Fighters who need to step up!

[Jimmy Dean]

I think that someone who has just fought 2 of the toughest guys available is doing just fine. 4 of the five you list were very good opposition.

Thompson=top challenger
Sultan=Unbeaten+unification fight
Brewster=Avenging a defeat, former champion
Brock=Undefeated top challenger

Austin was not that great, but he had earned a shot at the IBF belt that Wlad held.

Who would you have preferred to see him fight? Chagaev is injured. Valuev was already busy, fighting for the vacant belt. Wlad already beat Sam Peter. So who should he be fighting?

I'll explain it one more time. I have no problem with the fighters he has fought as most served a purpose (mandatory, avenging a loss, etc...). BUT, he is the the recognised HW champ and as such he NOW needs to fight the best. The only one of Wlad's last 5 opponents that is a legitimate top 10 HW is Sultan. So NOW that he has gotten those fights out of the way I would like to see him step up his competition. I guess you would like to see him fight Holyfield next.

[abadger]

I've had this debate a million times so I will only post once on it.

Siaca - not even close to a top level fighter. Pretty much all of the reputation he does have is based on beating an injured Anthony Mundine.

Mundine - kessler's best name on his resume, which speaks for itself in a way. Not a bad win though.

Beyer - I don't care what anyone says this guy was a certified bum who only fought kessler for the money. He was beaten fair and square by the average fighter that is Danny Green prior to this fight. He is a poor man's Sven Ottke.

Calzaghe - yeah, fair opposition. But he went and lost.

Andrade - this guy is tough sure but he presents no real threat and isn't even close to a top guy. durable fighter yes but not an impressive name to have on your resume IMO.

Sartison - has beaten nobody to suggest he is anything but another protected European fighter.

So basically, with the exception of Calzaghe I don't think Mikkel's recent competition has been at the level that it should be given his immense talent. If he doesn't step it up in the next 24 months he will end up 35, looking back at his career and thinking "**** did I waste my prime". He has all the potential in the world but he isn't going to realise it fighting Sartison and haussler or whatever the **** that nobody's name is.

To be fair though, who would you have had him fight? Your assessment of this as anything other than a good resume is based on the faulty presumption that any boxer has a lengthy list of 'greats' to fight. Kessler's resume up t Calzaghe is great for the stage of his career he was at, he followed the belts, defended them against the better contenders and then sought unification with not only the best in the division, but a P4P boxer! What else can you do?

I do agree though that right now he needs a step up. Getting the WBA belt and defending it once is fair enough, but as you say, Kessler appears to have the potential to be a true 'elite' and it will be a shame if he doesn't make a major fight. Remember though, he's called out Pavlik, called out Joe for a rematch and no-one wants to know. To get a big fight someone first has to agree to fight him!

[Dan...]

I'll explain it one more time. I have no problem with the fighters he has fought as most served a purpose (mandatory, avenging a loss, etc...). BUT, he is the the recognised HW champ and as such he NOW needs to fight the best. The only one of Wlad's last 5 opponents that is a legitimate top 10 HW is Sultan. So NOW that he has gotten those fights out of the way I would like to see him step up his competition. I guess you would like to see him fight Holyfield next.

Who should he be fighting? Who are all the top heavies lining up for a shot against him?

[Clegg]

I'll explain it one more time. I have no problem with the fighters he has fought as most served a purpose (mandatory, avenging a loss, etc...). BUT, he is the the recognised HW champ and as such he NOW needs to fight the best. The only one of Wlad's last 5 opponents that is a legitimate top 10 HW is Sultan. So NOW that he has gotten those fights out of the way I would like to see him step up his competition. I guess you would like to see him fight Holyfield next.

No, Sultan wasn't the only top 10 guy, but I'll explain it to you for the third time:

Who would you have him fight instead?

[Dan...]

To be fair though, who would you have had him fight? Your assessment of this as anything other than a good resume is based on the faulty presumption that any boxer has a lengthy list of 'greats' to fight. Kessler's resume up t Calzaghe is great for the stage of his career he was at, he followed the belts, defended them against the better contenders and then sought unification with not only the best in the division, but a P4P boxer! What else can you do?

I do agree though that right now he needs a step up. Getting the WBA belt and defending it once is fair enough, but as you say, Kessler appears to have the potential to be a true 'elite' and it will be a shame if he doesn't make a major fight. Remember though, he's called out Pavlik, called out Joe for a rematch and no-one wants to know. To get a big fight someone first has to agree to fight him!

This is what the topic is on badger, so you effectively agree with me.

I'm not looking to allocate blame to Kessler, his management, pavlik or anyone else. All I am saying is that if he doesn't get going and get in there against top guys soon he is going to have wasted himself. Also, I will defend my point that his resume to this point is very average - Siaca, Andrade, Beyer, Sartison, these are overrated names in my view. He has the ability to be the top guy in the world at SMW and LHW and fighting guys like Sartison and Haussler ain't gonna get him there. That is the bottom line.

[Jimmy Dean]

Who should he be fighting? Who are all the top heavies lining up for a shot against him?

No, Sultan wasn't the only top 10 guy, but I'll explain it to you for the third time:

Who would you have him fight instead?

I can think of one that has been calling him out who is a bigger threat than any of those 5. And when Peter gets by Vitali than thats a fight that needs to be made.

[Jimmy Dean]

No, Sultan wasn't the only top 10 guy, but I'll explain it to you for the third time:

Who would you have him fight instead?

Who else is a legit top 10 guy?

[Clegg]

I can think of one that has been calling him out who is a bigger threat than any of those 5. And when Peter gets by Vitali than thats a fight that needs to be made.

Well Wlad has already beaten him, so I find it a bit silly to say that he needs to step it up by fighting someone who he has already beat, especially as, IMO, Wlad has improved more since then than Peter has.

Who else is a legit top 10 guy?

Well as you say, Sultan was.
At the time of the fight, Brewster was.
Calvin Brock wasn't just top 10, he was actually rated above Wlad.
Tony Thompson was also rated top 10 at the time of the fight.

[abadger]

This is what the topic is on badger, so you effectively agree with me.

I'm not looking to allocate blame to Kessler, his management, pavlik or anyone else. All I am saying is that if he doesn't get going and get in there against top guys soon he is going to have wasted himself. Also, I will defend my point that his resume to this point is very average - Siaca, Andrade, Beyer, Sartison, these are overrated names in my view. He has the ability to be the top guy in the world at SMW and LHW and fighting guys like Sartison and Haussler ain't gonna get him there. That is the bottom line.

Lets have an argument, even though we mostly agree! To say Kessler's resume is very average is ludicrous IMO. Starting in his mid-twenties, Kessler literally went through all the best guys in his division with ease, capturing two belts along the way. Now, none of these guys are the best of the best by any stretch, but every division in boxing is packed with guys like this, and what distinguishes guys like them from guys like Kessler is his ability to whomp all of them without any difficulty. Someone like Mundine, who is a good boxer could not have done it, Kessler proved himself a cut above and built up what could only be described as a very good resume.

[Jimmy Dean]

Well Wlad has already beaten him, so I find it a bit silly to say that he needs to step it up by fighting someone who he has already beat, especially as, IMO, Wlad has improved more since then than Peter has.

You think it's silly to say that Wlad should fight the #2 ranked HW in the world?

Well as you say, Sultan was.
At the time of the fight, Brewster was.
Calvin Brock wasn't just top 10, he was actually rated above Wlad.
Tony Thompson was also rated top 10 at the time of the fight.

and you think these guys are all top 10 fighters?