I was wrong, but i'm stunned by the reactin to last nights fight

[THE THIRD MAN]

I am stunned by this result, i never gave Ward any chance against Kessler. I picked Kessler to win the whole thing and he gets well beaten by Ward. This is a poor effort by Kessler and it will be a long time before he has another major fight night.

[OumaFan]

Why? Because it makes no sense. At all.

The ass kicking was just getting worse round by round, why would it make sense that there and then is the point to try to end the fight with a headbutt? Seriously, that makes sense?

Where were the five head clashes by the way? I have a copy so I could go back and watch, I only noticed a couple.

[hitmanhatton]

Why? Because it makes no sense. At all.

The ass kicking was just getting worse round by round, why would it make sense that there and then is the point to try to end the fight with a headbutt? Seriously, that makes sense?

Where were the five head clashes by the way? I have a copy so I could go back and watch, I only noticed a couple.

the ref himself stated he noticed 5.... you could take it up with him i guess

i am not saying he tried to end the fight with it... as i said his punch output clearly drops and kessler was starting to become slightly, only very slightly more accurate with his shots... surely it isnt so hard to believe that ward was trying to knock him out his rythem a little

funny that there are no headclashes in the first few rounds when ward was fresh and firing a high volume of shots but quite a few later on...

[hitmanhatton]

I am stunned by this result, i never gave Ward any chance against Kessler. I picked Kessler to win the whole thing and he gets well beaten by Ward. This is a poor effort by Kessler and it will be a long time before he has another major fight night.

ermmm march isnt that far away

[OumaFan]

later on when he was really kicking his ass?

I guess I just tend to think of guys fouling out of desperation or even to gain an edge in a close fight, which yeah wasn't the case here. I really don't get the uproar over this fight, at least with the headbutts there's something there but last night you had Kel and Miles going nuts about the holding and there was no way Ward should have had a point taken for holding, not even close.

Maybe if I watch again I'll check for my headbutts, there were only two-three really noticeable ones that Kessler seemed bothered by.

[hitmanhatton]

later on when he was really kicking his ass?

I guess I just tend to think of guys fouling out of desperation or even to gain an edge in a close fight, which yeah wasn't the case here. I really don't get the uproar over this fight, at least with the headbutts there's something there but last night you had Kel and Miles going nuts about the holding and there was no way Ward should have had a point taken for holding, not even close.

Maybe if I watch again I'll check for my headbutts, there were only two-three really noticeable ones that Kessler seemed bothered by.

the one thing i found weird was when the ref would break a clinch its as if he wasnt putting distance between the fighters like he should have just litteraly breaking the hold but leaving them at the same range and ward would go straight back to it without a shot being thrown inbetween at times

[amat]

later on when he was really kicking his ass?

I guess I just tend to think of guys fouling out of desperation or even to gain an edge in a close fight, which yeah wasn't the case here. I really don't get the uproar over this fight, at least with the headbutts there's something there but last night you had Kel and Miles going nuts about the holding and there was no way Ward should have had a point taken for holding, not even close.

Maybe if I watch again I'll check for my headbutts, there were only two-three really noticeable ones that Kessler seemed bothered by.

the one thing i found weird was when the ref would break a clinch its as if he wasnt putting distance between the fighters like he should have just litteraly breaking the hold but leaving them at the same range and ward would go straight back to it without a shot being thrown inbetween at times

Ok that's nitpicking. Kessler was shit on the breaks btw, just flatfooted and 2 or 3 times Ward just lunged in with right hands that connected, some of Ward's best punches. That's not the referees fault, it's Kessler's for being lackadaisical on breaks and just shows how ring-smart and aware Ward really is. Btw on at least one of the headbutts was Ward trying to free his tied up left hand and Kessler wouldn't let go which led to one clash.

[HattonTheHammer]

still in shock

kess totally froze in the US, ward is a LOT better than i originally assumed

Its between froch or AA now

[hitmanhatton]

still in shock

kess totally froze in the US, ward is a LOT better than i originally assumed

Its between froch or AA now

lol

[THE THIRD MAN]

I am stunned by this result, i never gave Ward any chance against Kessler. I picked Kessler to win the whole thing and he gets well beaten by Ward. This is a poor effort by Kessler and it will be a long time before he has another major fight night.

ermmm march isnt that far away

True, but does he deserve it?

[JazMerkin]

Well, I'm stunned by the reaction. I've just read through Kel & Miles' comments & talk about over the top. Although at the other end of the spectrum there's more than one or two people going over the top about Ward's performance (cough Amat cough), but I can understand it when you're a big fan of a fighter (watch me if Andrade beats Bute).

I mean it was a very good dominant performance & it's certainly raised my estimation of Ward, he has a lot more power than I thought & he's making sure that no questions can be asked of his chin. However, there were still too many technical mistakes that a faster fighter would deal with & I'll say now that whilst he's a more skilled boxer than Dirrell, I think Dirrell might just get him because he's got superior handspeed.

The key reason for this is how Ward lunges in. Everyone thinks that those headbutts were an intentional, I think they were more a bad habit that hasn't been corrected properly, I noticed him doing it early he would duck low, but charge in to clinch & I think this is what led to the numerous headbutts (yeah I said numerous!!).

The clinching is hopefully just a tactic to take advantage of Kessler's ineffectiveness on the inside & if he keeps it to the ribs when punching in it, I have no problem, but there were a few times he was trying to turn Kessler to hit him in the back & that isn't legal.

The thing that really frustrates me (which pretty much everyone else ignored) is how he holds his left arm out as a measuring stick. He's got a nice little jab when he uses it, so if he keeps it legal, all the better. Again it was a very good performance, but not quite a masterclass, there were too many errors for that. Still much credit to him for the win & I think it's fair to say he's the best Super-Middleweight in the world right now.

He's going to have to do a lot to win me over as a fan after last night, despite being the type of boxer I enjoy watching, but I think a lot of that is also down to the preachy talk & the fact he looks like the lovechild of Ludacris & a potato.

Don't believe me??



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I rest my case

[amat]

Actually Jaz if you think I've gone over the top it's probably just because all I've heard about since is the headbutts and holding. I didn't even think Ward performed to his full capability and felt he made a lot of those amateur mistakes that have plagued him, and I especially thought he went one handed far to often. Early he in the fight he was letting Kessler walk him straight back, later in the fight he decided to stand right in front of Kessler, probably not the best idea. Like I've pointed out, it was a bit sloppy and a bit ugly but he won every round (or should have at least) against the guy who people have considered the best in the division since Calzaghe left. That is a pretty big deal.

[JazMerkin]

Actually Jaz if you think I've gone over the top it's probably just because all I've heard about since is the headbutts and holding. I didn't even think Ward performed to his full capability and felt he made a lot of those amateur mistakes that have plagued him, and I especially thought he went one handed far to often. Early he in the fight he was letting Kessler walk him straight back, later in the fight he decided to stand right in front of Kessler, probably not the best idea. Like I've pointed out, it was a bit sloppy and a bit ugly but he won every round (or should have at least) against the guy who people have considered the best in the division since Calzaghe left. That is a pretty big deal.

I didn't think he won every round, I think the commentator & crowd played a part, you have to bear in mind press row & 2 of the judges all had Kessler winning 2 rounds, which I think was fair, I believe I had the 5th & 9th.

I thought LudaSpud did well & can do better but there were WAY too many mistakes for it to be called a PBF or RJJ like performance. That is going overboard in my mind.

[amat]

Actually Jaz if you think I've gone over the top it's probably just because all I've heard about since is the headbutts and holding. I didn't even think Ward performed to his full capability and felt he made a lot of those amateur mistakes that have plagued him, and I especially thought he went one handed far to often. Early he in the fight he was letting Kessler walk him straight back, later in the fight he decided to stand right in front of Kessler, probably not the best idea. Like I've pointed out, it was a bit sloppy and a bit ugly but he won every round (or should have at least) against the guy who people have considered the best in the division since Calzaghe left. That is a pretty big deal.

I didn't think he won every round, I think the commentator & crowd played a part, you have to bear in mind press row & 2 of the judges all had Kessler winning 2 rounds, which I think was fair, I believe I had the 5th & 9th.

I thought LudaSpud did well & can do better but there were WAY too many mistakes for it to be called a PBF or RJJ like performance. That is going overboard in my mind.

I've compared him to Hopkins all along and this performance was much more inline with a Hopkins-esque performance rather then Jones or Mayweather. At times yes, overall no.

I will rewatch the 9th but the 5th? I did a doubletake in realtime and upon rewatching thought it was Ward's again. I don't get that one but I will rewatch it a 3rd time and take notes to see what I think.

[JazMerkin]

Actually Jaz if you think I've gone over the top it's probably just because all I've heard about since is the headbutts and holding. I didn't even think Ward performed to his full capability and felt he made a lot of those amateur mistakes that have plagued him, and I especially thought he went one handed far to often. Early he in the fight he was letting Kessler walk him straight back, later in the fight he decided to stand right in front of Kessler, probably not the best idea. Like I've pointed out, it was a bit sloppy and a bit ugly but he won every round (or should have at least) against the guy who people have considered the best in the division since Calzaghe left. That is a pretty big deal.

I didn't think he won every round, I think the commentator & crowd played a part, you have to bear in mind press row & 2 of the judges all had Kessler winning 2 rounds, which I think was fair, I believe I had the 5th & 9th.

I thought LudaSpud did well & can do better but there were WAY too many mistakes for it to be called a PBF or RJJ like performance. That is going overboard in my mind.

I've compared him to Hopkins all along and this performance was much more inline with a Hopkins-esque performance rather then Jones or Mayweather. At times yes, overall no.

I will rewatch the 9th but the 5th? I did a doubletake in realtime and upon rewatching thought it was Ward's again. I don't get that one but I will rewatch it a 3rd time and take notes to see what I think.

I was quite surprised when they Gus Johnson said that was a Ward round & relieved when press row agreed with me. I just thought Kessler controlled that round, not decisively in the way Ward did earlier & after, but I felt he did the better work there. I think it was the 9th, I only watched up the 7th on the afternoon replay as there was a football match starting I wanted to watch. So the 9th is blurry, but twice I saw the 5th for Kessler.