Whatever it takes he has to face kessler that is inevitable. joe and his camp knows this and they also know that boxing fans aren't dumb. If he retires without fighting the best not just kes, he can say whatever he wants to say that he is the best because blah blah and blah blah blah. But in the end, he is left alone all by himself, because the final verdict will always be made by "us" the boxing enthusiasts/fans. "Respect" isn't something joe or any boxer can easily get by taking easy/comfortable/safe fights, talking or over hyping your own self. Fans isn't very forgiving when it comes to that. If joe wants to be the best SMW ever. He has to take the at most risk and he can do that by fighting the very best in that division and more. Whatever will be the result, fans will appreciate very much the effort his given. we'll look at de la hoya, he has never been so good; performance wise when fighting against the best, there was even some controversial decisions that some fans believed he just stolen it from his opponents. De la hoya isn't been glorified as one of the all time greats because he looks handsome and can sing but it's because we know he ducks nobody and willing to take the risk by fighting the best boxers available and fans specially hardcore boxing fans gives that the highest respect above all.

To sum it up, joe isn't getting any younger anymore plus there are some bad rumors about his overall physical health, this isn't good. So it's now or never, he has to start eliminating those guys that gives his fans doubt!