BoxRec

Who do you think will win and why?

Can we expect a 'Kessler v Prime Tyson' poll at some point?

Well as it has been comfirmed that Taylor is moving up.... I would love for this fight to happen and for Joe to fight the winner (and maybe the loser at a later date).

Tough Tough Tough fight to call. I was so impressed with Taylor on the way up, but actually a tad dissapointed vs Hopkins and Wright. Its quite confusing, because I never predited he would win convincingly - any win (or a draw) vs this standard should be considered "great"....but I was dissapointed in Wright and Hopkins aswell in those fights. Neither Wright or Hopkins looked particularly fresh when they fought Taylor (Hopkins workrate was much better vs Tarver) - so I was kind of expecting Taylor to beat an "unfresh" version of them pretty well, which he didn't. Infact, I thought Wright especially was a WORTHY winner of that contest.

Kessler is the opposite, never that impressed on the way up and even some of his title fights - but he was mighty impressive vs Beyer.

i'd make taylor favourite i think.

he's faster and sharper.

pts win for taylor.

I think Kessler would be a bad stylistic match-up for Taylor, with the size difference factored in as well.

J-C wrote:I think Kessler would be a bad stylistic match-up for Taylor, with the size difference factored in as well.

Don't forget Taylor is a HUGE Middleweight with a big frame

Taylor is the SAME height as Kessler and actually has a 5 inch reach advantage over Kessler

Taylor can comfortably move up to Light Heavyweight and be a champ let alone Super Middleweight.

It would be a very tough fight to call to be honest, a real 50/50 me thinks .....

I think taylor has the better skills, but they will fight on the outside and Kessler has the more polished jab.

Taylor is a big middleweight, but Kessler is a big supermiddleweight, so the size factor will be in play as well.

On the whole it is a close fight, but I'll probably edge for a Kessler SD win (with unbiased judges).

I must say I'm a tad dissapointed if this comes off right away, as I was looking forward to Taylor-Wright 2 (I had Winky winning the first fight by 2 points) as well as Calzaghe-Kessler.

This post is stupid, All you brits should be demanding Kessler Vs Calzaghe. Taylor isn't moving up in a hurry and seems to make middle easily.
If Calzaghe dosn't fight Kessler he is going to be thought of as a joke and a man who had a chance to cement his legacy against Beyer Ottke and now Kessler but couldn't get it on.

Like I say, very few want to fight Kessler.

That jab is so accurate; as well as being an offensive weapon, it breaks up his opponents' rhythm in a way that is confounding. Some ppl think all he does is stand in front of his foe & pump out repetitive left jabs, but that isn't true. He's an artist with the jab, very accurate & effective.

Taylor has heavier hands, & more variety. But he tends to fight his opponent's pace at the elite level.

Taylor has too much going for him at 160. There are money fights, when the likes of Duddy are ready. There is a continuation of the amateur rivalry (ala Cotto-Pinto) with Sturm. A bout with entertaining slugger Miranda; prospects Al Green & Pavlik;tricky veteran Mundine who'd come down from 168 for a title shot. After some of those fights, he should demonstrate his improvement vs Wright. Get some closure, even if WW is hard to get in the ring JT's image needs a W over him.

Not sure he's as massive as ppl say he is. He has a very narrow waist and doesn't have big bones. If he were to move up, IMO he might look a bit bloated or overmuscled. A tad manufactured.

I feel a Taylor win is a tad fanciful for the moment. I mean, a lot of ppl were confident that he would demolish Wright. But no way did he do that, even though Wright had to come out of the comfort zone, it was pretty much a stalemate. Kessler (and Calzaghe for that matter) would be able to throw punches freely, and wouldn't have to fight out of character.

On top of that, if Taylor would be stronger at 168, there is a counter argument that fighting 168-pounders would be a real strain. Because he might not be used to fighting proper 160-pounders just yet.

There ARE ahortcuts in the Taylor body of work. When Kessler secures a truly outstanding opponent, he can say that he stepped it up to that level gradually. For me, Taylor's development suffered for a lack of good/decent middling opposition. He never really had to sustain quality boxing under real mental/physical pressure until 2005.

Whereas Kessler was brought along quite masterfully on a diet of ex champs and hard headed contenders.

Given that both have warrior mentalities, and actually want to fight the best, it's best to have one at 160-pounds and another at 168! Maybe in 2 years they should fight.

Kessler vs. Taylor at 168 i would say kessler by a huge UD..

Sweet Sugar wrote:Kessler vs. Taylor at 168 i would say kessler by a huge UD..

Or TKO

Bump.

So far it looks like a two-thirds majority for Kessler.

pundit wrote:Bump.

So far it looks like a two-thirds majority for Kessler.

why dont you try posting this on "CURRENT SCENE" forum?...you just might get a little wider of a cross-section of opinion!!

taylor learned alot from his close battles with hopkins & wright...that will make the difference in a competitive fight, since IMO kessler is slightly below the caliber of hopkins & wright, either of who would also beat kessler (especially at 175 for b-hop, but i see b-hop beating him at 168 as well)...it's easy to pump kessler but his wins over beyer, mundine, etc dont put him in the same caliber as wright/hopkins/taylor!!

i have a hunch you would be getting more folks saying the same thing if you posted this thread on CURRENT SCENE!! maybe that's why you havent!!