Kessler vs Ward rematch on neutral ground who wins?

[Ravishing]

Ward's got too much speed for Kessler. Ward was much more active than i thought he would. I picked him to win, but not a landslide like how it ended up.

Big, Big win for Ward. I'm happy for the dude.

[Syf]

Also,I'm not sure if you noticed,but Ward looked fresh in the championship rounds.It was looking very possible that Ward could have stopped him-he couldn't stop blocking Ward's punches with his face!
I'm not sure how much you follow the sport,but all throughout history there have been the "big punchers" who had the same "puncher's chance",that have been put away by less powerful,yet higher skilled fighters.You cannot hurt what you cannot hit....

I see what you are saying about that, and I have seen it before. But to deny Kessler would have a better chance with a different ref that didn't allow all the fouling doesn't make logical sense to me.

also, Kessler was practically blind from cuts caused by headbutts in the championship rounds.

Of course Ward would be fresh, facing a stumbling, blind fighter..

[damned1974]

WTF are you talking to?

I am not a Kessler fan, particularly.

But yes, he would have a better chance on neutral or Danish ground. That's a given.

the holding and headbutting ect, got Kessler out of his rhythm.. He never really got into a rhythm in that fight...

The headbutts were unintentional,and as for throwing him off his rhythm-Ward's speed,lateral movement,punches, and evasiveness played a part as well,wouldn't you say?
In case you didn't notice,the ref would break BOTH fighters off each other.
There is a valid arguement that can be made that if Kessler didn't hang on,he could have been hurt much worst.
The fight could have happened in heaven,hell,europe,asia, africa,etc-the outcome would have been the same.Styles make fights....

[LEFTYGUNZZ]

The headbutts were unintentional,and as for throwing him off his rhythm-Ward's speed,lateral movement,punches, and evasiveness played a part as well,wouldn't you say?
In case you didn't notice,the ref would break BOTH fighters off each other.
There is a valid arguement that can be made that if Kessler didn't hang on,he could have been hurt much worst.
The fight could have happened in heaven,hell,europe,asia, africa,etc-the outcome would have been the same.Styles make fights....

I agree styles make fights and Kessler was not allowed to fight his style at all. Ward had alot to do with it and I agree if Ward fought the same fight with out the head butting and hitting on the break excessive holding etc etc etc he would still give Kessler alot fo trouble. I also think Kessler would have not been cut if not for the clash of heads and would have been less tentative to fight on the inside if he were not having the top of Wards head in his eye, mouth and cheek bone ****ing around like a pin ball. If the yfought again and Ward gave him the same movement minus the holding and hitting and all the dirty tatics I think it would be a much more competitive and exciting fight....Lefty

[Syf]

The headbutts were unintentional,and as for throwing him off his rhythm-Ward's speed,lateral movement,punches, and evasiveness played a part as well,wouldn't you say?
In case you didn't notice,the ref would break BOTH fighters off each other.
There is a valid arguement that can be made that if Kessler didn't hang on,he could have been hurt much worst.
The fight could have happened in heaven,hell,europe,asia, africa,etc-the outcome would have been the same.Styles make fights....

Just as often as he did that, he allowed holding and hitting when Kessler expected him to break them.

A couple times, Kessler was even stunned/caught off guard because of this.

A different ref would have made a difference.

If you think this fight would have gone down the exact same way in freakin Denmark..then you are crazy.

[Equinox]

The Kessler of today is NOT the Kessler of 2006/2007.

The layoff affected him, or the loss.

But the Kessler that fought Andrade beats Ward on neutral ground

wtf are you smoking.

[damned1974]

I see what you are saying about that, and I have seen it before. But to deny Kessler would have a better chance with a different ref that didn't allow all the fouling doesn't make logical sense to me.

also, Kessler was practically blind from cuts caused by headbutts in the championship rounds.

Of course Ward would be fresh, facing a stumbling, blind fighter..

Well,when you refer to fouling,I assume you mean holding. Keep in mind-both fighters held on and the ref broke both of them up-it was fair.To Ward's credit there was a few cuts that were cause by punches as well.In Kessler's corner when the ref wanted to stop the fight in round 10 ( I believe),Mikkel's corner said the right cut was not even bleeding.
The only way Kessler would have done better is if he was able to utilize his jab.It would have avoided these head-clashes as well.It's a rough sport and sometimes when you have opposite styles/ stances,it happens-its rather common under these circumstances.
As much suffering that "Martyr Mikkel" was under,do you think that his corner should have stopped the fight since he couldn't see and was in pain? An arguement can be made that Ward should have gotten 3 points instead of 2, but the ref was fair and was assertive in how he called off the fight-he could have been biased,as you believe, and ruled it a stoppage-in which case Ward would have recieved 3 points in this tournament as opposed to 2....

[larry x]

how does a location change the fact you got your ass kicked??

[LEFTYGUNZZ]

how does a location change the fact you got your ass kicked??

Home field advantage Larry come on. Ward kicked Kessler's arse but the home cooking taste much better bro in oakland for Ward than it would have in Denmark. All that holding and hitting head butts hitting on the break he would have gotten warned and possibly had points taken away from him in Denmark and maybe even in Vegas. He fought dirty bro he won no doubt but he fought dirty cause he was allowed too. Anyone with two eyes could see that....Lefty

[Syf]

Well,when you refer to fouling,I assume you mean holding. Keep in mind-both fighters held on and the ref broke both of them up-it was fair.To Ward's credit there was a few cuts that were cause by punches as well.In Kessler's corner when the ref wanted to stop the fight in round 10 ( I believe),Mikkel's corner said the right cut was not even bleeding.
The only way Kessler would have done better is if he was able to utilize his jab.It would have avoided these head-clashes as well.It's a rough sport and sometimes when you have opposite styles/ stances,it happens-its rather common under these circumstances.
As much suffering that "Martyr Mikkel" was under,do you think that his corner should have stopped the fight since he couldn't see and was in pain? An arguement can be made that Ward should have gotten 3 points instead of 2, but the ref was fair and was assertive in how he called off the fight-he could have been biased,as you believe, and ruled it a stoppage-in which case Ward would have recieved 3 points in this tournament as opposed to 2....

The major cuts...if not all the cuts... were from headbutts. They were saying the cuts weren't bleeding because they didn't want the fight to be stopped. Corners downplay the wounds of their fighters all the time in that way to the doctor.

Ref Rip Van Winkle himself admitted to 5 accidental headbutts. So there were more, quite possibly, and most probably, not accidental. The fast, frenetic pace of Ward on the inside made it difficult to catch some of his sneaky fouls...but I saw them well enough.

If the ref had ruled it a stoppage it would have been ridiculous on this forum and elsewhere, the replies. Far worse than they are now.

Ruling it to the scorecards gave the fight more legitimacy imo. I mean, it wasn't exactly a robbery. I never said that. Ward with his movement and speed, is always a favorite over Kessler in my mind. But I don't approve of the fouls. Whether from Froch, Ward, or whoever.

And minus the fouls, Kessler has more of a chance, albeit still being the underdog.