Kessler could become a better fighter than Calzaghe

A lot of work to do, he'd need a line of good defences, need to defeat somebody as good as himself or Calzaghe down the line and re-unify the titles. Did I mention go undefeated during this new leap forward?

It's not that easy, he's level's above the rest of the SMW's and there isn't a Calzaghe or a Kessler level fighter even around the MW-LHW area, maybe Dawson, but you already think pretty low of him.

Even if he cleaned out Taylor-Pavlik-Dawson-Diaconu, it still doesn't match Calzaghe's resume.

 

oh no, you're right ... Joe Calzaghe is the greatest SMW in the history of boxing


lmao


hahahahahahahahahahaha!

can't think of s SINGLE (*coughRoyJonescough*) guy or FOUR or FIVE guys or maybe TEN guys who fought at SMW who were greater ....

his comp says it all


funny stuff again, man :fight



Where's that "Valuev - One of boxing's greatest heavyweights ever" thread? Surely there must be one of the those too ....

 

To be fair, it is extremely difficult for an orthodox fighter to outjab Calzaghe consistently. I've never seen anybody come remotely close to doing so, in all these years. It shocked me people thought Kessler could achieve that pre-fight. I think it would take a quick southpaw with a good jab like Dawson, although I doubt it would be enough overall

Timing the right hand counter was always Kessler's best chance, although the success of the uppercut suprised me, that was nice variation he doesn't use enough

 

I think that the natural talent of Kessler and Calzaghe is pretty equal.
But Joe has had better management (securing his signature fights to happen at home) and Calzaghe always had that psycho swarming style that you cannot prepare/spar efficiently to face.


If Kessler beats Bute, Froch, Taylor, Dawson, Pavlik and Roy Jones in the next 4 years then maybe we can start talking about who was the best SMW ever.

So I guess you have a point DECEBAL/BEAR. But it all depends on Kessler actually getting the fights.

 

Not really.

History will always show that a 36 yr old Calzaghe beat a 28 yr old Kessler. An old man beat the prime version.

Kessler won't achieve more than Calzaghe, you're talking a P4P Top 3 from Europe (near unheard of) with a record number of defenses, a title at two weights and beating two ATG's in Eubank and Hopkins.

Anyone believing that Kesslers skillset will ever allow him to be as good or better than Calzaghe is barking mad, Calzaghe has a skillset that like many of the greats before him, is completely different and hard to read.

And by the by, if we're considering a Top 3 P4P and someone who ranks as high as #1 in a fair number of P4P lists to be "A-" - how do you get to be "A" or "A+"

Rating Kessler 1 rung below Calzaghe when Calzaghe was able to beat him decisively, despite the age difference and the fact that Calzaghe was only two fights away from retirement when he beat Prime Kessler (28, two titles, 40 fights = Prime) is also a little twinkish.

 

I do believe so.

You saw Kessler at 28, get dominated on the outside and get stuck with three times as many jabs and twice as many shots in total by a guy who was supposed to have struggles trying to get in against Kessler.

You saw him gas, badly and get hurt to the body, which opens up some questions about his career later on.

And Kessler, has squandered a year of his prime, will now be fighting Sartison which I can assure you, here in stateside is no different to a Zsolt Erdei type move.

From this point out, any achievement he has will only serve to boost what we think of Calzaghe further for beating him so easily despite near ten years age difference.

Calzaghe's reputation, much like Lennox Lewis and other recent undisputed retirees will only grow overtime once he is no longer around..

 

For once, you've actually got something right.

Calzaghe at any point after Eubank would be a nightmare for Kessler. The idea that a 35-36 yr old fighter is in his prime is just maddening, especially considering performances like the one against Bika and the follow up against Hopkins.

Calzaghe, much like Hopkins, Roy Jones Jr, etc.. older fighters.. NEEDS to believe that he's a better fighter today than he was ten years ago for self confidence and belief he can match it with younger opposition.

Make no bones about it, the Calzaghe that fought Eubank has more handspeed, much more delivery of power. The only thing that Calzaghe seems to have improved over time is his footwork, but even so, he gets caught with shots lots more now than he ever used too.

For Kessler to get even near as good as Calzaghe was, he needs to reinvent his style from the ground up, learn body attacking, learn combination punching and learn how to work when the jab is taken from him.

At 28 with 40 fights? It's too late.

 

Yeah. Its funny.

But I expect him to be belt holder at some point in the next couple of years.

 

edit

 

Drugs are bad for you my freind.

 

What is beyond doubt is that with Calz out of the picture Kess has a very easy chance of reigning as the best active SMW for as long as he wants to. Direct comparisons between two guys with such different styles and career trajectories are difficult.