Kessler interview. (On the Calzaghe fight)

For more than half a year Mikkel Kessler have pondered the Calzaghe fight and what went wrong in Cardiff. Now, three weeks of Southern Californias thin and hot mountain air have brought clarity to Mikkels mind and also a recognition of what went wrong against Calzaghe that night in Cardiff. The core matter of Kesslers innermost feelings are as follows: Kesslers US based coach Jimmy Montoya, who in November sat glued to the TV watching the Calzaghe fight, says: "You (MK) box the first 4-5 rounds well and disciplined. Okay, I would have liked a more focused physical pressure on Calzaghe. After round 5 I start worrying because I see in your (MKs) eyes, as you walk towards your corner, some confusion. It's no good to be confused in a fight at this level because being confused means you are not 100% motivated. You need to know what you have to do inside out. It is as if your (MKs) strategy falls apart half way through the fight. Even though you are in it in the second half, structure lacks in your movements." Montoya assistent Ruben Chavez adds: "You have enough raw physique to take Calzaghe apart, and you know it, and I know you will if a rematch is ever scheduled, however, in the second half of the Calzaghe fight you lack control of your powers because you were without a masterplan. That's why you fell through in a fight you were on a path to winning." Both Montoya's and Chavez's analysis doesn't take Mikkel Kessler by surprise because the Calzaghe fight has been the subject around the dinner table more than once during the first week in the Montoya camp. The danish World title challenger stays with his earlier statements that his injured right hand was part of the reason his performance was never optimal in Cardiff. Kessler says: "If a football player (soccer player), due to some foot injury misses out on some training sessions before vital matches then this player will loose some of his touch. That's obvious. But the hand was treated and it didnt hurt or cause problems of any kind. In this manner I can accept that my first defeat may have its explanation in strategic issues surrounding my preparations. It's true that I most likely put too much effort into punching hard and for that reason didn't put on full pressure on Calzaghe, the way Montoya would have liked. My danish coach, who knows me from top to toe, have always been very good at creating calmness and make it stay there during a fight. Unfortunately the calmness did not pay out when Calzaghe changed tactics. My timing was gone, so far gone that I no longer was able to adopt any coherent pressure strategy." With all this in mind Kessler recognizes that he lost to a smarter and more effective opponent on the given night. "It will never, for any boxer, become a day of celebration when you loose your first fight. It was certainly not for me. The loss actually cost me some weeks of pondering the fight but in no way did it cause any depressions. Anyway, my drive to move on was somehow affected in a negative way. Actually, I first started to feel really calm and comfortable again when Palle called and told me he had found a path to become World Champion again. Then I regained the calmness to look forward with a positive attitude." Mikkel Kessler is perfectly aware of the fact that a rematch with Calzaghe is most likely not going to happen as long as Calzaghe keeps winning. "Nah, I will probably have to accept that no Kessler-CalzagheII will ever take place. In case it does happen you can be sure that I will have a plan A, B, C, D, E and F. What happened in Cardiff will not happen again. I will not be left on the platform while the train is passing by because my railroad schedule was errorneous so to speak."