Kessler, 1 of the best B level fighters in my time, can he become an A level fighter?

Ohh, Please dont misunderstand me.. The Decision in Cardiff was a fair call.. But being a hometown fighter doesnt just give you an advantage on the judges score cards, the support from the home crowd is also a factor.. And that you are in the surroundings that you are used to.. Im just saying that the 28 year old Kessler, without injury and with backup from the home crowd, could very well have beaten the 35 year old Calzaghe..

 

Kessler is too conventional, too predictable to ever become an elite fighter, he's too easy to read, he fights with his head in the air, attacks in straight lines, goes back in straight lines when attacked, doesn't use enough upperbodymovement, lacks a variety in his attacks.

 

Do i have bring up the list of champions he have beaten?? The number of times he have captured a world title?? How many times he have been crowned champion of the world???
My point is.. If he is so easy to read and so preictable.. How could he ever have achieved all this??

 

The last few years he's been talking about retirement. That he hasn't got a whole lot of fights left. That his body is tired from boxing. If he is defeated by say Lucien Bute, what's left for him? Sure, he could go for Stieglitz or Froch. But would it matter? Would he be able to lift himself to greatness again? I don't think so. This is his last chance.

With his huge ambition and desire he wouldn't want to fight fighters rated below top 5, and that might be where he's at if he loose.

And with his never ending list of injuries he might be better off saying goodbye while he's still pretty healthy. Lately he's had some nasty cuts as well.

It's just my two cent, but I can't see him fighting should he loose again.

 

You can, but I already know most of them, guys like Siaca, Mundine. These are guys that wouldn't of got near a world championship had there been one belt.

Kessler hadn't been fighting skilled savvy fighters who are on a high level, like what a Joe Calzaghe, Andre Ward was/is, which is why he lost imo, his style is not conducive to deal with that kind of fighter.

Fighters who actually have some wrinkles to their game, and are at top level, will give Kessler major problems imo.

I dont think Kessler beat Froch to be honest, dont get me wrong, I can see why he won, as it was close, it was no robbery, but personally, I felt Froch won.

 

B+, love watching the guy fight by he's never been top 10 pound for pound at any point in his career and has never beaten an A level fighter.

 

I agree that Kessler isn't an A-level fighter. The top 10 P4P is A-level in my opnion. Kessler has lost only one fight, which could have given him A-status. The Calzaghe fight. Had he won against Ward it wouldn't have changed a thing, as people didn't rate Ward as a topdog at that time. So he wouldn't have won anything in terms of legacy at that very moment. Had Ward later taken his career to greatness despite a defeat to Kessler, it would have given Kessler a bigger status.

Beating Froch (He won a close, fair decision), Beyer, Andrade, Mundine, Siaca should earn respect. The only one in the division who has a better resume at the moment is Ward. For beating Kessler. Bute isn't close in terms of resume, and hasn't beaten or fought a top 5 fighter in the division. Froch is close, but Kessler has one over Froch. And that matters more for me.

A, B or C fighter, I've always enjoyed Kessler because he is willing to travel and fight the best in the division. That should earn respect - and for danish boxing he's been a fantastic ambassador through his career.

And I think Kessler could end of fighting Bute in Montreal. What a fight that would be.

 

Dont get me wrong, I respect him, I just dont think, like you, that he's on that A-level.

 

I know, cheers. Just to clarify

 

Hopefully Kessler will fight Bute and Froch II... Don't ever think he will face Ward again since going to Oakland = suicide...

If Kessler beats both Froch and Bute he can retire and enjoy his money and the rest of his life... A,B or C level... Who cares... He has achieved a lot at smw as it is and is one of the most accomplished fighters in the division.

 

I like to watch Kessler´s fights, hes a warrior and he has been in some really great fights (Calzaghe,Froch etc.) What he does he does close to perfection, but his style is quite simple and he has poor tactical skills. Hes a small level below the best (Ward, Calzaghe)
I think he best days are over, his old trainer said he thought Kessler should quit, because of the many injuries he had and Kessler´s sister also wanted him to quit. Kessler has slowed down and he is not as fast as he once were anymore, and his left eye is still troubling him. Kessler´s reason for continuing is the possiblity of earning alot of cash just fighting 2-3 fights more and from what I heard Kessler needs money coz he spend way too much of the money he earned. Who can say no to earning possibly 4-5 million $ even though there´s a risc of his eye-injuries getting worse. Kessler showed alot of will against Froch but his old timing and speed were absent. I don´t expect Kessler to be able to win against Ward,Bute,Abraham or in a rematch against Froch.

 

He WAS anA-level fighter.

He's now a pretty good B-level.

Can he climb back?

Very difficult at this stage.


But not impossible.

 

So now you are saying that he was an A level fighter. That is contrary to your OP where you asked what he should do to become just that.

I agree that Kessler hasn't been the same since he got his eyeproblems (Ward fight) and he has taken a lot more punishment against Ward and Froch than ever before. What remains to be seen is whether his eyes was the determining factor in this and if the healing of the eyes now paves the way to a return to the form of yesteryear.

I think this next tuneup fight against Bruoadla is made for Kessler to look good and anything less is not a good sign for a future fight likely with Bute in Canada.

Will a Bute fight to you be a big test or do you find Bute to be a hype-job?