WARD vs KESSLER

[amat]

Rewatched the fight and the holding especially is being overblown. First of all, Ward rarely held when Kessler was moving forward. Most of the holding was done as Ward moved forward and put Kessler on the inside where Kessler did not want to be. Kel the ref wasn't allowing Ward to finish hitting on the break, Ward was the only person throwing punches on the inside, working his free hand and Kessler only held. That's all Kessler did when Ward was right on him, no punching. I'm sorry but Ward did fight dirty and the ref was incompetent (also an apparent egomaniac) but it went both ways and Kessler didn't lose because any of this. Btw, I saw 2 or 3 headbutts and only one was clearly Ward's fault.

Fact is he fought a great fight, outhustled THE FAVORITE IN THE TOURNAMENT, didn't allow him a round (I honestly do not see how they gave round 5 to Kessler), didn't take his foot off the gas and did what winning fighters do, never took any time off.

[RozzySean]

Rewatched the fight and the holding especially is being overblown. First of all, Ward rarely held when Kessler was moving forward. Most of the holding was done as Ward moved forward and put Kessler on the inside where Kessler did not want to be. Kel the ref wasn't allowing Ward to finish hitting on the break, Ward was the only person throwing punches on the inside, working his free hand and Kessler only held. That's all Kessler did when Ward was right on him, no punching. I'm sorry but Ward did fight dirty and the ref was incompetent (also an apparent egomaniac) but it went both ways and Kessler didn't lose because any of this. Btw, I saw 2 or 3 headbutts and only one was clearly Ward's fault.

Fact is he fought a great fight, outhustled THE FAVORITE IN THE TOURNAMENT, didn't allow him a round (I honestly do not see how they gave round 5 to Kessler), didn't take his foot off the gas and did what winning fighters do, never took any time off.

I rewatched it, too, today, and you are 100% right about Ward being the only one working on the inside. Kessler has ZERO ability to fight inside. For example, some of the "holding and hitting" occurred when Kessler was tying up Wards right and Ward astutely did the old "head tap left hook-left upper cut." That's just good, old school boxing.

I was bigger on Dirrell than Ward for a while, but clearly Ward has a champions mentality, even if Dirrell is physically more gifted. I'm not prepared to pick Ward over AA yet, but he is going to thrash Froch.

[amat]

Rewatched the fight and the holding especially is being overblown. First of all, Ward rarely held when Kessler was moving forward. Most of the holding was done as Ward moved forward and put Kessler on the inside where Kessler did not want to be. Kel the ref wasn't allowing Ward to finish hitting on the break, Ward was the only person throwing punches on the inside, working his free hand and Kessler only held. That's all Kessler did when Ward was right on him, no punching. I'm sorry but Ward did fight dirty and the ref was incompetent (also an apparent egomaniac) but it went both ways and Kessler didn't lose because any of this. Btw, I saw 2 or 3 headbutts and only one was clearly Ward's fault.

Fact is he fought a great fight, outhustled THE FAVORITE IN THE TOURNAMENT, didn't allow him a round (I honestly do not see how they gave round 5 to Kessler), didn't take his foot off the gas and did what winning fighters do, never took any time off.

I rewatched it, too, today, and you are 100% right about Ward being the only one working on the inside. Kessler has ZERO ability to fight inside. For example, some of the "holding and hitting" occurred when Kessler was tying up Wards right and Ward astutely did the old "head tap left hook-left upper cut." That's just good, old school boxing.

I was bigger on Dirrell than Ward for a while, but clearly Ward has a champions mentality, even if Dirrell is physically more gifted. I'm not prepared to pick Ward over AA yet, but he is going to thrash Froch.

Yeah it's kind of hard to believe that Kessler proved so shockingly one dimensional. I guess I would have to rewatch the Calzaghe fight again (don't want to) but it's hard to believe he didn't expect an in-fight from Ward after seeing Ward wear down Miranda inside. He's more then apt for that type of fight which is why I drew the Hopkins comparisions earlier.

Masterclass.

[RozzySean]

Rewatched the fight and the holding especially is being overblown. First of all, Ward rarely held when Kessler was moving forward. Most of the holding was done as Ward moved forward and put Kessler on the inside where Kessler did not want to be. Kel the ref wasn't allowing Ward to finish hitting on the break, Ward was the only person throwing punches on the inside, working his free hand and Kessler only held. That's all Kessler did when Ward was right on him, no punching. I'm sorry but Ward did fight dirty and the ref was incompetent (also an apparent egomaniac) but it went both ways and Kessler didn't lose because any of this. Btw, I saw 2 or 3 headbutts and only one was clearly Ward's fault.

Fact is he fought a great fight, outhustled THE FAVORITE IN THE TOURNAMENT, didn't allow him a round (I honestly do not see how they gave round 5 to Kessler), didn't take his foot off the gas and did what winning fighters do, never took any time off.

I rewatched it, too, today, and you are 100% right about Ward being the only one working on the inside. Kessler has ZERO ability to fight inside. For example, some of the "holding and hitting" occurred when Kessler was tying up Wards right and Ward astutely did the old "head tap left hook-left upper cut." That's just good, old school boxing.

I was bigger on Dirrell than Ward for a while, but clearly Ward has a champions mentality, even if Dirrell is physically more gifted. I'm not prepared to pick Ward over AA yet, but he is going to thrash Froch.

Yeah it's kind of hard to believe that Kessler proved so shockingly one dimensional. I guess I would have to rewatch the Calzaghe fight again (don't want to) but it's hard to believe he didn't expect an in-fight from Ward after seeing Ward wear down Miranda inside. He's more then apt for that type of fight which is why I drew the Hopkins comparisions earlier.

Masterclass.

I think that was an good comparison. Ward obviously isn't Hopkins, but he is well schooled for a kid that age. Hopkins is a far dirtier fighter, and he plays much more of a "spoiler" style than Ward. Honestly, I didn't think Ward was fighting negative for the most part. At the end of the day, we shouldn't be so shocked. His best wins have come against taylor made fighters and he lost to the one fast, fluid guy he fought.

The big question was Ward's chin. Hindsight is 20-20, but there are some fighters who have a better chin once they move up in weight - Cotto being an example. Toney was only hurt when he was weight drained. Ward's early chin-checks were at MW. Considering he fought at LHW as an amatuer, it shouldn't be surprising that going down to 160 was too much for him. Looking at him now compared to 4 years ago, he looks much more built. His keeps his chin hidden better, and he fights more relaxed.

I don't care who ref'd the fight. Ward would have won last night in Copenhagen with Kessler's dad as ref and Danish royal family as judges.

[ElTerribleMorales]

i saw it a couple hours ago and thought that it was just an aggressive fight, but Ward dominated, and i'd hardly label him a dirty fighter

[markb018]

i saw it a couple hours ago and thought that it was just an aggressive fight, but Ward dominated, and i'd hardly label him a dirty fighter

Agreed and I think it is unfair for people to do so, even in prior fights commentators have called him out for being a bit sloppy at times and lunging in. If anything Ward needs to stop doing that cause he is leaving himself pretty open, which Kessler still couldn't capitalize on. That last headbutt was nasty for sure, but by no means intentional, he was already dominating.

[awdleyfuturehalloffamer]

The ref didn't break them up when he should have and ward did some hiitting during breaks. The ref sucked. Kessler couldn't adapt. I only watched 4 rounds so far, i missed the live fight. I had kessler winning rounds 1 and 2. Round 3 could have went either way for me, it was a toss up. I had ward winning round 4. I have to find time to watch the rest of the rounds.

[Jimanuel Boogustus]

I rewatched it, too, today, and you are 100% right about Ward being the only one working on the inside. Kessler has ZERO ability to fight inside. For example, some of the "holding and hitting" occurred when Kessler was tying up Wards right and Ward astutely did the old "head tap left hook-left upper cut." That's just good, old school boxing.

I was bigger on Dirrell than Ward for a while, but clearly Ward has a champions mentality, even if Dirrell is physically more gifted. I'm not prepared to pick Ward over AA yet, but he is going to thrash Froch.

Yeah it's kind of hard to believe that Kessler proved so shockingly one dimensional. I guess I would have to rewatch the Calzaghe fight again (don't want to) but it's hard to believe he didn't expect an in-fight from Ward after seeing Ward wear down Miranda inside. He's more then apt for that type of fight which is why I drew the Hopkins comparisions earlier.

Masterclass.

I think that was an good comparison. Ward obviously isn't Hopkins, but he is well schooled for a kid that age. Hopkins is a far dirtier fighter, and he plays much more of a "spoiler" style than Ward. Honestly, I didn't think Ward was fighting negative for the most part. At the end of the day, we shouldn't be so shocked. His best wins have come against taylor made fighters and he lost to the one fast, fluid guy he fought.

The big question was Ward's chin. Hindsight is 20-20, but there are some fighters who have a better chin once they move up in weight - Cotto being an example. Toney was only hurt when he was weight drained. Ward's early chin-checks were at MW. Considering he fought at LHW as an amatuer, it shouldn't be surprising that going down to 160 was too much for him. Looking at him now compared to 4 years ago, he looks much more built. His keeps his chin hidden better, and he fights more relaxed.

I don't care who ref'd the fight. Ward would have won last night in Copenhagen with Kessler's dad as ref and Danish royal family as judges.

Good comments guys.

I have to say, I'm totally in awe of a fighter who can do stuff like that; the non-textbook stuff. Even more so when i'm watching a 21 fight, relative novice shut-out a proven world class operator. Amazing.
I bet Bernard Hopkins wished he was as athletic as Andre Ward

By the way, did you hear how the ref was mouthing-off to the Danish corner Just a tad theatrical i'd say

[Rantcatrat]

Comparing Ward to Hopkins is spot on. He is far more athletic than Hopkins, but at lot of what he does is right from the Hopkins play book.

Strangely, I like Taylor's style of boxing more than Ward or Dirrell.

The only thing that needs answering for Ward is his chin. Kessler touched his chin, but never with more than one punch at a time.

[RozzySean]

Comparing Ward to Hopkins is spot on. He is far more athletic than Hopkins, but at lot of what he does is right from the Hopkins play book.

Strangely, I like Taylor's style of boxing more than Ward or Dirrell.

The only thing that needs answering for Ward is his chin. Kessler touched his chin, but never with more than one punch at a time.

The only problem with Taylor's "style" of boxing, is that he is such a nervous and hyper fighter. It drains all his energy. He's also not the smartest fighter. I like watching fighters who are relaxed and comfortable in the ring. Early in his career, Ward seemed a little hyper, but since moving to 168, he has calmed down and looked much stronger.

I'm much less worried about his chin now. I've seen Ward take enough punches by good punchers at this point, and I won't think any less of him if he gets sparked by AA. In terms of one-punch KO power, Abraham can crack like nobody I've seen in the middle divisions in a long time, probably since Julian Jackson. His one-punch power is amazing.

[amat]

Yeah it's kind of hard to believe that Kessler proved so shockingly one dimensional. I guess I would have to rewatch the Calzaghe fight again (don't want to) but it's hard to believe he didn't expect an in-fight from Ward after seeing Ward wear down Miranda inside. He's more then apt for that type of fight which is why I drew the Hopkins comparisions earlier.

Masterclass.

I think that was an good comparison. Ward obviously isn't Hopkins, but he is well schooled for a kid that age. Hopkins is a far dirtier fighter, and he plays much more of a "spoiler" style than Ward. Honestly, I didn't think Ward was fighting negative for the most part. At the end of the day, we shouldn't be so shocked. His best wins have come against taylor made fighters and he lost to the one fast, fluid guy he fought.

The big question was Ward's chin. Hindsight is 20-20, but there are some fighters who have a better chin once they move up in weight - Cotto being an example. Toney was only hurt when he was weight drained. Ward's early chin-checks were at MW. Considering he fought at LHW as an amatuer, it shouldn't be surprising that going down to 160 was too much for him. Looking at him now compared to 4 years ago, he looks much more built. His keeps his chin hidden better, and he fights more relaxed.

I don't care who ref'd the fight. Ward would have won last night in Copenhagen with Kessler's dad as ref and Danish royal family as judges.

Good comments guys.

I have to say, I'm totally in awe of a fighter who can do stuff like that; the non-textbook stuff. Even more so when i'm watching a 21 fight, relative novice shut-out a proven world class operator. Amazing.
I bet Bernard Hopkins wished he was as athletic as Andre Ward

By the way, did you hear how the ref was mouthing-off to the Danish corner Just a tad theatrical i'd say

The ref was terrible and for multiple reasons, mainly he was a complete fcking egomaniac. Several times before the round he held both fighters up and made them ring the bell to start the round again Bizarre. They should have had John Shorle do it.

[iwng100]

This kid really impressed me Saturday, I was high on him for some time, I predicted his victory over Miranda but I didn’t think he would beat Kessler so clear (I thought Mikkel will win in a close fight).
I know some posters don’t agree with me and they think Andre got a lot of help from the referee but with all due respect I think it’s just sour grapes.
Like Jaz and Rancatrat I’m not a big fan of his style and he’s definitively not my SM favorite but I think he deserve a lot of credit for his performance.