Mikkel Kessler: What makes him so good?

You could explain that LOT to us... like all fights of Roy Jones, Floyd Mayweather or all but one fight of Hopkins has taken place outside of their country. What does that say to you?

 

He lacks head movement, but his sense of distance is top notch, as is his footspeed and foot positioning, he also has quite a good guard and is very adept at picking off shots.

If you want to talk about fighters with POOR defence, Taylor and Pavlik fit that bill, as both have been routinely tagged quite a bit by B level fighters, something Kessler has not experienced, all of the B levels he dominated could barely touch him and were being picked apart like a math problem.

Taylor and Pavlik get hit with ridiculous ****, Kessler not so much, due to the ability's that I outlined above.

 

Pavlik and Taylor are both overrated to ****, they'll get whooped at SMW, a chronically underrated division

 

I respect them for what they are, I just hate when fighters are overrated and then superior fighters are underrated for no other reason than good marketing and fan favourite's.

It's very clear that Taylor and Pavlik are not top echelon elite fighters, if somebody wants to make an argument that Kessler is not, then it's debatable, but the people who are project that Taylor and Pavlik are and that's ridiculous, because they're evidently inferior.

Do I need to list out why again?:think

 

It's funny how European's in the UK and Germany are making obscene money that rivals the US purses for big name fighters and drawing in bigger crowds than any American boxing event in recent times.

Boxing happens to be a world sport these days.:good

 

That's fair enough, at least you aren't directly asserting that the MW combo is superior.

But if you ever want to look into the comparison I laid out, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised, maybe I'll make a thread with video analysis soon.

 

It's a good thing though, fighters from all over are going to start getting more oppurtunity with this that they wouldn't have had before.

And I'm not biased towards any part of the world, I could care less, the UK has a couple of favourite's of mine right now but also several that I loathe and one of the worst hype jobs in recent times with Amir Khan. The Amir Khan situation is more sickening than anything that has ever been hyped up or promoted over here on this side of the world, I'll tell you what, I'm just counting the days until that gravy train is smashed into a halt and it gets rubbed in all of their faces.:yep

 

I will make the physical comparison for you...I argued Taylor first, so I will do that one for ya.

Speed - Taylor by a country mile.
Skill - Technique is for Kessler by a huge margin, athleticism is for Taylor by a huge margin.
Timing - Taylor again by a country mile.
Defense - Kessler defensive technique is much better, Taylor defensive movement is much better.
Sense of Range - I will give this one to Kessler, but even you must admit that when Jermain uses it, his jab as a range finder its phenominal.
Footwork - While Kessler is slow and plodding and when on the inside struggles to set against a better inside fighter, Jermain's footspeed and footwork is fantastic. Again, Taylor by a country mile.
Precision - Im guessing your talking about accuracy, so I will give this one to Kessler, but only for the fact that he has never fought a defensive master like Hopkins, Wright or Spinks...I think if he had, we may just have this one as a wash.

So, by your categories of physical traits...there are a few things that are washes, arguable for either man, and I even gave Kessler two...but the things that Jermain is better in, he is MUCH, MUCH, MUCH better in.

I dont understand why its so hard for people to see Kessler's GLARING flaws. I still believe he is a good fighter...but nowhere NEAR a great one.

 

Thankyou so much for an analytical reply.:good

Speed, how is Taylor by a country mile? Kessler delivers shots faster shot for shot and has greater handspeed when he throws combinations. Kessler also throws full power combinations that are set up correctly, where as Taylor when he throws is always squared up and in bad positioning.

Skill, agreed, boxing skill to Kessler by a massive margin.

Timing? Taylor's timing is horrible, I don't know what you are trying to insist here mate. Kessler's timing is very good.

Defence - Taylor's defensive movement and footwork is so basic, Taylor's sense of distance is awful and his footwork is literally just back and forward, he's terrible at circling and side stepping out of range. Kessler on the other hand has a very good guard, the sense of distance, far superior footwork and positioning and better punch anticipation and ring generalship, therefore Kessler doesn't get hit with stupid shots like Taylor has his entire run.

Taylor has the physical potential to be a good defender, but I'm judging as he stands.

Sense of range - Not even comparable, you can say when Taylor uses his jab it's effective, but he's often in wrong spot to utilise it correctly, as his sense of distance sucks. Kessler's jab is better anyway, it's quicker and more powerful and he throws it constantly.

Footwork - Please, Kessler's footwork is fantastic and he's not a plodder? I don't understand where you're getting at, he's very quick for a fighter of his type, almost as quick in feet as Calzaghe himself, the quickest guy above 160. Taylor has atrocious footwork compared to his contemporaries.

Precision - A mix of timing, accuracy and efficiency, this goes to Kessler by an ocean's length. Again you want to bring Spinks into the table, well he had no trouble breaking down a much better fighter than Spinks in Mundine and brutalising him down the stretch, and Mundine's actually a natural SMW, where as we have Taylor nearly giving a fight away to a natural Light Middle with absolutely no punching power, something Mundine has plenty of in his lightning quick right hand. And when Mundine's playing defensive like Spinks does for every fight, he's very hard to hit clean and he's a very fast mover.

Kessler vs. Wright and the current Hopkins shouldn't have any trouble landing on them consistently, but I know you don't want to believe that, so it's a muted point there.

Let's add a few more in favour of Kessler in comparison to Taylor -

Power, Stamina, Ring intelligence & workrate.



You can't dispute those last 4.

 

both guys on your avatar have barely fought abroad so why is Kessler held to that standard?

 

So basically what this thread is saying is... that there are a tonne of fights that should be made in the future that should be exciting fights and make for some compelling viewing for fight fans all while answering the many good (and not so good) points made by the various posters.

I do think that it is important to remember that in all sports, and specifically boxing, the 'more talanted' or more 'refined' fighter does not always win. It is easy to say Kessler or Hopkins or whomever has all these abilities or traits which would allow them to dominate other fighters, but once Pavlik or Miranda or Buster Douglas smash them in the face things can change with amazing suddenness. Or of course Kessler et al could use THEIR skills and attributes to dominate an entire fight! And that sort of one on one confrontation with all the variables and uncertain outcomes is what makes boxing so ****ing great.