Calzaghe Agrees To Terms For Kessler Fight

[2-0-Sixx]

I was getting worried this fight would never happen. Since Calzaghe will face Kessler, this should mean Jermain Taylor will fight Pavlik, unless he is a complete douchebag

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Promoter Frank Warren was on BBC Radio Five Live and revealed that a bout between WBO super middleweight champ Joe Calzaghe and his WBC/WBA counterpart Mikkel Kessler is close to a done deal. Calzaghe will travel to Kessler's backyard of Denmark to make the fight happen, likely in September.

"[Kessler's promoter] Mogens Palle has made an offer for Joe to fight Kessler in Denmark in September. We've accepted and are awaiting a contract," Warren told BBC Radio Five Live. "It's not a done deal until it's signed but we've accepted. It's now up to Palle to send a contract."

Warren says that Palle's offer is the bigger than any of Calzaghe's previous fight purses, and they are not concerned with fighting Kessler in his country.

"Joe doesn't mind fighting in Denmark. He feels he will beat Kessler anywhere and I believe that's the case as well. It's a great fight. It's the two best super middleweights in the world. It's probably one of the most competitive fights at the moment in boxing," Warren said. "I just hope that Palle backs up his offer [and] it's not all nonsense. He's been talking a lot about fighting Joe with Kessler and we've called his bluff. I don't believe he ever thought that Joe would go to Denmark."

Does this mean that middleweight champion Jermain Taylor will step up and fight mandatory challenger Kelly Pavlik?

 

[MOREBASS]

^ Wow, props to Joe for taking that fight in Denmark. I'd like to see the winner of this take on the winner of the B-Hop & Winky fight, and it would be perfect timing too...maybe a fight in May or June of 2008.

Should be a good fight, but I wonder how well it will do in the US, as far as PPV, because neither one of these guys is really known in the US to anyone besides hardcore boxing fans.

Also, I think that Pavlik has all the tools to beat Taylor. But at the same time, Pavlik hasn't really faced anyone that didn't just stand in front of him, like Pantera did. Taylor is going to actually box him and get at him through angles, and I'd like to see how he handles that.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

^^I agree about Taylor/Pavlik...I'm not sure how Pavlik would handle his style, however I do think Pavlik would force Taylor to actually fight for once, which makes me wonder the same about Taylor (how would he handle Pavlik's style?).

 

[MOREBASS]

^ Thats true, Taylor hasn't really faced anyone that really brought the fight to him, his last few fights have all been against defensive minded fighters, Winky, Spinks ( if you could even call that a fight ), B-Hop...

I wonder if Manny will be in Taylor's corner for this one...?

 

[2-0-Sixx]

http://sporten.tv2.dk/article.php/id-7106115.html

trans:
"Kessler fights without parades/defense, and I see nothing in him which worries me. I think that a fight with Kessler will be one off my easiest fights ever, and I hope that we can get it going.
He is a mediocre fighter. He is not particulary strong or techniqually good, and I am sure that I will KO him early in the fight. 2 - 3 rounds max!
I am going to destroy him, and I am ready to fight him in Copenhagen"

 

[4fifteenRolla]

I'm happy about the Euro-fight. I doubt JT wants to fight any real contender. I think Pavlik and everyone else should bypass and isolate taylor and make him fight them on their terms... only in a dream world

 

[2-0-Sixx]

^^Taylor made it clear that he was only interested in fighting the person that would bring the most money to the table and that person was Calzaghe. Since Calzaghe will be fighting Kessler now, Taylor must look elsewhere and Pavlik is probably the person next in line.

 

[4fifteenRolla]

^^Taylor made it clear that he was only interested in fighting the person that would bring the most money to the table and that person was Calzaghe. Since Calzaghe will be fighting Kessler now, Taylor must look elsewhere and Pavlik is probably the person next in line.

unless he acts like a bitch n tries to hold out 4 the winner of B Hop n winky

 

[ParkBoyz]

I've never seen Kessler fight unfortunately, does he stand a good chance?

 

[MOREBASS]

Kessler backs straight up a lot, so he tends to get hit a lot. Plus, he carries his hands real low. Not a lot of head movement, another reason why he gets tagged a lot. He's got some pop tho.

I'd take Joe if he can overcome the home field advantage.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

So apparently everything is settled now. The fight will happen on November 3rd at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales (UK).

 

[MOREBASS]

Oh shit...in Wales ?


I thought Joe C was clearly the better fighter, but now its in his backyard ? Damn.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Hopefully the fag that reffed the Manfredo/Calzaghe fight will not be the ref for this one. I do not want to see another premature stoppage

 

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Taylor said he will be fighting Pavlik, and then he will move up to Super Middle regardless..right after that fight.

 

[Anaheim*Rob]

I'm glad to see this fight is going down, it's just too bad it's in the UK. Am I the only one that hates watching boxing matches when they take place over in the UK? Maybe it's the bad memories I get when I see that crooked piece of shit Mickey Vann(ref) getting all the big fights over there in England. Not to mention it'll probably be on at 2 in the afternoon(PST).

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Calzage - Kessler --- expected 70,000 in attendance, $14m in gate receipts!

::
::

Joe Calzaghe is braced for the greatest challenge of his career when he meets Mikkel Kessler in a superfight promoter Frank Warren has billed as the biggest in the world.

Seventy thousand tickets have been made available for the showdown at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on November 3 with the gate receipts alone expected to generate £7million (~$14million).

Calzaghe will put his WBO belt on the line while Kessler's WBC and WBA titles are at stake as the unbeaten super-middleweight rivals clash to determine who rules the division.

High-profile Americans Jermain Taylor and Bernard Hopkins had been mooted as possible opponents but Calzaghe insists heavily-tattooed Dane Kessler is the most dangerous adversary.

And while bookmakers have made Calzaghe 1/2 favourite - the 35-year-old Welshman is fighting on home soil - he knows he will have to reproduce his brilliant display against Jeff Lacy if he is to triumph.

"On paper Mikkel is excellent. His record is 39-0 and he has two world titles. It's the biggest and only fight out there for me," he said.

"Maybe it's the most difficult fight too. Jermain Taylor is a middleweight while Bernard Hopkins is 42 and just living on his name.

"But Kessler is at his peak. Just like Jeff Lacy he's young, hungry and wants to be the best in the world.

"I think he's a better fighter than Lacy - he's taller, bigger and stronger.

"I'm 35 and he'll be hoping I'm slipping - well we'll see about that on November 3.

"There's no way I'm going to lose the fight because I'll be in the best shape of my life. When I'm at my best no one can beat me.

"At this stage of my career it's all about my legacy. I want to be recognised as maybe the greatest super-middleweight there has been.

"Beating Kessler would go some way to cementing my legacy."

Kessler's record lacks the big names that are dotted throughout Calzaghe's 43-fight career with last October's third-round demolition of a fading Markus Beyer his finest moment.

The 28-year-old possesses power in both hands, a ramrod jab and is in his prime, but Calzaghe has warned he must be ready for a significant step up in class.

"Kessler's style suits me. He's a very solid European-style fighter. He's quite upright and comes in straight lines," he said.

"He's knocked 29 people out but has never been in the ring with a southpaw with my hand speed, awkwardness or slickness."

Calzaghe took a swipe at Hopkins' superfight against Ronald 'Winky' Wright, which is being staged in Las Vegas on Saturday, by branding it a non-event.

"Kessler and me will be the fight of the year - forget Hopkins and Winky Wright and that rubbish that's on at the weekend," he said.

"That's a 42-year-old man against someone from two weight divisions lower.

"Kessler and I are two of the best fighters in the world coming up against each other. Everyone's in for a treat."

Calzaghe has taken criticism for fighting overseas just twice in his career but the Newbridge boxer insists his willingness to meet Kessler in Copenhagen proves he is not afraid to travel.

"I've got the fight in Wales. People have called me 'Stay at home Joe', but I made it public that I was willing to go to Denmark," he said.

"Unfortunately Kessler's people couldn't produce the numbers. Frank has backed it up and Kessler is coming to Cardiff.

"It's a great bonus to fight him at home, but I could beat him anywhere."

 

[MOREBASS]

Joe is only talking shit because he knows he'll never get the respect he thinks he deserves until he comes across the Atlantic, and fights the world's best, and not virtual nobodies.


B-Hop would slaughter Joe Calzaghe.


Compare Joe Calzaghe's opposition with Bernard's and its no contest.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Definitely. The only name Joe has is Jeff Lacy.

 

[Anaheim*Rob]

Then again, Jeff Lacy may turn out to be a hype job with a big punch (and I'm a fan of his). The only names on Lacy's resume at this point are against aging guys like Robin Reid, Omar Sheika, and Scott Pemberton and I actually thought he lost his last fight to Vitaly Tsypko. Don't get me wrong, his power can change the course of a fight but will he be able to beat elite guys in and around his division? That has yet to be seen.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Calzaghe-Kessler To Air Live on HBO


LONDON – Promoter Frank Warren announced today that the biggest non-heavyweight world title unification fight since the Sugar Ray Leonard-Tommy Hearns welterweight rumble of 1981, pitting undefeated super middleweight champions JOE CALZAGHE (43-0, 32 KOs), from Newbridge, Wales, and MIKKEL KESSLER (39-0, 29 KOs), from Copenhagen, Denmark, would be moved to later in the evening to accommodate U.S. boxing fans. Promoted by Frank Warren, in association with International Entertainment, the Calzaghe-Kessler world title unification fight will now be broadcast live in primetime in the U.S. at 9:00 p.m. ET and 6:00 p.m. PT on HBO World Championship Boxing. The fight will take place Saturday, November 3, at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales (1 a.m. local time), which will be scaled for an indoor-record of 60,000-plus spectators. Over 30,000 seats have already been sold.

“We have seen the tremendous response this fight is generating with the fans and the sports press and we put our heads together with our UK broadcaster, Setenta, and came up with a plan to maximize the exposure,” said Warren. “We discovered that the weekend of the fight is the one time when there is only a four hour time difference between ET and GMT in the UK making it possible to start the show at a reasonable time for the UK and prime time in the States. When we approached HBO about the possibility of going live, they were ecstatic when we found a way to do this and immediately cleared their schedule to make it possible. This was a case of all the stars lining up just right.”

“With a fight of this caliber now live in prime time in the U.S., the viewing audience will be substantially higher, said Kery Davis, senior vice president of programming, HBO Sports. This is the kind of showcase event that we hope to attract more than just the hardcore boxing fan. It’s a big sporting event, period.”

Calzaghe, boxing’s current longest-reigning world champion, will make his landmark 21st consecutive title defense -- tops among active world champions -- which would tie him with super middleweight champion Sven Ottke at fourth place on boxing’s all-time list, behind heavyweight champion Joe Louis (25), light heavyweight champion Dariusz Michalczewski (23) and strawweight champion Ricardo López (23). “The Pride of Wales” celebrates the 10th anniversary of winning his title just a few weeks before his battle with Kessler. Calzaghe captured the vacant WBO title, October 11, 1997, knocking down two-time world champion and British boxing legend Chris Eubank twice en route to a dominating unanimous decision on scores of 118-109, 118-111 and 116-111.

Calzaghe, 35, returns to the ring after successfully defending his title on April 7 for the 20th consecutive time, stopping top-five contender Peter Manfredo Jr., in the third round, at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. With over 35,000 fans in attendance, the Calzaghe-Manfredo fight shattered the indoor European record for a boxing event. The victory elevated Calzaghe into a fifth-place tie with former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes and former middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins on the all-time list for successful consecutive title defenses.

Kessler, 28, has steamrolled and plundered the division much like his Viking ancestors did during the dawn of the New World. The “Viking Warrior” captured the WBA super middleweight title November 12, 2004, by destroying defending champion Manny Siaca. Leading on scores of 70-62, 70-63 and 69-64, Siaca retired in his corner after the seventh round. Kessler has successfully defended his title four times since, two against former world champions Anthony Mundine and Eric Lucas, followed by a sensational third-round knockout of defending WBC champion Markus Beyer, last October, to unify the titles. In his last fight, on March 24, in his first defense of his WBC/WBA titles, he schooled undefeated No. 1 contender and mandatory challenger Librado Andrade (24-0, 18 KOs), winning on scores of 120-108 on all three judges’ cards.