Time To Revisit Plan A, Mikkel Kessler

[edgarg]

I'm really surprised by this article by Jake Donevan, whom I always read with pleasure, not because of content, though that's mostly interesting, but because of the writing quality itself.

This time however, it seems more like a disguised PR statement for Showtime.

Every day, and every hour of every day, 366 days a year, fights are made and unmade for a huge variety of reasons, some even with contracts already signed. The vast majority are a legally accepted part of the wheeling and dealing way that the boxing business unfolds, and the Kessler-Miranda proposed bout is no different.

YES, I'd like to see it too, but if NO contract was signed, and they were still in the discussion stages either side has the perfect liberty of calling a halt, and changing direction. Kessler has a VERY valid reason, which the writer tries to obfuscate by saying that ......"Kessler's team would go on BABBLING(my emphases) about ALPHABET TITLE OPPORTUNITIES.......

It's clear that using the term "babbling' is Jake's way of denigrating a normal everyday boxing matchup process. These "alphabet titles" are the various titlebelts issued by the WORLD recognised Boxing Authorities. If you want to talk about the IBO and the IBA and a few others, (like the BS) as alphabet titles, then be my guest. I agree with you. But I don't consider the WBA, WBO, IBF, and WBC as "alphabet".

As Calzaghe said, Kessler was his toughest and strongest opponent, and was "more like a cruiserweight than a Super-Middle". So it's logical for him having lost his Super-Middle titles, to go to Lt-heavy, and if he can get a title shot right away, and PARTICULARLY against a Champion whom he has already beaten, he'd be worse than a DAMNED FOOL not to run, jump and grab at it with BOTH HANDS.

HE and his management look after HIS affairs which are no one elses business. Why does Jake Donevan try to interfere? Fair comment and speculation are all very well, but this deliberate denigration, seemingly reserved only for Kessler, is strange to me. Kessler is already being called a coward...

Of course so was Vitaly Klitschko for retiring against Chris Byrd, and for delaying his fight againt Rahman (whom he'd have eaten alive without salt)
and so many other, decent, brave, guys who risk their lives for our titilation.

As intelligent human beings we have no right to be so ******, but we do it anyway. It's a free country, after all.!!

As to the outcome of the Kessler management decision, we won't know until it happens.

[edgarg]

While I agree with the general sentiment, that Kessler should fight Miranda, I think there are a few faulty conclusions in the article. First of all, I don't see a Mundine fight for a title as being the path of lesser resistance compared to a Miranda fight for not very much money. That is just good business. The Mundine fight would probably be a lot harder, I'm pretty convinced Miranda will end up on his back if he fights Kessler, Mundine probably won't, in fact he might have a shot at winning if it takes place in Australia. The problem, that makes it bad business, is that they can't seem to get the Mundine fight.

Secondly, I don't see why Miranda has even deserved a fight against Kessler. What has he done at SMW? Why is everybody convinced that Kessler is ducking Miranda, when, in fact, his manager just doesn't want him to fight in the US, for no title, and a small fee of 400.000 Euro's? As a writer who is supposed to know how this business works, I think you're forgetting that this is not Kessler calling the shots. He's got a manager who is way past his expiration date, who has squandered away his entire promotional outfit, that has had firm control of pro boxing in Scandinavia for fifty (!) years. He can't even put on a show in Denmark anymore, because no Danish TV station will work with him. And this is at a time where he's got the best boxer Denmark has ever had! The bottom line here, is that Palle is too old and too greedy to make the decisions that are right for Kessler. As a serious writer, you should know these things (if you don't, doing research before writing a piece might be a good idea?), and put them in your article, instead of coming of as a slightly more eloquent version of the average forum rat, saying nothing more than "Kessler's scurred! Coward!", which would be a much shorter and more precise way of saying what you just spent a whole article saying.

If I'd read your post before sending in mine, all I'd have needed to do would have been to write "ditto".

[PunchDrunk]

If I'd read your post before sending in mine, all I'd have needed to do would have been to write "ditto".

I'm glad you didn't then, because I enjoyed reading what you had to say, and it's good to see that someone else picked up on the fact that this article was more like a biased fan raving than a researched article. Thumbs up!

P.S. Let's see Jake Donovan respond to this! Are you ducking us Donovan?!?

[BattlingNelson]

I'm glad you didn't then, because I enjoyed reading what you had to say, and it's good to see that someone else picked up on the fact that this article was more like a biased fan raving than a researched article. Thumbs up!

P.S. Let's see Jake Donovan respond to this! Are you ducking us Donovan?!?

You and EdgarG have both made some great thoughtful points on this. Allow me to say that the responsability for getting Kessler some work is at the hands of his management. IMO Kessler is the most feared fighter in the world today without a belt, so no-one with a belt wants to voluntarily share the ring with him.

Miranda is a way to get the fighter some work and a decent pay-day as well. It must be better to fight than to stay idle.

Regarding Donovans article he also critizes (or at least mentions) that Kessler didn't appear at the build-up to the Calzaghe fight. Donovan fails to mention that it could have been because Kesslers hand was severely injured and that Kessler missed 3 weeks of the most important sparring in the lead-up to the fight. Had Kessler showed up at some media sessions, the press would imidiately have spotted the injury and the fight (and mega pay-day) would have been in jeopardy.

[Steak]

you guys make me sick with this 'deserve' bull****. of course Miranda 'deserves' a fight with Kessler. No one else is lining up to fight Kessler last time I checked, Miranda has credible wins over Banks, Allan Green, Eastman, Gibbs, and you could say Abraham, and is a fairly big name. the majority of his career is at Middleweight, but who cares? has anyone noticed how huge Miranda looks at 168 already?

If Marquez moved up to 135 after Pacquiao beat David Diaz, would you say Marquez 'deserved' a fight with Pacquiao? I sure as hell would. and while Miranda is no Marquez, Kessler is no Pacquiao either.

and honestly, I really see NO fight that could be as big in the near future for Kessler as a Miranda vs Kessler fight. Inkin and Froch are already fighting each other, Andrade he already beat(although personally I think Andrade is actually getting a lot better since Kessler fought him), I havent heard ANYTHING about a Bute fight, Bika's wife is having a baby, no one is exactly impressed with Lacy right now, Calzaghe is gone, Mundine is fighting guys he already beat twice, Braehmer...well no one has mentioned him, not sure how big of a name he is. and anyone else in the division is basically a waste of time.

[PunchDrunk]

you guys make me sick with this 'deserve' bull****. of course Miranda 'deserves' a fight with Kessler. No one else is lining up to fight Kessler last time I checked, Miranda has credible wins over Banks, Allan Green, Eastman, Gibbs, and you could say Abraham, and is a fairly big name. the majority of his career is at Middleweight, but who cares? has anyone noticed how huge Miranda looks at 168 already?

If Marquez moved up to 135 after Pacquiao beat David Diaz, would you say Marquez 'deserved' a fight with Pacquiao? I sure as hell would. and while Miranda is no Marquez, Kessler is no Pacquiao either.

and honestly, I really see NO fight that could be as big in the near future for Kessler as a Miranda vs Kessler fight. Inkin and Froch are already fighting each other, Andrade he already beat(although personally I think Andrade is actually getting a lot better since Kessler fought him), I havent heard ANYTHING about a Bute fight, Bika's wife is having a baby, no one is exactly impressed with Lacy right now, Calzaghe is gone, Mundine is fighting guys he already beat twice, Braehmer...well no one has mentioned him, not sure how big of a name he is. and anyone else in the division is basically a waste of time.

I actually agree that Miranda should have won the Abraham fight. The rest of the guys you mention are crap though.

What I meant when I made the "deserve" comment, was that Miranda hasn't done anything at SMW at all, and the two big fights he had at MW, he lost (at least on paper). HE doesn't have a title, Kessler doesn't either, so it's not like he's a mandatory or anything, and finally, the only number that's been mentioned is 400,000 Euro's, so it's not exactly a payday either, so what exactly is Miranda bringing to the table? His big mouth spewing "Kessler's scared of me!," getting a few forum nerds all riled up, so now the fight is "in demand"??? The fact is no casual American boxing fan knows or cares about either of the two fighters, so the fight isn't really a big draw at all.

Having said all that, I still want Kessler to take the fight, which I already mentioned in the post you're bitching about.

[edgarg]

I'm glad you didn't then, because I enjoyed reading what you had to say, and it's good to see that someone else picked up on the fact that this article was more like a biased fan raving than a researched article. Thumbs up!

P.S. Let's see Jake Donovan respond to this! Are you ducking us Donovan?!?

Well Thanks very much. But if Jake responds, i hope he does to yours and not mine. I've been torn to pieces a few times already on other points.( just kidding)

Anyway, what can he say that makes sense, I think we've said most of it. nd many other posters have voiced similiar sentiments. Yet, a good writer like Jake can produce a "rabbit" out-of-the-hat unexpectedly, so we have to wait and see.

[deanrw]

400,000 Euros is a good payday coming off a convincing loss. You guys are here building him up like he is some sort of God. Please tell me, Name another class A fighter Kessler has fought besides Calzaghe?

That is right...NONE!!

That payday was not limited to 400,000 either. he also had rights to all the European receipts on the fight. His pay would have easily doubled or more.

His people simply wanted a fight for a belt when they do not deserve one coming off a loss. They also wanted to fight Mundine as they already beat him before and Mundine would not try to take his head off. They acted like a group of spoiled children thinking the world of boxing owes them something.

Get in line and fight your way back to the top. They come across as a bunch of ******* IMO.

/rant.

[Steak]

I actually agree that Miranda should have won the Abraham fight. The rest of the guys you mention are crap though.

What I meant when I made the "deserve" comment, was that Miranda hasn't done anything at SMW at all, and the two big fights he had at MW, he lost (at least on paper). HE doesn't have a title, Kessler doesn't either, so it's not like he's a mandatory or anything, and finally, the only number that's been mentioned is 400,000 Euro's, so it's not exactly a payday either, so what exactly is Miranda bringing to the table? His big mouth spewing "Kessler's scared of me!," getting a few forum nerds all riled up, so now the fight is "in demand"??? The fact is no casual American boxing fan knows or cares about either of the two fighters, so the fight isn't really a big draw at all.

Having said all that, I still want Kessler to take the fight, which I already mentioned in the post you're bitching about.

be nice, no one was bitching. Allan Green is considered a top ten super middleweight by RING magazine, who usually is considered pretty credible nowadays, and Miranda beat him. considering every other top super middleweight is out of the picture, Miranda should be at the top of the list when it comes to credible opponents.

and the real problem with this whole situation is that Kessler signed up for the Miranda fight, and then pulled out completely. If he doesnt resign...which I think he will...there will be a lot of irritated people...especially if Kessler fights a lousy opponent. but who knows, maybe Kessler is going for a fight with Jermain Taylor or something...

and I have a hard time believing so many people dont give a damn about Miranda. he was pretty hyped by HBO up until Pavlik beat him and hey, after a great fight between those two Pavlik is now the Middleweight champ...and plus Miranda has had a KO of the year candidate on Friday Night Fights, that ought to mean something.
I dont know, I thought people cared more about Miranda than youre making him out to be. last time I checked, Kessler himself wasnt all that huge in America either...his ratings with his fight against Calzaghe werent too good.

In Europe or America, I seriously doubt that Kessler fighting for a vacant Light Heavyweight belt against some random guy would be a bigger draw than him fighting Miranda.

[JakeNDaBox]

You and EdgarG have both made some great thoughtful points on this. Allow me to say that the responsability for getting Kessler some work is at the hands of his management. IMO Kessler is the most feared fighter in the world today without a belt, so no-one with a belt wants to voluntarily share the ring with him.

Regarding Donovans article he also critizes (or at least mentions) that Kessler didn't appear at the build-up to the Calzaghe fight. Donovan fails to mention that it could have been because Kesslers hand was severely injured and that Kessler missed 3 weeks of the most important sparring in the lead-up to the fight. Had Kessler showed up at some media sessions, the press would imidiately have spotted the injury and the fight (and mega pay-day) would have been in jeopardy.

the press already knew about Kessler's injury anyway, word of it came out before the fight. But besides all that, he even bailed on two separate conference calls. All that takes is calling in, he could've handled that in his bathrobe while watching soap operas if he wanted.

The Palle's are without a doubt the most difficult people to deal with in boxing. Some regard it as a compliment, calling them "shrewd negotiatiors."
Others insist they're a lot closer to unprofessional. I did my best to reference any grievances toward them/Team Kessler, more so than blame the fighter himself. I have little doubt that Kessler is a genuine badass and doesn't fear any fighter. But his team's actions deserve to be taken to task, IMO. You can't claim one guy is ducking you without accepting the fact that you're doing the same to someone else.

Miranda is a way to get the fighter some work and a decent pay-day as well. It must be better to fight than to stay idle.

This, if nothing else, was my entire point.