Kessler's very flawed performance against Carl Froch-

[PRIDE OF BOSTON]

Couldn't agree more and Tarver had even pointed it out."This was not the Kessler of a year a two ago". He kept pushing his right hand,kept backing straight up to where all Froch had to do was step forward and throw the right hand and land cleanly. Another no-no from the sport is pulling straight back with your head straight up. Kessler did this all night to where I thought he would get knocked down or worse knocked out. Great fight but alot of stuff needs to be worked on before his next fight. Like getting back to his old self with that piston jab and laser beam right hand.

Yup, forgot to mention that. Great point... You don't back straight up... Especially against someone who throws wide punches like Froch.

I'm a Kessler fan and picked him to win the fight but had he just done BASIC shit he would have won by a larger margin, taking far less damage.

When I saw Froch landing his up-jab round after round I was laughing, like... How do you let that happen if you're Montoya? I would have slapped him myslef in the corner!

Its easy for Tarver to say this wasnt the Kess of old but he was facing an unbeaten guy who had found to win against every style he had met. Kessler was never going to look good in this fight. He knew he had to go to war and slug it out so when a fighter does that they are going to make mistakes. What it did show is that Kessler still has a great chin and bags of heart

Kessler stops Green and I think he will rematch Ward in the final .

...and he'll lose.

[GAME]

Yup, forgot to mention that. Great point... You don't back straight up... Especially against someone who throws wide punches like Froch.

I'm a Kessler fan and picked him to win the fight but had he just done BASIC shit he would have won by a larger margin, taking far less damage.

When I saw Froch landing his up-jab round after round I was laughing, like... How do you let that happen if you're Montoya? I would have slapped him myslef in the corner!

Its easy for Tarver to say this wasnt the Kess of old but he was facing an unbeaten guy who had found to win against every style he had met. Kessler was never going to look good in this fight. He knew he had to go to war and slug it out so when a fighter does that they are going to make mistakes. What it did show is that Kessler still has a great chin and bags of heart

Kessler stops Green and I think he will rematch Ward in the final .

...and he'll lose.

In America yes but in Denmark Ward wont be able to get away with headbutts and Kessler can rough him up instead

[Nameless]

What is strange is that Kessler wasn't making these mistakes before, he was technically astonishing, no matter better or worst opposition, he was just not fighting that way. Also, where the hell went his jab? He used to have a beautiful crisp jab with pops, now it look like a loose guitar string. What helped him against Froch though is that he really has beautiful head movement when he's not backing up.

[PRIDE OF BOSTON]

Its easy for Tarver to say this wasnt the Kess of old but he was facing an unbeaten guy who had found to win against every style he had met. Kessler was never going to look good in this fight. He knew he had to go to war and slug it out so when a fighter does that they are going to make mistakes. What it did show is that Kessler still has a great chin and bags of heart

Kessler stops Green and I think he will rematch Ward in the final .

...and he'll lose.

In America yes but in Denmark Ward wont be able to get away with headbutts and Kessler can rough him up instead

If you think that Ward's not going to throw more wrinkles in there's you're crazy but I get what you're saying. Either way I can't see Ward losing to Kessler after the first fight. Too much lateral movement. Kessler was not able to set or counter. It will be some of the smae IMO minus the headbutts.

[PRIDE OF BOSTON]

What is strange is that Kessler wasn't making these mistakes before, he was technically astonishing, no matter better or worst opposition, he was just not fighting that way. Also, where the hell went his jab? He used to have a beautiful crisp jab with pops, now it look like a loose guitar string. What helped him against Froch though is that he really has beautiful head movement when he's not backing up.

Agreed... and also his sheer determination which was unwaivering. He willed himself through that fight even flawed.

[GAME]

...and he'll lose.

In America yes but in Denmark Ward wont be able to get away with headbutts and Kessler can rough him up instead

If you think that Ward's not going to throw more wrinkles in there's you're crazy but I get what you're saying. Either way I can't see Ward losing to Kessler after the first fight. Too much lateral movement. Kessler was not able to set or counter. It will be some of the smae IMO minus the headbutts.

Yeah Ward will probably beat Kess again. He just has his number like Vernon had Shanes but I duno if that made him a better fighter. Ward might be the next Hopkins - successful but unappreciated due to his boring hit and hold style and lack of power.

If Kess was at home and wasnt as much of a warrior he could take a dive after a Ward headbutt and get a DQ win like Dirrell. Kess has too much heart though and props to him for fighting like a warrior. Thats why him and Abraham sell out big venues. The two fights in the States so far have been infront of a dull 2 or 3k. The fans dont want to see negative boxers. They fill out bigger venues for UFC. I hope Green beats Ward and brings some excitment into this tourny for the Yanks. He is a banger with a great style. They will love him if he wins. They need more Gatti type of fighters. Dirrell and Ward are class but they dont have that much true grit or atleast they dont show it . They dont fight with Heart like Kess and Froch so they will never be in a great fight like that. They fight with their heads ( literally in Wards case ) and even though its not great for fans I think it may serve them well.

[PRIDE OF BOSTON]

In America yes but in Denmark Ward wont be able to get away with headbutts and Kessler can rough him up instead

If you think that Ward's not going to throw more wrinkles in there's you're crazy but I get what you're saying. Either way I can't see Ward losing to Kessler after the first fight. Too much lateral movement. Kessler was not able to set or counter. It will be some of the smae IMO minus the headbutts.

Yeah Ward will probably beat Kess again. He just has his number like Vernon had Shanes but I duno if that made him a better fighter. Ward might be the next Hopkins - successful but unappreciated due to his boring hit and hold style and lack of power.

If Kess was at home and wasnt as much of a warrior he could take a dive after a Ward headbutt and get a DQ win like Dirrell. Kess has too much heart though and props to him for fighting like a warrior. Thats why him and Abraham sell out big venues. The two fights in the States so far have been infront of a dull 2 or 3k. The fans dont want to see negative boxers. They fill out bigger venues for UFC. I hope Green beats Ward and brings some excitment into this tourny for the Yanks. He is a banger with a great style. They will love him if he wins. They need more Gatti type of fighters. Dirrell and Ward are class but they dont have that much true grit or atleast they dont show it . They dont fight with Heart like Kess and Froch so they will never be in a great fight like that. They fight with their heads ( literally in Wards case ) and even though its not great for fans I think it may serve them well.

Yeah, I totally agree with this post... There's no way Green beats Ward but if he did, it'd sure shake things up. Agreed about the raw grit factor, as well. I think Ward probably has it, but I can't see it in Dirrell(not to say it's not there... This is souly an oppinion.)

The sales for the US based Super Six have been embarassing... Simply embarrasing.

[Pugilistic]

I think Kessler is on the slide imo.

Ever since the Calzaghe fight, he seems less accurate and abit more sluggish when he fights. His straight right hand to the head used to be a major weapon of his but i barely seen it the other night.

His body work seems to of improved though.

[Hunter]

Like others have said Kessler was in with a tough un orthodox unbeaten puncher in Froch that looks alot slower and easier to hit than he is.

I was actually impressed with both guys. Kessler has a hell of a chin and unreal determination.

Good thing Froch knocked up his girl or she might have left with Mikkel after the fight...

[Kirkland Laing]

I think it's easy to look bad against Ward and then to be facing an unbeaten world champion with an awkward style in your comeback fight isn't exactly going to be your first choice. I think it took him six rounds to get going and that the win will do him a lot of good. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets some of the way back to where he was a few years ago in his next fight but he definitely looks to be missing a step, not the same crispness or accuracy with his punches.

[thewhale]

Well now I have a few comments...

The blueprint was out how to beat Kessler, Froch knew that and I think had Kessler tried to do the same thing again, Froch would have gotten to Kessler, the new style caught Froch by surprise, I didnt expect this either. Kessler needed something new and his shown the others that he still is a force to be recond with and with new things in the bag if the Technical doesnt work Kessler can now brawl in USA against Ward he just looked confused witout any gameplan.

Remember that Kessler has changed his coach, after 18 years with the same coach (Richard Olsen) Kessler needed something new. I agree he took many shots, but he came out from a very poor performance against Ward with very little time to adjust I didnt think he would win, e g the low profile from a fanboy

Now Kessler is in a transsionstate where he is trying to work with new things he really need in his boxinggame. In danish media he talked about getting the old Kessler back, I hope that is speed, because speed kills ya, not slow power, that was also why Calzaghe was so great he outworked everybody, and the old Kessler was very quick, he traded that away for raw power, I hope that Kessler is going for speed speed speed in the coming months.

But in the end it that was a very hard fight and my guy is still in the mix. I dont know anything about Green, but I think the Ward match will give me a few answers

[Snakey]

So tell me, coz I havent seen heaps of kessler I gauge alot off his mundine performance which I think was quite good. Is this version of Kessler as good as he was against Mundine or is he slipping? Because what I saw against Mundine was a good boxer with good speed and decent power.

[Hulk]

Kessler and Froch both fought like guys a little past their primes.

Although I think in Froch's case he was just a bit lazy and scared of running out of gas.

Kessler looked very rigid and robotic.

Also pretty slow. He missed A LOT of punches.

Great heart by both guys and a damn good fight the last 2 or 3 rounds.

I don't think Kessler can deal with a fighter with good speed though at this point.

[mickel]

Although I would agree that he did not look sharp at all, he did land some excellent body shots on Froch.

[boozeboxer]

While I don't have anything to add, some excellent posts and analysis took place on this thread thus far. Cheers.