Ward will beat Kessler

Kessler had issues with his last fight for the same reason he had problems with Calzaghe, guy was an unconventional Southpaw.

In his fights against conventional fighters of either handedness he has really had no issues.

Speed kills? Where else have you seen a faster 1-2 than Kessler lately?

Don't get me wrong, Ward is a good fighter, but I seriously feel like he's untested against this caliber of opposition and that's the one thing you really failed to mention.

Ward is no Calzaghe.

Do I think he has a shot? Sure, any given fight night. Would I put money on Ward? Probably not unless the odds were so awesome that a couple bucks might net me a c-note.

-Hexus-

 

Wishful thinking.
1. Kessler 1-2 combination is really fast.
2. Kessler was not down, he just said after the fight one punch hurt him. Ward doesn't seem to have the power to hurt Kessler.
3. Calzaghe adapted better than Kessler, that's true. That doesn't mean that Kessler even has to adapt against Ward.
4. Kessler doesn't move all around like Ward. That doesn't mean he's slow. Kessler is probably the biggest (weigh) SMW on fight night. He has a good reach and a very good jab. I can see Ward dancing around Kessler from rounds 1 to 6. After that, if it's not before, Kessler will find him.

 

The op makes some good points but no way is Kessler 'slow as hell', thats just really laughable.

Ward is a bit quicker though, and only a slight underdog imo. Should be the class fight of the tournament.

 

The problem with assertions like this is that, before Kessler fought Calzaghe we would likewise have said that he has great focus and discipline. Kessler barely lost a round fighting better fighters than Ward has beaten. The problem is that Ward has not fought anyone anywhere near the level of Calzaghe to make a comparison.

 

Yup. Its why I find this fight a tricky one. Anyone with eyes can see that Ward is a class operator, but how will he respond to fighting at a higher level?

 

Ward looks great when he switches southpaw, and is a terrific body puncher. I see Ward wearing down Kessler in late rounds.

 

Kessler was the one of three opponents in Calzaghe's career whose offense really challenged Joe and forced him to dig deep, the other two being Eubank and Reid. His 1 - 2 is fast and precise. He most likely has the edge in chin and power and is massive for a supermiddleweight. Ward would have to show a lot more than what he has shown so far to beat him.

 

Also.. When kessler fought calz.. It was not only against calz.. also against many thousand in the stadium.
But yes.. Ward can win.. NOT on tko.. Thats for sure.. Chance are way bigger that kessler will ko / tko ward than the other way arround.. But.. Ward could win on points for sure..

 

Kessler could get confused, but Perdomo had longer reach than Ward and Kessler still cought him. I don't get why Ward fought orthodox through most of his tuneup when everyone knows Kessler is better against right-handers.

 

Youre putting a minus on Kesslers discipline because he "fell apart" in the middle rounds against Calzaghe.
Let me ask you one thing, who did Ward fight that was anywhere near Calzaghe's league? What about Librado Andrade where Kessler won a shutout and completely dominated Librado throughout, who did Ward fight that was as good as Andrade? And no, Edison Miranda is not a Librado Andrade or a Joe Calzaghe, he's a one armed pirate who will plod around the ring looking for a right hand opening.

Go back to the drawing board with your analysis, Kessler would likely have stopped all of Wards opponents, the question is would Ward have only one loss against all of Kesslers opponents?

 

And youre not giving Calzaghe his just due, it was not Kessler falling apart, it was Calzaghe adapting and taking over the fight technically.

Kessler won the 12th and final round, and had Joe staggered, I would not call that "falling apart"

 

Ward is 10/4 to beat Kessler. Mikkel is the clear fav at 1/3! Those odds are with Williams Hills bookies - I just checked!

Whoever is confident that Ward will win I'd say go place a bet! The bookies clearly think he's going to get beat!

 

he's got a solid chance. especially since the fight's in the US.