MIKKEL KESSLER vs MARKUS BEYER

http://www.fightwriter.com/?q=node/453

It says a lot about the ability of Mikkel Kessler that he is such a big betting favourite over Markus Beyer in their 168-pound unification title fight. People in boxing seem to be seeing this as a mere formality for the undefeated Dane, even though Beyer is an experienced, southpaw champion who has a lot of title-fight experience.

There does indeed appear to be a very good chance that Kessler could dominate this fight. The 27-year-old has won 37 consecutive bouts with 28 opponents stopped and has never come remotely close to losing. He went to Australia to defeat the talented Anthony Mundine decisively on points, and Kessler’s promoter, Mogens Palle, tells me that the Dane had hardly any training for that fight due to a nagging back injury.

In his last fight, Kessler outclassed a very game Eric Lucas, with the former champ from Quebec being stopped due to cuts in the 10th round of a fight that I understand could have been stopped two rounds earlier.

The impression I have of Kessler is that he has been improving steadily all the time, a precise boxer who never seems to waste a punch. “He is very cold in his emotions in the ring,” Palle said from Denmark, “everything under control.”

Beyer, 35, a shorter, stockier fighter, has won 34 of his 36 bouts and although he is not considered a very hard hitter (just 13 KOs) he has met a lot of durable and capable fighters, the type who are not so easy to stop.

In fact, Beyer has halted only one opponent in the past four years, and that was a surprising sixth-round knockout over the Italian Cristian Sanavia, a fellow-southpaw who had upset the German on a split decision in a previous meeting. I thought that the rematch was almost certain to go 12 rounds, but Beyer caught the normally durable Sanavia with a perfect punch.

Usually, though, Beyer wins by being crafty and clever. He keeps his hands up in the manner of Ulli Wegner-trained fighters and judges his distance well, whether staying back and countering or taking the fight to the other man with quick, two-handed bursts of attacking.

Beyer’s chin has always seemed reliable, although he was stopped in the last round by the British fighter Glenn Catley six years ago. That was a case of Beyer being worn down and caught late by a strong opponent, but he has come a long way since then.

The German is one of those fighters I would categorise as being not exceptional, but perhaps exceptionally hard to beat. The American 168-pounder Allan Green once told me had a lot of respect for Beyer and said he thought the German would be difficult to fight. As Green put it, the other fighter tries to work Beyer out, might not be getting hurt but is falling behind on points — and before he realises it he’s lost the fight.

Kessler, however, does have the look of a special type of fighter, a near-flawless technician. He might not be a big puncher as such but he hits fast, crisply and accurately. He has been sparring for eight weeks with the Russian southpaws Sergey Tatevosyan and British-based Eric Teymour, and Palle tells me he thinks that Teymour in particular was perfect because he stands about the same height as Beyer and even looks a bit like him.

Sometimes people look at boxers’ common opponents as a guide to what might happen in a fight. I always feel these so-called form guides are misleading. So much depends on the style of the boxers and the timing of the fight. Still, form would definitely favour Kessler. He easily beat Eric Lucas whereas Beyer was only able to win a split decision — one much disputed by the Canadian faction. Although Beyer won a unanimous decision over Andre Thysse he never looked like stopping him; Kessler broke down the sturdy South African in the 11th.

Beyer, though, knows how to win big fights and he has pulled off upsets before, defeating Richie Woodhall in Britain back in 1999 and outscoring the hard-hitting Danny Green in their rematch, although he had to survive a harrowing final round when the Australian dropped and almost overpowered him.

I have not seen any sign of Beyer looking as if he might be sliding — in his recent fights he has, to me, looked as technically solid as he has ever done, although Sakio Bika did seem to hurt him briefly in their fight last May that ended on a head clash in four rounds.

Beyer has a lot of pride, has boxed many championship rounds and I think he might give Kessler a tougher fight than many expect.

This seems to be Kessler’s time, though. He is boxing at home and everything seems to be in his favour.

I expect Kessler to use his height, reach and hand speed to pick Beyer off and punish him. I do not think that Beyer will be able to lure Kessler into making mistakes and counter him — not too many times, anyway — because the Dane is such a calculating, beautifully balanced fighter.

It looks like a long and difficult fight for Beyer, who I think will quite possibly be worn down and stopped in about 10 rounds.

“I will be very disappointed if Kessler doesn’t look a million dollars in this fight,” Mogens Palle said from Copenhagen.

I do not think that he will be disappointed.

Last Updated: October 12, 2006 6:45am
Note: Odds are for entertainment purposes only

Pretty good read & the right perception if you ask me.

Beyer has the experience to give Kess a tuff fight...but only in spurts. I think Kess will blast him out as he has so many others.