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"Calzaghe and Kessler Put On Thrilling Show"
When undefeated WBO and Ring Super Middleweight Champion Joe Calzaghe signed on to fight undefeated WBC and WBA Super Middleweight Champion Mikkel Kessler, speculation ran rampid from the beginning. Many thought the "Pride of Wales" would give Denmark's native son a boxing clinic, while others picked Kessler to knock out the aging champion.
Both were wrong.
Both Calzaghe (44-0) and Kessler (39-1) put on a spectacular showing for the nearly 65,000 fans who packed Millenium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales for the showdown between unbeaten champions to determine who regined supreme in the 168 pound weight class.
"He's no Jeff Lacy," said Calzaghe in a post-fight interview, "the kid was known as a big puncher, but he came out and showed that he had quite a bit of skill and I tip my hat to him." No longer unthreatened in his 10+ year tenure as undefeated WBO champ, Joey C was more than happy to see the end of round 12 in what could be a contender for Fight of The Year.
Calzaghe came out strong in the first, as did Kessler, both throwing close to 90 punches, with Calzaghe's hand speed slightly irritating the younger challenger. As the action progressed, Kessler proved to be more than worthy, landing hard shots, many to the body, and even rattling the undefeated Calzaghe with a sharp right hook as round eight came to a close.
"I thought I had him then, you know," said Kessler, disappointed but also delighted by the standing ovation given by the packed house both preceeding and following the final bell. "I mean if I had about 20 more seconds I was sure I could have stopped him, but you know he proved he can take quite the shot, and I commend him for it."
Into the championship rounds, Calzaghe staged a triumphant performance in round ten, landing over 50 punches out of 113 total, and extending his lead on all official cards. Going into the twelth, both men hugged center-ring as the raucus Cardiff crowd voiced their approval. In an action-packed final round both men landed accurately and often, with Kessler gaining a slight edge in connect percentage, giving him the twelth round easily. However, the damage had been done as the veteran Calzaghe edged him out on all official cards with scores of 115-113, 116-112 and 115-113, respectively.
"Amazing show by both combatants," voiced HBO's chief analyst Jim Lampley, "very rarely do we see two world calibur champions put all they've earned on the line as we did tonight. Who wouldn't want to see it again?"
Very few, as I reckon, yet when asked about the possibility of a rematch during the post-fight interview, Calzaghe seemed to have his mind focused on other such tasks.
"Well, that's obviously a serious thing to consider, but I've got a lot of options on my plate right now, and ah, if I may say this: Bernard Hopkins, if you're watching, I'll be more than happy to come meet you at 175 and take what's left of your career back with me."
Perhaps even more-so than at any point during this fight did the crowd react as feverishly as they did following Calzaghe's challenge to Hopkins, who has been adament at obtaining a bout with the undisputed Super Middleweight champion at the Light Heavyweight limit of 175 pounds. However, many would also like to entertain the thought of a showdown between Calzaghe and unbeaten Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik, who, if he gets past "Irish" John Duddy in late January, has shown interest in a match with him.
Time will tell, but as many will say, money talks.
When undefeated WBO and Ring Super Middleweight Champion Joe Calzaghe signed on to fight undefeated WBC and WBA Super Middleweight Champion Mikkel Kessler, speculation ran rampid from the beginning. Many thought the "Pride of Wales" would give Denmark's native son a boxing clinic, while others picked Kessler to knock out the aging champion.
Both were wrong.
Both Calzaghe (44-0) and Kessler (39-1) put on a spectacular showing for the nearly 65,000 fans who packed Millenium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales for the showdown between unbeaten champions to determine who regined supreme in the 168 pound weight class.
"He's no Jeff Lacy," said Calzaghe in a post-fight interview, "the kid was known as a big puncher, but he came out and showed that he had quite a bit of skill and I tip my hat to him." No longer unthreatened in his 10+ year tenure as undefeated WBO champ, Joey C was more than happy to see the end of round 12 in what could be a contender for Fight of The Year.
Calzaghe came out strong in the first, as did Kessler, both throwing close to 90 punches, with Calzaghe's hand speed slightly irritating the younger challenger. As the action progressed, Kessler proved to be more than worthy, landing hard shots, many to the body, and even rattling the undefeated Calzaghe with a sharp right hook as round eight came to a close.
"I thought I had him then, you know," said Kessler, disappointed but also delighted by the standing ovation given by the packed house both preceeding and following the final bell. "I mean if I had about 20 more seconds I was sure I could have stopped him, but you know he proved he can take quite the shot, and I commend him for it."
Into the championship rounds, Calzaghe staged a triumphant performance in round ten, landing over 50 punches out of 113 total, and extending his lead on all official cards. Going into the twelth, both men hugged center-ring as the raucus Cardiff crowd voiced their approval. In an action-packed final round both men landed accurately and often, with Kessler gaining a slight edge in connect percentage, giving him the twelth round easily. However, the damage had been done as the veteran Calzaghe edged him out on all official cards with scores of 115-113, 116-112 and 115-113, respectively.
"Amazing show by both combatants," voiced HBO's chief analyst Jim Lampley, "very rarely do we see two world calibur champions put all they've earned on the line as we did tonight. Who wouldn't want to see it again?"
Very few, as I reckon, yet when asked about the possibility of a rematch during the post-fight interview, Calzaghe seemed to have his mind focused on other such tasks.
"Well, that's obviously a serious thing to consider, but I've got a lot of options on my plate right now, and ah, if I may say this: Bernard Hopkins, if you're watching, I'll be more than happy to come meet you at 175 and take what's left of your career back with me."
Perhaps even more-so than at any point during this fight did the crowd react as feverishly as they did following Calzaghe's challenge to Hopkins, who has been adament at obtaining a bout with the undisputed Super Middleweight champion at the Light Heavyweight limit of 175 pounds. However, many would also like to entertain the thought of a showdown between Calzaghe and unbeaten Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik, who, if he gets past "Irish" John Duddy in late January, has shown interest in a match with him.
Time will tell, but as many will say, money talks.
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