Kessler Vs. Ward: Thoughts?

[Dynamite Kid]

Kessler knows that Ward likes to hold and clinch. It's not a secret. He has to have a plan to counter that.

Hey BattlingNelson do you see a Mundine vs Kessler type of fight with Ward fighting near the ropes and using angles to confuse Kessler, with Kessler being the aggressor?

[Clegg]

Tough fight to call. Not sure how their styles will match up.

I think Ward is very good, and I like the way he fights.

I'm leaning towards Kessler by close decision, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Ward pull it off.

[BattlingNelson]

Hey BattlingNelson do you see a Mundine vs Kessler type of fight with Ward fighting near the ropes and using angles to confuse Kessler, with Kessler being the aggressor?

Mundine is the fight that compares best to this. Kessler was injured in that fight (back) though.

I expect Ward to move a lot and using the first couple rounds to find out which stance gives him the better success. Ward is not the kind of fighter who will impose his style on the other guy. He'd rather adapt which is what he can do because he is so versatile.

On the other hand we all know that Kessler will come out with that piston left jab. If it finds the target from the get go I cannot see Ward lasting the half way mark.

[Dynamite Kid]

Mundine is the fight that compares best to this. Kessler was injured in that fight (back) though.

I expect Ward to move a lot and using the first couple rounds to find out which stance gives him the better success. Ward is not the kind of fighter who will impose his style on the other guy. He'd rather adapt which is what he can do because he is so versatile.

On the other hand we all know that Kessler will come out with that piston left jab. If it finds the target from the get go I cannot see Ward lasting the half way mark.

Agree. I did not score that fight but Kessler seemed pretty relieved at the end when he got the decision, that said i thought he had won it clearly, albeit it was an uncomfortable fight for him.

Ward is not the kind of fighter who will impose his style on the other guy. He'd rather adapt which is what he can do because he is so versatile.

Good point. I see him using angles to beat Kessler and look to avoid the bullet rather than stare down the barrel of the gun.

One thing i would be concentrating on if i were in the Kessler camp would be, cutting the ring down and not!! coming in straight on the line. Kessler has a habit of coming in on the line imo, rarely stepping off the line and cutting the ring down, he needs to do this to be effective against Ward imo.

[BattlingNelson]

Agree. I did not score that fight but Kessler seemed pretty relieved at the end when he got the decision, that said i thought he had won it clearly, albeit it was an uncomfortable fight for him.

Ward is not the kind of fighter who will impose his style on the other guy. He'd rather adapt which is what he can do because he is so versatile.

Good point. I see him using angles to beat Kessler and look to avoid the bullet rather than stare down the barrel of the gun.

One thing i would be concentrating on if i were in the Kessler camp would be, cutting the ring down and not!! coming in straight on the line. Kessler has a habit of coming in on the line imo, rarely stepping off the line and cutting the ring down, he needs to do this to be effective against Ward imo.

Personally I think that's an all-to-common misconception, possibly because of the fluidity of Kessler's movement. All you need to do is re-watch the Andrade fight where you'll see that it's Kessler's footwork that allows him to tee-off on Andrade. He always gave Andrade angles where Andrade couldn't land and Kessler could.

[Dynamite Kid]

Personally I think that's an all-to-common misconception, possibly because of the fluidity of Kessler's movement. All you need to do is re-watch the Andrade fight where you'll see that it's Kessler's footwork that allows him to tee-off on Andrade. He always gave Andrade angles where Andrade couldn't land and Kessler could.

I believe the reason for this is that Kessler is better when being backed up than he is going foward.

[Shadows]

Everyone else has pretty said what I was going to say, but I think this fight has two very key points, which are how will Kessler adapt to Ward's clinching and willingness to fight on the inside. Kesssler has never looked comfortable when dealing with either. The other is who wil be able to adapt the quickest and have the better plan B. Ward has shown the ability to adapt, but agasint lesser opponents, while one of the big knocks on Kessler is that he tends to fight one way.

[BattlingNelson]

Everyone else has pretty said what I was going to say, but I think this fight has two very key points, which are how will Kessler adapt to Ward's clinching and willingness to fight on the inside. Kesssler has never looked comfortable when dealing with either. The other is who wil be able to adapt the quickest and have the better plan B. Ward has shown the ability to adapt, but agasint lesser opponents, while one of the big knocks on Kessler is that he tends to fight one way.

Kessler adjusted excellently to Perdomo's unusual tactics. Perdomo had never started out wailing away and Kessler was unprepared for that. He then decided to move in half a step closer and 3 min. later the fight was over.

[street bully]

I think Ward takes it in a close one.

[Dynamite Kid]

Everyone else has pretty said what I was going to say, but I think this fight has two very key points, which are how will Kessler adapt to Ward's clinching and willingness to fight on the inside. Kesssler has never looked comfortable when dealing with either. The other is who wil be able to adapt the quickest and have the better plan B. Ward has shown the ability to adapt, but agasint lesser opponents, while one of the big knocks on Kessler is that he tends to fight one way.

Hey Shadows the more i think about it the more im starting to favour Ward. The only reason i had/have reservations about him winning is the fact that Kessler is a pretty good puncher and Ward has tasted the canvas against lesser fighters, that said if he does not get knocked out i think he will!! win.

Kessler v Mundine is a blue print for Ward and i think Ward is a better than Mundine. I fully expect his (Ward's) performance to be 20% better than his last performance, but my biggest concern for Kessler is that he attacks in straight lines and Ward uses angles to offset his opponent, Mundine gave Kessler a head ache with those type of angles and Ward is better than Mundine imo.

Kessler would be better served applying lots and lots of pressure and pressing that gap from round 1 onwards imo, but i have a feeling he wont do that, imo he will end up behind on the cards if he does not press the gap and leaves Ward time and space to set up his attacks and think about where to move after he has got his combination's off, then i see him applying loads of pressure late in the fight because he may have fallen behind, Kessler needs to start quick imo.

Kessler should be looking to take Ward out for me.