Kessler vs Ward rematch on neutral ground who wins?

[revs1227]

ummm kessler wins by DQ duh

[damned1974]

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.

I haven't watched many fights where I have seen no holding-whether the fighters do it because they are stunned,tired,or using tactics is irrelevant-it is the same.
I think with a different ref,there still would have been some holding,but the holding in this fight stopped as soon as the ref called it.
As for a rematch-I believe Ward could have equal success- perhaps more.Im sure Mikkel's style will never change- he got to the top with his style,he cannot adapt at this stage,that is why Ward will win 10/10 times to these style of fighters-no matter what caliber they are.

[FeFist]

Ward would still school Kessler. People are clutching too tightly to the ''He clinched a lot'', he fought like a veteran of the sport in that regard.

[damned1974]

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.

Nobody likes fouls,and if you believe they were intentional,so be it,but I just wonder why someone who was already winning by a large margin purely based on skill and was still very fresh in the fight and even hurt Kessler a few times-I wonder why it would be intentional headbutts-ask yourself why would anyone logically sabotage the biggest fight of their career and a belt on the line (as well as an undefeated streak) to do this when they were utilizing all the skills and being effective.
Like I said,I have seen enough southpaw stances and orthodox stances to realize when they meet in the ring,they are prone to head clashes.I urge anyone to point out anywhere else in his career where Ward can be called a "dirty" fight-chances are only pettiness could be called.

[Syf]

Pretty much 3-4th round onward, this cat would throw a combination and charge in head first for the clinch. He had to have known his head was gonna hit something eventually.

Its like when an old geezer backs out of his driveway with his Caprice onto a busy road. He don't give a fuck whats there, he just comin, and you better move out his way.

A few point deductions would have slowed down this tactic... And then it would have been more of a ranged battle... Which Ward could have won anyway with his speed and movement.

Unless Kessler caught him with a big shot, that is.

[jai mari078]

Kessler gets beat regardless, the headbutts had nothing to do with him losing, he would have lost either way. He was getting outboxed and outclassed, and made excuses after the fight. Every judge had him losing and only one was american, so it doesn't matter where they fought because the fight wasn't even close.

[Walt Liquor]

ward, easily.

[damned1974]

Pretty much 3-4th round onward, this cat would throw a combination and charge in head first for the clinch. He had to have known his head was gonna hit something eventually.

Its like when an old geezer backs out of his driveway with his Caprice onto a busy road. He don't give a fuck whats there, he just comin, and you better move out his way.

A few point deductions would have slowed down this tactic... And then it would have been more of a ranged battle... Which Ward could have won anyway with his speed and movement.

Unless Kessler caught him with a big shot, that is.

This opinion goes both ways,but if a fighter is charging you-do you just stand there,or move? Do you act as a matador,or a victim? I think it is reasonable to say if Mikkel employed a decent jab (he does have one),and used movement-he could have used these "charges" to his advantage.
Anyways,name a decent boxer that stays in front of anything charging-most would move and at least attempt to counter.The problem with your debate is that there are too many "ifs" and "buts".Nobody has a crystal ball,but it is fair to say that a fighter that gets beat by one style (such as Ward's) and doesn't adapt,will probably suffer a similar result.BTW-when was the last time we seen a Mikkel Kessler that was an adaptable boxer? Ive watched many of his fights and he doesn't adapt or change strategy dramatically enough to change an outcome such as this.....

[BattlingNelson]

Am I crazy for thinking without the headbutts, holding and dirty tactics that kessler could beat Ward?

Like if they were to have a rematch on a neutral grounds im not completely convinced that ward could do the same thing again.

thoughts/.

What makes you think neutral ground would change the outcome? It wasn't like Kessler looked to have found any answer at all to what Ward was presenting. I'm pretty sure Ward would have won saturday even in Denmark and without the dirty tactics.

[oaklandstephen]

olympic gold medal amature version of ward beat prime undefeated version of kessler.