How good was Mikkel Kessler?

He was a good ABC boxer. Solid but lost against any greatness he went up against.

 

He was a good fighter and was in a stacked 168 division at the time.

 

Tough man warriors code ward cheated that man like he did kovalev 1
His Sister was fit back in the day like

 

Kessler was good solid boxer but not great.

 

Solid chin (only down once that i remember against Green), Very good fundamentals, Good gas tank, solid defence, good power, Only lost to Ward (dirty fight), Zags (close but clear), and went 1 and 1 with Froch. Not ATG status, Right at the door for HOF (if he's awarded it, good for him, if not, it happens). I enjoyed his style and he was a likeable person.

 

B+ / A- Kind of bracket - came up short on his biggest fights, but a really dangerous fight for anyone in history at 168.

Calzaghe showed that adaptability was Kessler's weak spot, and - probably even regardless of the egregious headbuts, Ward probably would have done the same.

One thing i'd ask folks to consider in this though - in those 'biggest fights' he was in the lions den both times, with Calzaghe and Ward both having big advantages in Cardiff and Oakland respectively.

How would Zags and Ward have fared against Kessler in Copenhagen? Even a post-prime Kessler had enough to beat Froch in Copenhagen...Ward wouldn't have gotten away with even half of what he did in Oakland, and Zags was a confidence fighter that may well have thrived and got much out of his Cardiff audience...

Small margins that separate boxers at the end of the day

 

Tbf I would love to have seen him take on Canelo. Would be a WAR

 

Elite fighter, not quite PfP top 5 but maybe top 10 in his prime. Top 25 all-time at 168 as well, given that it's a newer division.

Looked like a pretty boy (and a hot sister, as already mentioned) but did not fight like one. Tough guy.

 

Great post! Kessler was a terrific fighter but lost fair and square to Calzaghe. It must be remembered, that was a Super Fight, hugely anticipated around the boxing world. He had a win against Froch but I scored all the Kessler- Froch fights for Carl. Ward just fouled him into oblivion, that was not a fair fight.

 

Overrated

He is the yardstick to measure the greatness of Froch and Calzaghe

 

think hed only be behind canello in current times

 

Very good boxer, hard as nails, gentleman warrior. Not ultimately THE man at any one time, but capable of giving them a hard nights work.
I thought a great point was made earlier that he fought most of his big fights on the road, which tells you about his mentality - and how hometown 'advantage ' might have favoured him in one or two of those losses.