Mikkel Kessler changes his appearance dramatically, still no fight scheduled

By Boxing News - 02/12/2014 - Comments

By Scott Gilfoid: Former WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler (46-3, 35 KO’s) has gone in for a new look recently with him sporting a beard that reminds one of the Duck Dynasty group on AMC, and it’s got me wondering whether the soon to be 35-year-old Kessler has any intention of ever fighting again. Kessler hasn’t fought since losing a close 12 round unanimous decision to IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch last year in May.

Kessler reportedly met with his promoters at Sauerland recently to pick out his next opponent, but there’s no word when Kessler will get back in the ring. Froch’s promoter Eddie Hearn was hoping that Kessler would be up for as rematch with Froch because it’s a fight that would surely sell with the British public.

With Kessler looking the way he is now, I’m not sure if that’s a sign that he’s on shutdown permanently with his career or if it’s just a phase that he’s going through. Heck, who knows? Maybe this new look will be a permanent one for Kessler in between his fights.

In his last fight against Froch, Kessler didn’t seem to have the same drive that he previously did in his career. I mean, he let Froch win the first 5 rounds by staying on the outside and not going after the slow-handed and slow-footed Froch like he had in their previous fight in 2010. But what’s interesting is that once Kessler did turn on the gas and start fighting Froch hard, he dominated the second half of the fight. Unfortunately, Kessler had given up too many of the early rounds to win the fight, because he could have easily won the fight had he put out some effort in the first 5 rounds.

If he were to come back and target the WBO title, Kessler would have an excellent chance of capturing another title, because WBO champion Robert Stiegltiz is an easy mark that Kessler could whip as long as he puts forward some effort in the ring. Of course, Kessler couldn’t fight like he did in the Froch fight because that wouldn’t work against a guy like Stieglitz, especially if the fight took place in Germany.



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