Am I crazy for thinking without the headbutts, holding and dirty tactics that kessler could beat Ward?
Like if they were to have a rematch on a neutral grounds im not completely convinced that ward could do the same thing again.
thoughts/.
Am I crazy for thinking without the headbutts, holding and dirty tactics that kessler could beat Ward?
Like if they were to have a rematch on a neutral grounds im not completely convinced that ward could do the same thing again.
thoughts/.
It will go the distance but wide UD win by Ward.
lol it wasnt freezing at that press conference, i wasnt even wearing a sweater when i was there.
Then perhaps Ward and his team was just being very very careful not catch a cold wearing gloves, coats etc.
I couldn't find a better pic than this, but I'm sure you remember the event:
http://multimedia.ekstrabladet.dk/eb/archive/00492/No_name_492831m.jpg
A vid is here:
http://jp.dk/jptv/sport/?id=20870
Wasn't it the weigh-in you saw?
And
1: They'll tell Ward to come to the pressconference in a hotel and when Ward arrives they'll have the conference outside despite it nearly freezing. Kessler of course will know that and will be dressed accordingly. Ward will just wear a pullover.
2: Ward's dressing-room should be filled with Kessler's people standing in the way and preventing the usual warm-up routine.
3: They would tell Ward to get ready to come out in 5 minutes and then postpone it another 5 minutes and then 10 minutes further.
4: When they get in the ring they'll have a cameracrew standing right in front of Wards chief second hampering the view. The camera man will refuse to move when asked and will first move late in the fight after being slapped/punched and kicked in the legs.
And on and on.....
There's homefield advantage for ya.
lol it wasnt freezing at that press conference, i wasnt even wearing a sweater when i was there.
To make sure the fight is even, Kessler should be allowed to take 5 free headbutts at Ward's face just before the fight starts to even out the inevitable damage Ward will issue with his own skull.
And
1: They'll tell Ward to come to the pressconference in a hotel and when Ward arrives they'll have the conference outside despite it nearly freezing. Kessler of course will know that and will be dressed accordingly. Ward will just wear a pullover.
2: Ward's dressing-room should be filled with Kessler's people standing in the way and preventing the usual warm-up routine.
3: They would tell Ward to get ready to come out in 5 minutes and then postpone it another 5 minutes and then 10 minutes further.
4: When they get in the ring they'll have a cameracrew standing right in front of Wards chief second hampering the view. The camera man will refuse to move when asked and will first move late in the fight after being slapped/punched and kicked in the legs.
And on and on.....
There's homefield advantage for ya.
The Kessler of today is NOT the Kessler of 2006/2007.
The layoff affected him, or the loss.
But the Kessler that fought Andrade beats Ward on neutral ground
Ah Andrate the punching bag.
To make sure the fight is even, Kessler should be allowed to take 5 free headbutts at Ward's face just before the fight starts to even out the inevitable damage Ward will issue with his own skull.
Am I crazy for thinking without the headbutts, holding and dirty tactics that kessler could beat Ward?
Like if they were to have a rematch on a neutral grounds im not completely convinced that ward could do the same thing again.
thoughts/.
What makes you think neutral ground would change the outcome? It wasn't like Kessler looked to have found any answer at all to what Ward was presenting. I'm pretty sure Ward would have won saturday even in Denmark and without the dirty tactics.
Pretty much 3-4th round onward, this cat would throw a combination and charge in head first for the clinch. He had to have known his head was gonna hit something eventually.
Its like when an old geezer backs out of his driveway with his Caprice onto a busy road. He don't give a fuck whats there, he just comin, and you better move out his way.
A few point deductions would have slowed down this tactic... And then it would have been more of a ranged battle... Which Ward could have won anyway with his speed and movement.
Unless Kessler caught him with a big shot, that is.
This opinion goes both ways,but if a fighter is charging you-do you just stand there,or move? Do you act as a matador,or a victim? I think it is reasonable to say if Mikkel employed a decent jab (he does have one),and used movement-he could have used these "charges" to his advantage.
Anyways,name a decent boxer that stays in front of anything charging-most would move and at least attempt to counter.The problem with your debate is that there are too many "ifs" and "buts".Nobody has a crystal ball,but it is fair to say that a fighter that gets beat by one style (such as Ward's) and doesn't adapt,will probably suffer a similar result.BTW-when was the last time we seen a Mikkel Kessler that was an adaptable boxer? Ive watched many of his fights and he doesn't adapt or change strategy dramatically enough to change an outcome such as this.....
Kessler gets beat regardless, the headbutts had nothing to do with him losing, he would have lost either way. He was getting outboxed and outclassed, and made excuses after the fight. Every judge had him losing and only one was american, so it doesn't matter where they fought because the fight wasn't even close.
Pretty much 3-4th round onward, this cat would throw a combination and charge in head first for the clinch. He had to have known his head was gonna hit something eventually.
Its like when an old geezer backs out of his driveway with his Caprice onto a busy road. He don't give a fuck whats there, he just comin, and you better move out his way.
A few point deductions would have slowed down this tactic... And then it would have been more of a ranged battle... Which Ward could have won anyway with his speed and movement.
Unless Kessler caught him with a big shot, that is.
The major cuts...if not all the cuts... were from headbutts. They were saying the cuts weren't bleeding because they didn't want the fight to be stopped. Corners downplay the wounds of their fighters all the time in that way to the doctor.
Ref Rip Van Winkle himself admitted to 5 accidental headbutts. So there were more, quite possibly, and most probably, not accidental. The fast, frenetic pace of Ward on the inside made it difficult to catch some of his sneaky fouls...but I saw them well enough.
If the ref had ruled it a stoppage it would have been ridiculous on this forum and elsewhere, the replies. Far worse than they are now.
Ruling it to the scorecards gave the fight more legitimacy imo. I mean, it wasn't exactly a robbery. I never said that. Ward with his movement and speed, is always a favorite over Kessler in my mind. But I don't approve of the fouls. Whether from Froch, Ward, or whoever.
And minus the fouls, Kessler has more of a chance, albeit still being the underdog.
Nobody likes fouls,and if you believe they were intentional,so be it,but I just wonder why someone who was already winning by a large margin purely based on skill and was still very fresh in the fight and even hurt Kessler a few times-I wonder why it would be intentional headbutts-ask yourself why would anyone logically sabotage the biggest fight of their career and a belt on the line (as well as an undefeated streak) to do this when they were utilizing all the skills and being effective.
Like I said,I have seen enough southpaw stances and orthodox stances to realize when they meet in the ring,they are prone to head clashes.I urge anyone to point out anywhere else in his career where Ward can be called a "dirty" fight-chances are only pettiness could be called.
Just as often as he did that, he allowed holding and hitting when Kessler expected him to break them.
A couple times, Kessler was even stunned/caught off guard because of this.
A different ref would have made a difference.
If you think this fight would have gone down the exact same way in freakin Denmark..then you are crazy.
I haven't watched many fights where I have seen no holding-whether the fighters do it because they are stunned,tired,or using tactics is irrelevant-it is the same.
I think with a different ref,there still would have been some holding,but the holding in this fight stopped as soon as the ref called it.
As for a rematch-I believe Ward could have equal success- perhaps more.Im sure Mikkel's style will never change- he got to the top with his style,he cannot adapt at this stage,that is why Ward will win 10/10 times to these style of fighters-no matter what caliber they are.
Well,when you refer to fouling,I assume you mean holding. Keep in mind-both fighters held on and the ref broke both of them up-it was fair.To Ward's credit there was a few cuts that were cause by punches as well.In Kessler's corner when the ref wanted to stop the fight in round 10 ( I believe),Mikkel's corner said the right cut was not even bleeding.
The only way Kessler would have done better is if he was able to utilize his jab.It would have avoided these head-clashes as well.It's a rough sport and sometimes when you have opposite styles/ stances,it happens-its rather common under these circumstances.
As much suffering that "Martyr Mikkel" was under,do you think that his corner should have stopped the fight since he couldn't see and was in pain? An arguement can be made that Ward should have gotten 3 points instead of 2, but the ref was fair and was assertive in how he called off the fight-he could have been biased,as you believe, and ruled it a stoppage-in which case Ward would have recieved 3 points in this tournament as opposed to 2....
The major cuts...if not all the cuts... were from headbutts. They were saying the cuts weren't bleeding because they didn't want the fight to be stopped. Corners downplay the wounds of their fighters all the time in that way to the doctor.
Ref Rip Van Winkle himself admitted to 5 accidental headbutts. So there were more, quite possibly, and most probably, not accidental. The fast, frenetic pace of Ward on the inside made it difficult to catch some of his sneaky fouls...but I saw them well enough.
If the ref had ruled it a stoppage it would have been ridiculous on this forum and elsewhere, the replies. Far worse than they are now.
Ruling it to the scorecards gave the fight more legitimacy imo. I mean, it wasn't exactly a robbery. I never said that. Ward with his movement and speed, is always a favorite over Kessler in my mind. But I don't approve of the fouls. Whether from Froch, Ward, or whoever.
And minus the fouls, Kessler has more of a chance, albeit still being the underdog.
how does a location change the fact you got your ass kicked??
Home field advantage Larry come on. Ward kicked Kessler's arse but the home cooking taste much better bro in oakland for Ward than it would have in Denmark. All that holding and hitting head butts hitting on the break he would have gotten warned and possibly had points taken away from him in Denmark and maybe even in Vegas. He fought dirty bro he won no doubt but he fought dirty cause he was allowed too. Anyone with two eyes could see that....Lefty
I see what you are saying about that, and I have seen it before. But to deny Kessler would have a better chance with a different ref that didn't allow all the fouling doesn't make logical sense to me.
also, Kessler was practically blind from cuts caused by headbutts in the championship rounds.
Of course Ward would be fresh, facing a stumbling, blind fighter..
Well,when you refer to fouling,I assume you mean holding. Keep in mind-both fighters held on and the ref broke both of them up-it was fair.To Ward's credit there was a few cuts that were cause by punches as well.In Kessler's corner when the ref wanted to stop the fight in round 10 ( I believe),Mikkel's corner said the right cut was not even bleeding.
The only way Kessler would have done better is if he was able to utilize his jab.It would have avoided these head-clashes as well.It's a rough sport and sometimes when you have opposite styles/ stances,it happens-its rather common under these circumstances.
As much suffering that "Martyr Mikkel" was under,do you think that his corner should have stopped the fight since he couldn't see and was in pain? An arguement can be made that Ward should have gotten 3 points instead of 2, but the ref was fair and was assertive in how he called off the fight-he could have been biased,as you believe, and ruled it a stoppage-in which case Ward would have recieved 3 points in this tournament as opposed to 2....