calzaghe to relinquish the ibf belt

[dumdane]

wat gives calzaghe more publicity and more money for the taylor fight
manfredo or nobody
kessler cant fight because hes got mandatorys to fullfill

A mandatory who has already once accepted money to step back and let a unification happen - and who has publicly stated he'd be willing to do it again.

Lame excuse for not even trying to make the fight happen.
If anyone has got mandatory problems it seems to be Calzaghe, who is about to be stripped by the IBF.

[SHB]

Kessler has not vacated anything. What has happened is that Kessler is now WBA "superchamp". Therefore the "regular" WBA-belt is now up for graps.

I only hope - sinse Calzaghe won't fight Kessler, that Kessler can somehow get a shot at the IBF title - get 3 belts, so Calzaghe will look like even more of a **** for not taking him on.

It's a "shame" that the IBF don't install Calzaghe as their super duper champ and let a couple of no marks fight for the other belt. By shame I mean the IBF is a joke and it's ridiculous that Joe is forced to fight someone who has barely taken on anyone with a winning record.

Anyway I'm confused. Doesn't Kessler have a mandatory the moment he comes back from injury? So March vs Calzaghe was never an option. I gather from my sauce (Heinz) that the low level offer made by Palle was for a summer clash which was an attempt to head off the Calzaghe-Taylor showdown in August.

Seeing as Calzaghe vs Taylor is pretty much set in wet cement for the summer then I can't see Calzaghe whipping Kessler until the end of 2007 at the earliest. That should give Kessler enough time to actually fight somebody worth a damn (although there is rather a dearth of "names" around the division - hence Taylor and Calzaghe's cross-division fight so good luck on that front), get some exposure outside Copenhagen and even pick up the IBF belt if possible. That would make a Calzaghe-Kessler fight absolutely nailed on for 2007. Both parties really should be happy about all this - Kessler gets the chance to unify the 3 main belts and Calzaghe gets his legacy fight and a ****load of money. I have little doubt that both parties couldn't agree a unification bout after the summer megabout and it has the potential to be so much bigger than it is now.

One final word on the farce that is Calzaghe-Manfredo. HBO have a lot to answer for - it's like the WWF getting their big names to fight some random stiff as part of the build-up for a major PPV. Utterly pointless.

[jangeorg]

Seeing as Calzaghe vs Taylor is pretty much set in wet cement for the summer then I can't see Calzaghe whipping Kessler until the end of 2007 at the earliest. That should give Kessler enough time to actually fight somebody wort

Kessler actually fight somebody wort


Kessler's last 5 opponents:
Beyer (unified WBA and WBC titles)
Lucas
Mundine
Siaca (won WBA title)
Thysse
Kessler stopped 4 of these 5 opponents


Calzaghe's last 5 opponents:
Bika
Lacy (unified WBO and IBF titles)
Ashira
Veit
Salem
4 of these 5 opponents managed to go the distance

*Kessler unified 2 years after winning his first title while Calzaghe took
8+ years to unify

[jangeorg]

He won't fight Kessler. It's obvious. He shouldn't try to use HBO as an excuse either. HBO paid to show highlights of the Kessler-Beyer fight to US fans in order to build up a possible unification fight with Calzaghe. Calzaghe is just flat out ducking a unification fight. How does unifying hurt your legacy, but fighting a guy like Manfredo who has done nothing at the championship level help it?

I'm telling you. It's Rocky 3 all over again. Calzaghe's gonna get a statue ceremony and Kessler's gonna pop up in the crowd and crash the party.




Kessler:
Give this guy a statue? GIVE HIM GUTS!
I am ranked #1...1!!!
Why don't u tell all these nice people at ESB why u been duckin me?
HEY WOMAN!!! HEY WOMAN!!!

[SHB]

Kessler actually fight somebody wort


Kessler's last 5 opponents:
Beyer (unified WBA and WBC titles)
Lucas
Mundine
Siaca (won WBA title)
Thysse
Kessler stopped 4 of these 5 opponents

Thank you for proving my point. Not one single decent good fighter on that list - and that's the cream of Kessler's opposition.

[dumdane]

Thank you for proving my point. Not one single decent good fighter on that list - and that's the cream of Kessler's opposition.

Still beats the crap out of Calzaghe's last five opponents.
Especially since Calzaghe holds better cards in negotiations and should basicly be able to get whoever he wants - and then it's Bika, Ashira and now Manfredo he choses to fight.

[PATO 1]

they should just cut the bull**** an fight

[SHB]

Still beats the crap out of Calzaghe's last five opponents.
Especially since Calzaghe holds better cards in negotiations and should basicly be able to get whoever he wants - and then it's Bika, Ashira and now Manfredo he choses to fight.

We're discussing Kessler here. Calzaghe's recent opponents (a list pretty comparable in content, bar the existence of one marquee opponent in it) are irrelevant to discussing Kessler's resume.

Kessler hasn't fought anyone of any note. Surely that cannot be disputed? And as such, who could blame Calzaghe for going after the one name in the surrounding divisions that will give him the biggest payday and legacy by beating? Fighting Taylor is much more attractive in every respect than just picking up 2 more belts.

[dumdane]

We're discussing Kessler here. Calzaghe's recent opponents (a list pretty comparable in content, bar the existence of one marquee opponent in it) are irrelevant to discussing Kessler's resume.

Kessler hasn't fought anyone of any note. Surely that cannot be disputed? And as such, who could blame Calzaghe for going after the one name in the surrounding divisions that will give him the biggest payday and legacy by beating? Fighting Taylor is much more attractive in every respect than just picking up 2 more belts.

Whether or not Kessler has fought "anyone of note" of course depends on how you define "anyone of note". Obviously by your definitions current (at the time of fighting Kessler) world champs with the WBA or WBC doesn't cut it. Makes me wonder what in your opinion does amount to "someone of note".
Is it detirmined by the amount of airtime you've got on HBO? Does it require you to be a P4P top-10 (and if so on who's P4P list)?
Looking at the SMW division - Who (if any) would you consider "someone of note"? - Lacy? Calzaghe? Manfredo? (on the grounds of being a reality-TV semi star?) What criteria do you go by?

Way i see it Kessler has pretty much fought the best opposition at SMW that was at all available to him. The only fight out there at the moment that i'd clearly see as a step up in competition compared to Mundine or Beyer is Calzaghe (sorry for mentioning him again - can't help it). And since Calzaghe would rather suffocate in a pile of manure than face Kessler that hasn't really been an option.

So maybe Kessler hasn't faced "anyone of note". But i'm not fussed since by your definitions (as i see them) then noone in recent times at SMW has - and Kessler has time ahead of him to change that.

[SHB]

Does someone of note really need defining? Blimey. I'd have both Taylor and Calzaghe in my P4P top 10 as it goes ... maybe even top 5 if I'm feeling very generous. I can't wait for that fight to come off, and whoever decided that a beating of Manfredo was necessary beforehand needs one themselves.

Sadly there is rather a dearth of competition within the SMW division. It's in a bit of a lull now (has been for a couple of years) but there does seem to be some real talent coming through. It is a bit of a shame for Kessler that the one meaningful fighter out there for him has bigger fish to fry. I'm sure he'll get his chance (maybe even against both) but he's really not as attractive an option as Taylor to Calzaghe and vice versa. It does take a special kind of idiot though to claim that fighting the man that beat BHop twice means he's ducking Kessler.