Kessler scared of Pantera?

Kessler rejects Miranda clash!
Thursday, March 6 2008


Despite offers to hold the bout in a neutral location and significant offers from both HBO and Showtime for the television rights to the bout, handlers of Mikkel Kessler have walked away from a lucrative showdown with the feared ‘Pantera’, Edison Miranda. “Viking Warrior?” asked Miranda, referring to the former super middleweight champion’s nickname. “Kessler should turn his horned helmet in after disgracing such a tribe of true fighters. He talks like a fighter, has tattoos like he’s a tough guy, but when it comes down to being a real fighter, he’s not even worthy of carrying my gloves.” The fight between Miranda and Kessler was originally pitched for the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida, but that location was turned down. Seminole Warriors Boxing, Miranda’s promoter, immediately acquiesced and offered a neutral location for the bout – again, Kessler refused. Even extreme interest from HBO and Showtime couldn’t convince the Denmark native to fight the Colombian standout, even though a win over Miranda would help erase the memory of his decisive loss to Joe Calzaghe last November. “I have a message for Mikkel Kessler, or Kessler the Kitten as I call him after he gave away his belts without a fight last year," said Miranda. "Joe Calzaghe is not going to fight you again. What more does he have to prove after he slapped you around for 12 rounds? The only way you’re going to erase that loss from the fans' memories is if you beat a legitimate fighter like me, but you know you can’t beat me, that’s why you won’t take this fight. So my advice to you is to retire and leave the fighting to the men. I challenge any of the so called top super middleweight contenders to step up and fight Pantera, but I doubt any of you have the guts."

What happened to the so called pascal showdown ?? I'd love to see miranda "david banks" his ass ! I don't think kessler is necessarily scared of miranda. Edison can still be outboxed and we still have to realize although really impressive (especially in comparison to what pascal showed on the same card ) that it was still only david banks.

Kessler would KO Pantera in late rounds, if not he'd UD him.. It would be al ittle later than Pavlik's KO on Pantera cause Kessler isn't as much of a pressure fighter as Kelly, but Miranda keeps coming forward and Kessler would just keep dropping bomb after bomb, round after round..

Pavlik took a lot of punches from Edison, and i don't see Kessler getting caught with nearly as many, as he's quicker and throws his jab a lot more.. We know that Kessler can take a punch, but haven't really seen him getting hit by someone as powerful as Miranda.. but i'd still bet HEAVILY on Kess...

Anyway, i'd like to see this fight, just so that Kessler can get a win.

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Originally Posted by Mar

What happened to the so called pascal showdown ?? I'd love to see miranda "david banks" his ass ! I don't think kessler is necessarily scared of miranda. Edison can still be outboxed and we still have to realize although really impressive (especially in comparison to what pascal showed on the same card ) that it was still only david banks.

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Yea, the throat slitting gesture exchange between them at the ESPN FNF.

Miranda-Pascal is more interesting imo.

Very disappointing news from Kessler

this was a great chance for Kessler to bounce back, can't belive
he hasn't jumped at this :confused:

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Originally Posted by Pantera

"Joe Calzaghe is not going to fight you again. What more does he have to prove after he slapped you around for 12 rounds?

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;D;D;D;D;D

I would like to see Kessler fight a tune-up or maybe Jermain Taylor that would be big.Then get the match with Miranda.

Miranda is one of my favorite fighters. With all his limitations, he is still entertaining and willing to mix it up with anyone. He will always be dangerous and is a likable fellow. You have to give him credit.

Plus he comes with a bonus feature!! That's right folks, he has a lil bit of Mayorga-ness in him and is willing to talk some trash.

;D

I swear he thinks this is the WWF. Soon he's gonna start shaking during interviews like he's Hulk Hogan. At the end of this interview did he rip his shirt off and say: What ya gonna do brother? What ya gonna do? When the 24" pythons are coming for you.

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Originally Posted by No Contest

I swear he thinks this is the WWF. Soon he's gonna start shaking during interviews like he's Hulk Hogan. At the end of this interview did he rip his shirt off and say: What ya gonna do brother? What ya gonna do? When the 24" pythons are coming for you.

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LOL so true. He is like a real life Clubber Lang. "Miranda Pity's The Fool who dares step into the ring with him."

No matter how you slice it though, he has one punch power and many fighters will be wary about him. I don't see Pascal listed as having any upcoming fights, so I guess he backed out of fighting Miranda also.

I don't see anyone calling out Pantera, Pascal has pretty much vanished. Last time I saw him he was on ESPN calling out Miranda, and the fight still isn't signed? I gotta hear the excuse for this one :p

I gotta say being the biggest Kess fan...
I'm really gutted to hear this.

I'd like to hear from Kess himself what happened here. :(

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Originally Posted by CutMeMick

I gotta say being the biggest Kess fan...
I'm really gutted to hear this.

I'd like to hear from Kess himself what happened here. :(

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I am not to happy to see that either to be honest. It would be a good fight, and I am sure Kessler would win it. So why not take it?

However, it seem a bit premature to just accept any press release from Miranda's people as facts - surely there could be more sides to the argument? First of all the definition of 'lucrative' is likely to differ. This would most likely be for less money than Kessler has earned for a fight in at least three years (the Beyer fight aside, but he took a cut there as a surefire investment), secondly this would be promoted by Miranda's people. It cannot be that surprising that Kessler does not just jump at the first chance.

Still, something about this bothers me. Not necessarily that Kessler rejects this fight, but more so that I think (fear) that Kessler and Palle are overestimating themselves. They find themselves in a position, they haven't been in since before 2004. Beltless contenders, back to the drawing board etc. And I dont think they are ready to accept this - that while they think the Calzaghe fight proved the continuation of succesful learning curve - and in fairness I agree, I dont think he should come out of the Calzaghe fight with a worse reputation, than he went in there with - it left him in a completely different part of the curve.

Now Kessler might actually need to fight someone who has lost two of his last six fights and has never held a title, in a fight with no belts on the line. And if he keep refusing this reality, then what will happen with his career?

However, all this being said, I am merely a fan. I want him to fight all the elite fighters, preferably at a rate of at least once a month. And he might as well do this for peanuts for all I know. I do respect though that Kessler, his promoter, his family and friends etc might have different views on his career.

Hmm, all this and then I left out the main points: a) Good to see that someone is calling Kessler out, b) Would have been a great fight, c) There might be more sides to the argument than the ones coming through in Miranda's press release.

Imo Kessler is the best Super Middleweight in the world right now. (That Calzaghe has moved on)
Kessler could beat Miranda and I can only assume that Kessler has another plan.

I say bring on Miranda vs. Taylor.

It would be a good way to come back after the Calzaghe fight if he wins,it would look bad on his record if he was to lose ,2 losses in a row. Be a very good fight id favour Kessler to win on points.

he did just suffer his first defeat last year, you can't really think putting him in the ring with a guy like miranda is a great idea just yet, i feel kessler would beat miranda but miranda always has a punchers chance and being beat twice in two fights and being ko'd ain't good for any fighter, let him fight a lesser opponent then he can go on to the better fighters at 168.

Damn, would be a v nice comeback for kess, what the hell is he doing

I think that what kessler needs to do is get a guy like Andrade again now. A durable rugged opponent that will take him a few rounds and make him feel impressive.

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Originally Posted by The Fightfan

I would like to see Kessler fight a tune-up or maybe Jermain Taylor that would be big.Then get the match with Miranda.

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Are you kidding? Jermain Taylor as a tune-up for Edison Miranda? Taylor would MURDERLIZE Miranda! Save for Arthur Abraham, I don't see anyone who has held a title at 160-168 losing to Miranda. He's a club fighter dipped in money, but a club fighter nonetheless.

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Originally Posted by liquid

Are you kidding? Jermain Taylor as a tune-up for Edison Miranda? Taylor would MURDERLIZE Miranda! Save for Arthur Abraham, I don't see anyone who has held a title at 160-168 losing to Miranda. He's a club fighter dipped in money, but a club fighter nonetheless.

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Even before Miranda lost to Pavlik i could never understand why people thought Miranda would beat Taylor, Miranda is sloppy and has no defense, ok he has good power and he is exciting, but he isn't even in the same league as Jermain Taylor IMO.

I disagree I think Mirandas power gives him a great shot against any fighter really. However, he is desperately in need of technical improvement.

That might be the problem Kess has with Miranda, the risk/reward thing, most fans would expect him to beat Miranda comfortably, and anything less than emphatic (like Pavlik did) would be deemed a poor performance. He should fight him anyway IMO, Kessler needs to keep busy and in the spotlight before he becomes a risky guy on the sidelines that's avoided since he hasn't got a belt.

Ha Ha Kessler is the guy at 1168 that I feel can beat anyone though. His boxing may be waht carries him in the future though.

That's what I mean, with Calzaghe moving up and joining the seniors tour, Kessler is definitely the guy to beat, however that is just opinion, there are still plenty opposition for him at SM that he hasn't faced. If he starts putting in unreasonable demands regarding purse and that he may find himself in the position Winky was in for most of his career, and where he's back now.

Miranda is like a Bull in a China Cabinet. Rough and free swinging. He throws wild but sneaky right hands that seem to have a fair bit of reach and find their mark.

Any fighter with less than a stellar jaw he has a potential to beat. He can also take a good pounding himself.


Those reasons alone will convince many potential opponents to look the other way. Yes he can be wild and crude with his delivery, but he does deliver. He is a risky guy to fight and a hard fight for anyone.

Miranda can get roughed up as Pavlik proved, but Pavlik loves to fight like that and smothered much of Miranda's shots. Guys like Taylor, Kessler etc, well they like distance and fight on their back foot. Miranda I can see catching those type of fighters at the end of his punches while they are pulling back. Can they take his punches? I have no idea. I am interested in finding out ;D

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Originally Posted by hitmandonny

I disagree I think Mirandas power gives him a great shot against any fighter really. However, he is desperately in need of technical improvement.

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Yes his power is a great equalizer but relying on just power alone will only get you so far in boxing, and against a great boxer like Jermain Taylor i don't see his power being that much of a factor, the reason why Taylor lost to Pavlik was because of Pavlik's long stiff jab which Miranda hasn't got, plus because of Pavlik's straight shots right down the pipe, another attribute Miranda doesn't really have.

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Originally Posted by Deanrw

Miranda is like a Bull in a China Cabinet. Rough and free swinging. He throws wild but sneaky right hands that seem to have a fair bit of reach and find their mark.

Any fighter with less than a stellar jaw he has a potential to beat. He can also take a good pounding himself.


Those reasons alone will convince many potential opponents to look the other way. Yes he can be wild and crude with his delivery, but he does deliver. He is a risky guy to fight and a hard fight for anyone.

Miranda can get roughed up as Pavlik proved, but Pavlik loves to fight like that and smothered much of Miranda's shots. Guys like Taylor, Kessler etc, well they like distance and fight on their back foot. Miranda I can see catching those type of fighters at the end of his punches while they are pulling back. Can they take his punches? I have no idea. I am interested in finding out ;D

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Even though I don't think Miranda's that great I don't disagree with this. The thing that made him look so bad against Pavlik was that Pavlike backed him up and Miranda can't fight on the back foot, that's why he looked so amateurish. I'd give him a much better shot against Taylor (though I wouldn't pick him) because he's more comfortable going up against a guy like Taylor, a guy who he can stalk. Kind of the same with Kessler although Kessler could probably back him up with the jab and the right hand if he wanted to. Not really his style though.

Still wouldn't pick him over Kessler and I don't see Kessler being afraid of Miranda, more of a type of risk/reward situation like somebody else mentioned, Kessler doesn't need Miranda as much as Miranda needs Kessler.

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Originally Posted by OumaFan

Even though I don't think Miranda's that great I don't disagree with this. The thing that made him look so bad against Pavlik was that Pavlike backed him up and Miranda can't fight on the back foot, that's why he looked so amateurish. I'd give him a much better shot against Taylor (though I wouldn't pick him) because he's more comfortable going up against a guy like Taylor, a guy who he can stalk. Kind of the same with Kessler although Kessler could probably back him up with the jab and the right hand if he wanted to. Not really his style though.

Still wouldn't pick him over Kessler and I don't see Kessler being afraid of Miranda, more of a type of risk/reward situation like somebody else mentioned, Kessler doesn't need Miranda as much as Miranda needs Kessler.

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Well Kessler came to the US looking for someone to fight over here. I don't think they will put Taylor in with him right away. Lacy is still rebounding. They only guys who seems suitable would be guys like Miranda or Green. Green is going through a contract dispute. Miranda seems to be the only logical opponent over here at this time. Kess mentioned Winky as a possible opponent, but I would rather see him fight Miranda myself as a Miranda fight would guarantee some excitement.

Miranda/Miranda's people have a habit of putting out press releases like this. It may well be true and Kessler is looking for an easy fight in Denmark before he goes in with somebody good again but more likely Miranda is just one of several people he's negotiating with and they may well still fight next. Or Kessler might not be ready to go back into training yet. I don't think he'd be worried about fighting Miranda.

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Originally Posted by Kirkland Laing

Miranda/Miranda's people have a habit of putting out press releases like this. It may well be true and Kessler is looking for an easy fight in Denmark before he goes in with somebody good again but more likely Miranda is just one of several people he's negotiating with and they may well still fight next. Or Kessler might not be ready to go back into training yet. I don't think he'd be worried about fighting Miranda.

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Have some rep, I agree with that completely. Whatever the reason that Kessler didn't accept this fight, I can't possibly see it as him being concerned about how dangerous Miranda is or w/e. Kessler would absolutely murder him imo, he couldn't miss with the 1-2 and easily hits hard enough to do what Pavlik did to Edison. If anything it would just be a more precise beatdown, as he's very accurate, a little faster than Kelly, technically better and just as strong, if not powerful. I do respect that Miranda wanted the fight though and put forth an offer. He's definetly good for the sport. I just hope I'm not proven wrong and Kessler signs to fight a no hoper. Can't see why he'd want a confidence builder as he did very well for himself against Calzaghe even taking the 12th strong.

I'd like to see a Kessler response,this is all rather one sided. Is there any fighter out there Pantera won't call out lol. A real warrior:

Wants Pavlik rematch

Wants Taylor from beef at 160

Wants Kessler

Wants Pascal

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Originally Posted by El Gamo

I'd like to see a Kessler response,this is all rather one sided. Is there any fighter out there Pantera won't call out lol. A real warrior:

Wants Pavlik rematch

Wants Taylor from beef at 160

Wants Kessler

Wants Pascal

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Hehe yeah gotta love it. He wants a piece of everyone.;D

Why would Kessler be scared of Miranda? I mean he just fought Calzaghe!

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Originally Posted by El Gamo

I'd like to see a Kessler response,this is all rather one sided. Is there any fighter out there Pantera won't call out lol. A real warrior:

Wants Pavlik rematch

Wants Taylor from beef at 160

Wants Kessler

Wants Pascal

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And just a week ago he told Abraham to come to America and meet him at 165lbs so he could finish the job the ref wouldnt let him do in Germany!
(and for the record, he doesnt really want the Pascal fight. It is a fight the promoters were trying to push)

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Originally Posted by El Gamo

I'd like to see a Kessler response,this is all rather one sided.

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His promoter put out a press release yesterday. Title is "Miranda is one of the options", and the main point in the press release is that there have been contacts among the camps, and that Palle has been talking to HBO about the fight. Also they're saying Kessler wouldnt mind taking the fight for the right amount of money, but that there is also other options in consideration at this point.

If interested it can be read here, although in Danish. Bear in mind that the truth is probably somewhere in between the various biased press releases...

I'm a fan of both fighters, but I really seriously doubt that Kessler is scared of Miranda. Kessler would out-box Pantera all day long, quite possibly stopping him IMO. Kessler would allow Miranda to come forward and bomb him with counters all night long, I don't even think it would be competitive, but maybe I'm over-rating Kessler.
I'd much rather see Miranda take on Taylor, who I think he has a better chance of beating.

I have a question..

How does beating David Banks qualify Miranda to fight one of the top 3 super middleweights in the world right now?

If that question is answered, I'll jump on the bandwagon for Miranda.

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Originally Posted by Majesty

I have a question..

How does beating David Banks qualify Miranda to fight one of the top 3 super middleweights in the world right now?

If that question is answered, I'll jump on the bandwagon for Miranda.

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I haven't read all the replies to this thread, but I don't think anyone could correctly claim that Miranda is even a top 5 SMW at this point. I would say the same thing about Jermaine Taylor as well, though I'd have him closer to the top 5 than I would Miranda.