B.J. Saunders vs. the Jazzerciser Calzaghe @ SMW

Who knows. Fact is that Froch clearly beat him in the rematch in England. And I don't buy the argument that Kessler was past it. He looked as good as ever in his fight before

 

Its thumbs the scales by a few ounces....its a psychological edge. Hence more home wins than away in football.

 

He had just come off KOing Taylor in the States.

 

If Kessler did in fact have that edge, then it proves Kess/Froch were on a comparable level, which they were, and which is my point.

"Home advantage" matters less in boxing than it does in team sports. You can't at all compare it to football, it's totally different.

If Fighter A is appreciably better than Fighter B, then fighting in Fighter B's hometown ain't gonna change the outcome.

If fighter A & B are on a comparable level, then yeah, location may matter.

 

Kessler was a world champion when Froch was still domestic level. He clearly peaked at an earlier stage than Froch did, and yes, he was past it in 2012.

That's not a revisionist statement either. No one, including me, picked Kessler in the rematch.

Personally, I think 2006 Kessler would beat any version of Froch H2H.

 

Again, there's nothing to suggest Kessler was past it. And Froch took a lot more punches through his career and fought much harder opposition, so a good argument can be made that he was more udes up than Kessler

 

You can't say that fighters are at comparable level just based on the result of their fights (styles makes fights and everything). You have to factor their respective performances against common opposition and the overall quality of their respective resume. And on both of these criteria, Froch blow Kessler out of the water.

 

Froch FOUGHT a much higher level of opposition than Kessler, this is very true.

In terms of quality, there is simply not a big gap between them. Don't put Froch on this pedestal of greatness.

Sure, I guess Froch did a bit better against Ward, but Ward ultimately kicked both their asses.

I don't think Carl would have fared any better against Calz.

Is there a fighter Froch beat that you would pick over Kessler? I can't think of any.

Kessler would be favored over Pascal, Bute, AA, Taylor, and Groves.

 

We're getting off track though.

BJS has absolutely nothing for Calzaghe. The gap is enormous.

 

I'm really not sure he beats Pascal. I could see Pascal athleticism and bullrushes working wonders against Kessler fencing Euro style. Taylor is a tough one, cause he was so inconstant in his performances, but I guess I would lean toward Kessler. Groves is another dark horse, cause he has tools to trouble Kessler, but also a lot of weaknesses that Kessler could take advantage of. Bute give him a better fight than he did to Froch, but he lose rather clearly. Kessler beats AA handily.

But again, we''re in shoulda coulda territory. Froch proving that he could beat these guys is worth a million more than us thinking Kessler could beat them

 

I can entertain most of your post, except for the Groves being a dark horse part.

You know damn well that Kess would knock Groves senseless.

 

yeah, Kessler probably ko him, but as i said, I could see Groves troubling him with his speed and athleticism.