve respect and props - a lot more than guys like felix sturm and danny green do (who are both notorious for milking paper titles for $$ alone), but you can't credit anyone else apart from calzaghe or ward a legit title if you want boxing to change

 

so its the definition of gatekeeper we disagree on, not the fact that froch and kessler arent world champions

gatekeeper to me is someone you have to beat to have a shot at the very best

 

In that case, fair enough.

Ward is as close to unbeatable as a fighter can be though imo, and the term 'gatekeeper' just sounds like a disrespectful thing to say about two guys like Froch and Kessler who are both brilliant fighters and proven warriors.

 

absolutely
wasn't intented for a minute to be disrespectful to either

 

But what does it take then to be a world champion in your definition?

 

:good

 

someone who is proven to be the best fighter in their division
ideally, by beating 'the man'

i'm not a full bottle on all divisions, but it's pretty clear cut at SMW

even though i'm one of the critics about calzaghe's career path and why he will never have international recognition, it's crystal clear that he was comfortably the best at SMW

 

And yet most agree now that Froch's resume > Calzaghe's.

 

I see your point. But I do not follow the same logic when I rate fighters. Ward has never beaten "the man"... He beat the best of the rest.
Kessler had beaten the best of the rest when Calzaghe retired.
Does that make Kessler a former world champion then?