Calzaghe ducked the best?

[Trainer Monkey]

Yep, as obvious as Pavlik's flu symptoms.

Pavlik got taken to school,Kessler couldnt throw the hand,a wee bit different
I can see it now,a boxer saying,"You know two hands are overrated"

TM.. you are nuts, son.

Here's the punchstats.

Kessler
Landed/Thrown
Total Punches
173 / 585
Jabs
52 / 326
Power Punches
121 / 259

What hand was it Kessler could NOT throw?

He threw a ton of left hooks,he pulled up on his right hooks,Ive got it on tape and watched it plenty,he was pulling his right the entire time

[Trainer Monkey]

And even then Kessler's management boned it,they should have put a rematch clause in there,they more or less bent over and spread for Warren.
Location,pay,and a rematch clause,they pulled off none of the above.
I know they were feeling confident in their boy,but jeez,you should have gotten one of them,they got none

[Fenster]

And even then Kessler's management boned it,they should have put a rematch clause in there,they more or less bent over and spread for Warren.
Location,pay,and a rematch clause,they pulled off none of the above.
I know they were feeling confident in their boy,but jeez,you should have gotten one of them,they got none

What does that have to do with Calzaghe? You are now (without realising it) highlighting Warrens negotiating skills.

And Kessler was "pulling" his right hand the entire fight? I doubt you've even seen the fight ONCE

[Trainer Monkey]

And even then Kessler's management boned it,they should have put a rematch clause in there,they more or less bent over and spread for Warren.
Location,pay,and a rematch clause,they pulled off none of the above.
I know they were feeling confident in their boy,but jeez,you should have gotten one of them,they got none

What does that have to do with Calzaghe? You are now (without realising it) highlighting Warrens negotiating skills.

And Kessler was "pulling" his right hand the entire fight? I doubt you've even seen the fight ONCE

Own it, he was pulling up and any moron can see that,Id love to see a rematch

[Fenster]

And even then Kessler's management boned it,they should have put a rematch clause in there,they more or less bent over and spread for Warren.
Location,pay,and a rematch clause,they pulled off none of the above.
I know they were feeling confident in their boy,but jeez,you should have gotten one of them,they got none

What does that have to do with Calzaghe? You are now (without realising it) highlighting Warrens negotiating skills.

And Kessler was "pulling" his right hand the entire fight? I doubt you've even seen the fight ONCE

Own it, he was pulling up and any moron can see that,Id love to see a rematch

Who do you think won the fight?

[Trainer Monkey]

What does that have to do with Calzaghe? You are now (without realising it) highlighting Warrens negotiating skills.

And Kessler was "pulling" his right hand the entire fight? I doubt you've even seen the fight ONCE

Own it, he was pulling up and any moron can see that,Id love to see a rematch

Who do you think won the fight?

Oh I definitely think Joe out pointed him,thats what makes a rematch so enticing,Kessler was obviously hurt,and survived,and lets face it,all he was doing was trying to survive.
Its one of the most interesting fights available to Joe right now.Its one of 3, Dawson Froch or a rematch with Kessler.
Hopkins isnt interesting,maybe Bernard wins this time,it could have gone either way,but its going to be the same fight.
Kessler is still an unkown.
I want to see the fight with Kessler healthy,maybe Joe whips him,but I want to see the both of them healthy in there. We havent seen that,I want to.

[Mikkel_K]

Don't think so. There were no names at middleweight either. It took Trinidad moving up to give Hopkins a BIG NAME fight. After that (which is when the Calzaghe offer was made) he fought no-names like Hakkar, and Robert Allen for the 50th time, before little Oscar obliged him with a big payday.

It should be said to B-Hop's defence that little Oscar provided something like ten million reasons for him to stay at 160.

That the money werent right for the risk it brought, doesnt mean Hopkins was scared. Same goes for Joe not coming to the States earlier.

Hang on.. Hopkins doesn't need a defence from anything ive said. Nothing has been dispariging towards him.

Imagine Hopkins had the choice (obviously he didn't) .. either fight Oscar for 10m or fight Calzaghe for say 5m.. that can't even be seriously considered, not for a minute, second, nanosecond

Actually I had first written the word defence in brackets, but decided to erase them as it just seemed too gay. Anyway, I know you didnt attack him or anything, my point was merely that no matter the sporting level, Hopkins had very good reasons to not fight Calzaghe.

I guess we dont disagree, but I just thought it was a point worth making.

[bambamdaddio]

I dug this up from an old thread .... mention of lots of things ..... but no damaged hand tho interestingly.....Have a read and see what ya think...


Originally Posted by jangeorg
CARDIFF--I felt like I was walking into the lion�s den�no make that the Welsh Dragon�s den Sunday morning at Millennium Stadium. I heard 50,000 voices, about 90 percent very unfriendly and a small sprinkling of guys waving my red and white Danish flag.

I could not hear a word the people were saying but I know it wasn�t, �Hey, Mr. Kessler, good to see ya, good luck.� After Joe Calzaghe, a masterful champion beat me over 12 hard rounds, some in Team Kessler told me the Calzaghe partisans were screaming obscenities and singing the football song, �Who Are You
The whole world knew who Mr. Calzaghe was BEFORE this bout which was seen in 70 countries. Now I think, and I hope, the whole world, or at least that part of it which cares for our great sport of boxing, knows who Mikkel Kessler is.

I offer no excuses except to say I was not in 100 percent top form. It didn�t help that my guy, Mogens Palle, fell seriously ill and remains in hospital here. I am praying that Mogens soon rebound and returns to Denmark. He will be celebrating his 50th anniversary as a fight promoter Wednesday and I hope to visit with him on that special day. Because of his condition he could not be with us at ringside.

Like I say no sour grapes, no whining, and no excuses. Joe beat me fair and square on his home grounds. This cat has more tricks than any magician. I knew he would be difficult to hit but I think I clearly hit him harder and more often than any other opponent he�s ever had! I tip my hat to Joe, to his father/trainer Enzo and to their promoter, Frank Warren.

Warren told me in the ring when it was over, �You will be the top champ, you will be The Man, once Joe retires.� Good, sportsmanlike comments and I got more of those plus genuine applause from the punters when I walked out of the arena after doing interviews with Danish TV, with British Setanta and with HBO.

I also appreciated the fact that HBO�s Kery Davis came over to me after the press conference and told me I still figure in their plans and there are �many� good fights which they will consider for me. Kery is a real gentleman.

I didn�t want to spoil Joe�s moment, his big night, but I wanted to ask and I ask now of Warren and Enzo and Joe, why not a rematch? But Joe made it clear as we sat on the podium, saying, �I don�t think so because you will only do better and I may not do as well. I don�t like rematches.�

Maybe, when the magnitude of the event sinks in, Team Calzaghe will reconsider. This show was a huge commercial and artistic success and a rematch would be even more lucrative for all the involved parties.

An American reporter asked me and our American agent, Michael Marley, who I might fight next. Marley said, �A guy who was willing to come into Joe�s kitchen and fight him right there, as Mikkel did tonight, will go anywhere and fight anybody.�

My two world title belts are suddenly gone. I miss them already. I am young, only 28, and I believe my best fights and better nights are ahead of me.

I will look at any opponent out there�IBF champ Lucien Bute, the winner of Taylor-Pavlik II, Anthony Mundine for a rematch�my options are many. I know I didn�t hurt myself, especially in the UK and America, with my performance.

I thank HBO, Setanta, Viasat in Denmark, my promoter/manager Bettina Palle, my training team and everyone else who gave me their support.

I didn�t win this fight but I believe I won over millions of fans.

"I hope my effort and Joe�s give more fuel to boxing�s brilliant resurgence.

He has proven, for the moment that he is Number One at 168 pounds. If he abandons the weight, I lay claim to that position. I am not guy who is content to be Number Two in anything.

I will be back. And I will return stronger, sharper and tougher than ever. I know I am just going into my primetime years in boxing.

Again, big respect for Joe. But the best of Mikkel Kessler is yet to come!

MIKKEL KESSLER

[Mikkel_K]

And even then Kessler's management boned it,they should have put a rematch clause in there,they more or less bent over and spread for Warren.
Location,pay,and a rematch clause,they pulled off none of the above.
I know they were feeling confident in their boy,but jeez,you should have gotten one of them,they got none

There is no way Kessler was in a position to demand a rematch. They gave up the location, but that only meant more money. To say they gave up pay is ridiculous - Kessler got more money out of that fight than Pavlik or Hopkins got for their fight - combined.

I dont think the hand mattered much. I, for one, didnt see too many problems with it. Maybe it hurt his preparations a bit (we'll never know), but he choose to go on with the fight, and the minute he stepped into the ring he lost any right to use it as an excuse. Same with Pavlik.

However, even if there was a difference in class in Cardiff, I wouldnt completely rule out Kessler's chances in a rematch. First of all, Calzaghe is likely to get worse. Second, Kessler fought the wrong fight from round 5 or so, making it a bit to easy for Calzaghe (I dont think he would have won using plan A anyway, especially not in Wales, but he would have made it close). Keep in mind also that before that fight Kessler had never lost a round with all three judges, and probably lost less than a handful of rounds altogether in his career. So when he needed to be clutch the most, it was a whole new experiecence for him and his corner. If he can stay with his gameplan in a place where the cards arent stacked against him, Kessler could have a chance.

But all of this doesnt matter, as it would make no sense for Calzaghe to fight him anyway.

[Fenster]

Own it, he was pulling up and any moron can see that,Id love to see a rematch

Who do you think won the fight?

Oh I definitely think Joe out pointed him,thats what makes a rematch so enticing,Kessler was obviously hurt,and survived,and lets face it,all he was doing was trying to survive.
Its one of the most interesting fights available to Joe right now.Its one of 3, Dawson Froch or a rematch with Kessler.
Hopkins isnt interesting,maybe Bernard wins this time,it could have gone either way,but its going to be the same fight.
Kessler is still an unkown.
I want to see the fight with Kessler healthy,maybe Joe whips him,but I want to see the both of them healthy in there. We havent seen that,I want to.

Good. Finally you've seen what EVERYONE else (the morons) did on the night. How many viewings did it take for you to realise Joe won?

Originally YOU didn't know who won. Look...

so do you actually think Kessler won

I honestly dont know,Kessler lands the bombs,Joe throws more punches.
Its an I dont know fight
It looks like Joes mainly hitting arms and hips,but Kessler isnt doing the damage he needs to do,he's landing but Joe is still there the entire time
What Im saying is,would it be a totally different fight if a one handed Kessler didnt have to go for a knockout?
You and everyone else knows the only way he was walking out of Cardiff with a win was putting Joe down
Would it be different if it was in Vegas?
And he had both hands?

[Trainer Monkey]

Who do you think won the fight?

Oh I definitely think Joe out pointed him,thats what makes a rematch so enticing,Kessler was obviously hurt,and survived,and lets face it,all he was doing was trying to survive.
Its one of the most interesting fights available to Joe right now.Its one of 3, Dawson Froch or a rematch with Kessler.
Hopkins isnt interesting,maybe Bernard wins this time,it could have gone either way,but its going to be the same fight.
Kessler is still an unkown.
I want to see the fight with Kessler healthy,maybe Joe whips him,but I want to see the both of them healthy in there. We havent seen that,I want to.

Good. Finally you've seen what EVERYONE else (the morons) did on the night. How many viewings did it take for you to realise Joe won?

Originally YOU didn't know who won. Look...

so do you actually think Kessler won

I honestly dont know,Kessler lands the bombs,Joe throws more punches.
Its an I dont know fight
It looks like Joes mainly hitting arms and hips,but Kessler isnt doing the damage he needs to do,he's landing but Joe is still there the entire time
What Im saying is,would it be a totally different fight if a one handed Kessler didnt have to go for a knockout?
You and everyone else knows the only way he was walking out of Cardiff with a win was putting Joe down
Would it be different if it was in Vegas?
And he had both hands?

Its a typical Joe fight,he throws like mad,but he doesnt land very often. I want the rematch

[No Contest]

hey i agree with you.. but he was prepared to fight both of them years back but wanted the fight in wales...

He really did waste the best years of his career..

Now, come on, do you really think he could demand that, that was pre-Lacy fight.... He wasn't the bigger draw so he really couldn't ask that now could he...you can say thats ducking.

[bambamdaddio]

hey i agree with you.. but he was prepared to fight both of them years back but wanted the fight in wales...

He really did waste the best years of his career..

Now, come on, do you really think he could demand that, that was pre-Lacy fight.... He wasn't the bigger draw so he really couldn't ask that now could he...you can say thats ducking.

So working on your line of thinking bud when Hopkins tried to double his money to 6 m after his team had provisionally accepted 3 m,

Well I suppose ya could call that ducking too couldnt ya ... as its pricing yourself out of it....

[Scrap]

One point, for about 4 years prior the Lacy Fight I think the reason Joe was going through meaingless Fights theres a very good reason. He was in the process of going through a messy and expensive Divorce .

[Fenster]

Oh I definitely think Joe out pointed him,thats what makes a rematch so enticing,Kessler was obviously hurt,and survived,and lets face it,all he was doing was trying to survive.
Its one of the most interesting fights available to Joe right now.Its one of 3, Dawson Froch or a rematch with Kessler.
Hopkins isnt interesting,maybe Bernard wins this time,it could have gone either way,but its going to be the same fight.
Kessler is still an unkown.
I want to see the fight with Kessler healthy,maybe Joe whips him,but I want to see the both of them healthy in there. We havent seen that,I want to.

Good. Finally you've seen what EVERYONE else (the morons) did on the night. How many viewings did it take for you to realise Joe won?

Originally YOU didn't know who won. Look...

I honestly dont know,Kessler lands the bombs,Joe throws more punches.
Its an I dont know fight
It looks like Joes mainly hitting arms and hips,but Kessler isnt doing the damage he needs to do,he's landing but Joe is still there the entire time
What Im saying is,would it be a totally different fight if a one handed Kessler didnt have to go for a knockout?
You and everyone else knows the only way he was walking out of Cardiff with a win was putting Joe down
Would it be different if it was in Vegas?
And he had both hands?

Its a typical Joe fight,he throws like mad,but he doesnt land very often. I want the rematch

Yet, in the end, you still scored the fight for Joe. Although it looks like only after realising YOU were the only person on Earth that DID NOT think Calzaghe clearly won.

Same as you're the ONLY person making EXCUSES about Kesslers hand