KESSLER DUCKS MIRANDA?

HOLLYWOOD, FL, March 6 - It could have been the biggest super middleweight fight of 2008, a pitched battle between a former world champion and perhaps the most exciting warrior in the game today. But despite offers to hold the bout in a neutral location and significant offers from both HBO and Showtime for the television rights to the bout, Mikkel Kessler seems to have decided to tuck his tail between his legs and walk away from a lucrative showdown with the feared ‘Pantera’, Edison Miranda.
“Viking Warrior?†asked Miranda, referring to the former super middleweight champion’s nickname. “Kessler should turn his horned helmet in after disgracing such a tribe of true fighters. He talks like a fighter, has tattoos like he’s a tough guy, but when it comes down to being a real fighter, he’s not even worthy of carrying my gloves.â€


http://fightbeat.com/news_details.php?NW=21276

 

With both HBO and Showtime interested in the fight and a neutral site being offered, I don't see why on earth Kessler wouldn't take the fight.

Looks like he just doesn't want to fight Miranda.

 

maybe he's afraid of gettingkg KTFO. or, maybe he's in negotiations with Pavlik, or the winner of White Sloppy/Black Sloopy.

 

please

 

please what. 1st of all, it's one side of the story and it's not the first guy Miranda's accused of ducking him in highly vocal fashion. what i don't get is, Miranda seems like an easy fight for Kessler - he'd probably beat him cleaner than Pavlik did.

oh, btw, anyone else fuind it interesting that Pavlik said the Miranda fight was a harder fight for him than the Taylor fight? I'm telling you, the only way to beat Pavlik is to fight him inside. And Taylor just cab';t fight inside for shit.

 

This is a CRUCIAL Stage of Kessler's Career...Many N the Boxing Business just ASSume he's Gonna Take Over the Supermiddle Division w/Calzaghe Leaving...

But REED is of the Opinion that the Division is WIDEfuckingOPEN...

A Win Over Miranda would ESTABLISH Kessler as the LEADER of the Supermiddle Pack...But NEGLECTING to Fight Miranda will Pretty Much SHIT on ANY Goodwill Kessler had Built Up, Prior to Facing Calzaghe...

Who Knows, Maybe he LOST his Heart the Night Calzaghe Beat him???....


REED:dunno:

 

I for one would be surprised if Mikkel has chosen not to fight Miranda. I'd expect him to win handily, because for all that Miranda hits hard and whatnot, he's limited in truth and Kessler should be able to simply box his head off...

I disagree, however, that Kessler needs to beat Miranda to emerge as 'leader of the supermiddle-weight pack'. He already is that. He cleaned out everyone accused Joe of ducking prior to losing to Calz (Beyer, Andrade, Mundine etc). His stock needs to fall much further, IMO, for his status as the premier SMW in Joe's apparent absence to be in serious repute.

Kessler fought everyone there was to fight, including Joe in Wales. There has been question of him ducking anyone to date, has there? :dunno:

It's quite possible that he's lost a little bit of confidence after losing to Joe. It's always hard for a fighter to come straight back after losing for the first time, and his camp may think that it's a bit early for him to go straight back in with a live threat. A confidence boosting tune up before Miranda may be the thinking in the Kessler camp...

It will be interesting to see where Mikkel goes from here, certainly. His next two/three fights will show whether he was all many (me included) think he is, or whether or not he just wasn't all that...

MTF

 

The Thing is, there's a NEW Crop of Talent @ 168...Beyer & Andrade Never Did Much for REED & Mundine has Always Been HIT or MISS...

w/Guys like Miranda, Allan Green, Jean Pascal & Jermain Taylor Now N the Mix, REED Isn't SURE that Kessler's THE Guy...He's LIMITED, but even Jeff Lacy is Still a PLAYER N the Division...Andre Ward is Floating N & Out of the Division & Steadily INCREASING his Level of Comp...

Basically, Kessler's Starting from Square ONE N REED's Opinion...Calzaghe will Likely VACATE Pretty Soon, Leaving a Shitload of Belts Out there to B Gobbled Up...


REED

 

::

 

I think Kessler would destroy Miranda and should take the fight.

 

:dunno: :dunno:

He's Still a NAME & a Fairly Significant MONEY Fight for just about Anybody @ 168...


REED

 

not if HOpkins beats Sloppy and then Kessler beats Hopkins. don't forget - styles make fights. Hopkins throws 20 punhes a round at the most.

 

Disagree a bit with the rest of the post, but I like this bit, I like the way it sounds I do.

 

solid fundamentals, in the absence of RJJesque speed, and length, is what it takes to beat Hopkins.

Kessler probably has his fingers crossed that B-hop prevails.

 

You really think Hopkins would fight Kessler if he won? Not a chance.

 

.....

This is a Warriors press release, lets see if there's any response.

 

What INCENTIVE is there for Bernard to Face Kessler???:dunno:

Kessler's Now BeltLESS & he's "Known" for LOSING to Calzaghe...


REED

 

A win over Bute would do it, not Miranda.

 

I think Miranda is a perfect choice coming off his loss to Calazaghe. Kessler should win and Miranda is known here in the US. Good exposure and a winnable fight.

 

What happened to Miranda v Roy Jones of Canada?

 

Roy Jones of Canada?

 

Miranda's a name, but if we're talking about Kessler clearly establishing himself as the "leader" of the new division, I don't think Miranda's scalp would mean as much.

A fight with Jermain Taylor would mean more exposure than Miranda, and Bute would go farther in terms of proving himself as the best in the division.

Kessler's top 5 in three organizations that Calzaghe has belts...so if he relinquishes he would have options.

 

dsimon writes:

I would like to hear Kessler's side of the story frankly. I mean one could just assume Kessler does not like to fight black people, but that would be a stretch.::

seriously I could see a couple of reasons for Kessler's decision. He may feel like Miranda is not important and that if he fought Miranda he would be associated with the loser's club ( Pavlik and Calzighes left overs). He may feel like it is a dangerous fight with no rewards. Miranda is a solid second teire guy in many people's minds but he can crack. He may want a rematch with a champion, like the winner of the hops Calzighe fight.... depending on how he feels about his loss to Joe. If I were him I would feel like a dumbass who got mindfucked out of my title frankly.

Finally he might have gotten beat up worse than people think. The guy projects a certain fragility that modern scandinavians harber.... I mean most people in this country, unless they grew up in a remote area have gotten at one point or another a nice ass whippin. But in a lot of places even fighters have not gotten a first class ass whuppin.... and Kessler looks like he is sensative, so maybe he will take the slow road for a while.

 

Miranda's lower than him in 3 of 4 rankings...so what exactly does Kessler get out of a Miranda fight other than being on HBO?

It's hard to imagine HBO or Showtime would only be interested in Kessler if he fights Miranda...especially when Showtime's going to televise Froch-Inkin.

Miranada's a fighter whose lost two middleweight title fights...so I'm not sure how much beating him at 168 proves.

 

One middleweight title fight. But he has lost to two of the titlists.

Even still, Miranda and his camp obviously overrate where their boy is at. While he's been fighting on ESPN in front of 10 maybe 15 people this last year, all Kessler done is fight in front of sold out crowds in Europe and rake in zillions in PPV revenue.

 

miranda said he was no longer interested in that fight right after knocking out banks.

i'm surprised miranda hasn't called out taylor.

 

Yeah, forgot about the Pavlik fight being an eliminator.

 

I have an idea, Kessler will bother with them, when they beat a top 20 supermiddleweight. Okay nobody should say I´m exaggerating Lacy fought one or two. ::

 

I think he means Bute??

 

I think it's a combo of that and he may feel Miranda is too much of a risk for his very first fight back since losing to Calzaghe!!

Joe fucks people up more than many even realize:nono: