Mikkel Kessler will remain retired

A tick got Kessler?

He should fight AAA (Ancient Arthur Abraham) in a retirement fight.

 

Nah, as probably Kessler's biggest fan, this is a relief.

 

In your opinion what we're his greatest accomplishments?

Best fights?

 

With how week super middle is right now Kessler could possibly still win a world title.
He could probably beat Truax.

 

What an irritating waste of time, as in everyone's lingering hopes the past, what, 3 years for this guy now?

 

Kessler should stay retired, he has lost it.................

 

well done that man!

 

Couldn't agree more.

 

Did they catch it early on in his case, because otherwise it's very hard to treat.

Glad he stays retired though, but it's the disease that worries me more

 

Good news. There is nothing more frustrating to me than watching an elite fighter make an unnecessary come-back and lose to lesser opposition because of injuries. Kessler is done, better enjoy retirement.

 

Good news he's staying retired, he was supposed to fight an Roamer Angulo who I don't know a great deal about, but it appeared he could crack a bit so probably best.

 

Accomplishments? 5 time world champion (3x WBA, twice WBC, unifying them for a time); 10-3 in world title bouts; overall 94% winning percentage combined am/pro facing good opposition in both; 2x regional, 1x national, 1x Nordic and 1x European amateur champion. Highest quality scalps (factoring in both how prime/capable they were h2h and the dominance/method of victory, and impressiveness of performance) were: Froch I, Mundine, Andrade, Beyer, Magee, Green, Sartison, Lucas, JC Green, and Whittaker.

The best fights were Froch I & II, Calzaghe, Andrade (maybe the most thoroughly you will ever see a 24-0 ranked contender get 100% shut out and schooled in every aspect of the game, as well as the most vicious prolonged twelve-round beating you can imagine. Andrade only made it until the end - without falling, no less! - because of his iron chin) ...those are the overall best, and from there it depends on whether you want sadistically picturesque violent kayos (Sartison, Haussler, A. Green, Beyer) or boxing masterclasses (Mundine, Lucas).

For a good stretch, roughly the duration of his prime (before the eye injuries and the consequential alteration to his style to become more of a brawler in his latter career), he arguably held the vacant "Best P4P Jab In The Biz" title, sharing the lineage with Ike Quartey and Larry Holmes - and that's saying a mouthful, because his prime coincided with that of Wladimir Klitschko!

 

Thank you Señor Butt. After taking Lil Fett to Planet Comicon this weekend, I will definitely have a Kessler marathon.

Since his last fight was in 2013, is he eligible for the HoF this year, and considering his accomplishments do you feel he's a first ballot?

 

You have to be absent from the ring for five full calendar years between your last fight and eligibility. So yeah, 2014/15/16/17/18 - this is his last year of "abstinence" (since he canceled his comeback, which would've reset the clock) so he ought to be good for the ballot in the autumn, if the IBHOF voting body deems him worthy, and in turn he can then appear in the induction Class of 2019. I personally do think he belongs. I've seen opinion fairly split on this matter in various polls on different forums.

Some would argue that more deserving people that have been frozen out deserve to go in ahead of him (like Donald Curry or John Conteh) and I don't even necessarily disagree, but their misfortune doesn't have to become his problem as well, that's just pure schadenfraude. Obviously there are certain guys (like Curry who keeps making the ballot and not getting in, perennial bridesmaid; Conteh doesn't even get his name put up) the voting body has just made it clear by now they don't care about. It sucks, but it probably isn't going to change so we just have to shrug and move on. Ignoring those "overdue" names, I think Kessler belongs in 2019 as the rest of the "fresh batch" of candidates in the "Modern Category", ie those who retired or last fought in 2013, make for a relatively weak class given the last few consecutive pretty strong ones: Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, Cory Spinks and Michael Katsidis. The latter two are nearly-men IMO (as much as I don't hate Spinks the way many did when he was active), while Pong is probably worthy but might not be known enough by (or "starry" enough for) Westerners, even the savvy boxing writers that comprise the IBHOF membership. You also have a couple of strong names recently left on the bubble - Calderón and Hatton, this year, lost out to Vitali, Winky, and El Terrible. So there is some competition to get in, but I think Kessler ought to manage. Not a shoe-in, but I think he could.