Kessler v Ward

No, Ward beat one hell of a fighter in Oakland that night.

But if the Super 6 has shown us anything, it is that home advantange is king. Ward would not have gotten away with the headbutts in Denmark.

 

I have heard every excuse now:

Kessler was badly faded(but managed to beat Froch)

Kessler didn't train.

Kessler was seeing double(but managed to beat Froch)

Ward headbutted him the entire fight(I counted 3, and all 3 wouldn't have been called or max 1 point deduction on the third)

Hometown advantage(Oh like Froch-Dirrell?, only good for the Euro fighter? Yeah, the problem is... Ward dominated Kessler, the fight could have happened on the moon and the outcome would have been the same)

Just ****ing admit it and get over it, Ward went and put his nuts right into the favorite of the Tourney. Made every Euro who was predicting a EU whitewash look foolish, and then became the most dominant fighter in the Tournament.

 

2 year lay off?:huh

Kessler fought Mundine in 2005 and then fought three more times before fighting Calzaghe in 2007. After that he fought three more times before fighting Ward in 2009.

Kessler was no less active for the 2 years prior to the Ward fight than he was for the 2 years prior to the Calzaghe fight.

 

Ward beats Kessler even before Calzaghe

 

In Oakland Ward might even beat the Kessler that fought Andrade.

 

Kessler won 2-3 out of 11 rounds vs Ward, home cooking and headbutts and holding and everything.

Kessler won 3-4 rounds of 12 vs Calzaghe in a clean fight.


I think he may have been slightly rusty, but he has no one to blame but himself for that (you have to stay busy in the gym if you aren't fighting. No excuses.)

Figure in the eye problems though. If they existed before the fight, that's a big disadvantage. You can't box at a high level if you have ****ed up depth perception. Again, it's a big 'if', but if it's true, that changes a lot.

Then the headbutts. Not intentional, imo, but that isn't important. What's important is that Kessler won his rounds early in the fight...while he could see. Once he was cut up and complaining of BLINDNESS is when Ward really put a beating on him. As he should have.

If/When Kessler and Ward rematch, I expect Ward to win, but I expect it to be much, much closer. A healthy Kessler will cause problems for Ward, big problems.

 

. Its not worth the comment... yet

 

Calzaghe was a beast that night. No shame in losing IMO. Still I think I had it closer than most. 7-5.

Who knows if an elated, partisan danish crowd could have led Kessler to an extra effort and perhaps discouraged Calzaghe somewhat?

Homefield is a big advantage.

 

You may have had it that close but the official judges didnt have it quite as close. As for home advantage, I think it depends on the fighter, some it isnt and can put on extra pressure, others it is

You're right, there is no shame. Kessler is one of the fighters I have followed the career of and admire and he was a good champion

 

He sure as hell didnt adapt last time out against Bika. In fact he fought the way he has always fought. Ramming headfirst into close range. And that was sour when the blueprint to beating Bika is to box him from the outside.

Ward couldn't do it. I don't know from where those Ward-stans get that 'impressive adaptability' from.