Has Kessler declined or is Ward that good?

kessler was never that good and calslappy didn't ruin has the fanboys use as an excuse. not that ward is the next RJJ, but the guy is a complete boxer unlike kessler.

 

Who was the best fighter kessler has beaten to consider that good???

Ward fought a great fight , but needs more time against world class opponents to be considered greatatsch,....
It takes a long time for a fighter to establish himself, as an elite, 1 fight dosen't cut it..

 

I want to say it was ring rust and ward just having the style to frustrate him. ie: excessive holding, hitting during break, extremely fast with hands and feet.

 

I never really saw anything 'great' in Kessler to begin with. I thought Calzaghe's win over him was good and the fight was fun to watch, but he looked very robotic. I did pick him to win over Ward, only because I was going for experience. Ward looked great, although the headbutts did happen, he did seem to have the speed and skill to win anyway.

 

One factor I will give Kessler is that there was a bigger "book" out on Calzaghe. I think he had a much better idea going in of what would and wouldn't work against Joe.

Ward is still young, there's not all that much high level stuff to go off of, and he's a switch hitter to make things even worse.

Don't even ask what prime Roy and Bernard do to Kessler.

 

Kessler on decline? It sure looks so. It has been quite a while since he fought strong opposition. Inactivity may have played a role. He certainly needs some tactical adjustments to prevail against Ward and Calzaghe types of fighters.

Ward that good? Hard to tell from just one fight. I think his performance came as a surprise to many. Having said that Kessler's fighting spirit was at an all time low.

 

Possibly both, but also boxing is boxing every fighter out there no matter how good he is eventually runs into that guy he just can't beat, we've seen it a million times before...

 

Very very logical post. This is not allowed at esb

 

Kessler is a very good fighter and ward is a bordering a great fighter.

 

Exactly.

This is one of the few threads i have seen where everyone has not shunned everything Kessler has ever done.

Ward was better on the night.

Holding infuriated me tho but was the right thing for Ward to do, to win.

N.B. did anyone see Showtime's "Kessler key to victory" it read

use the jab
use the right
throw combinations

i thought that was pretty self-explanitory lol.

 

I'm sorry, changing my take on the fight, Kessler actually had the swineflu was drugged And Wards people put crushed crisp bread in his jock strap... :nut

 

Thats what happens when guy's take too much time off, like Kessler did they regress, it looked like kesslers feet were in quicksand in that fight, if they rematch , Ward will KO HIM SOONER...

 

Kessler is still a good figher. He's very straightforward, however, and given Ward's amateur pedigree, etc., he knows how to adapt. Against Ward's athleticism and quick-thinking, Kessler had no answers. Kessler is the same fighter we've seen before. He also had to deal with SERIOUS cuts from headbutts, which cannot be discounted. Ward would likely have won anyway, but it's worth noting.

I would expect Calzaghe to still be able to handle Ward. Calzaghe is a high intensity, experienced Champion.

 

kessler is a never has been, his fight with calzaghe is his only fight and he did well in it, now hes fought a good fighter and got embarrassed sorry but this severly damages calzaghe record. this is the worst thing that could have happened to it actully, kessler was all hype from the get go.