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Tonight Calzaghe was the better man winning 116-112 on two of the judges cards and 117-111 on the other card stretching his streak of title defenses to 21 straight. This fight is easily in contention for fight of the year and possibly fight of the decade.
In a fight that appeared any one of these guys could have won after five rounds, Calzaghe dipped into that treasure chest of title fight experience to turn it on in the middle rounds. Calzaghe won with a relentless attack behind his sometimes awkward style. He took controll in the 6th round and never looked back out throwing Kessler 2 punches to 1 in this fight. Calzaghe seemed to have an answer for every shot Kessler could throw and worked effectively to both the head and the body. Calzaghe counter punched better than Kessler and his defense was top notch.
Kessler in his conventional way came out and made the first 4-5 rounds close. To be honest I think the first 5 rounds could have been scored 10-10. There was a huge turning point in round 6 when Calzaghe turned it on and dominated the round. I think this really disheartened Kessler. In the 8th Kessler was saved from an almost inevitable flurry from Calzaghe when referee Mike Ortega stopped the action to warn Calzaghe for holding behind the head. This action started when Calzaghe dug a right hook to the body of Kessler that clearly had him hurt. After the fight Kessler admitted that punch had him hurt. That one punch sealed the fight for Calzaghe.
Kessler showed a great deal of heart and never gave up. He simply did not have enough tonight and sadly I don't see a rematch coming his way. Calzaghe showed that he is in another league. Calzaghe in the later stages of his career is looking to set himself up for retirement and Bernard Hopkins has been jawing for the past few months for a fight. This fight will likely take place in late spring with Yankee Stadium as a rumored location for the fight. This is likely the type of fight that American fans will be begging for. Kessler is still a great fighter and even though he lost, his efforts in the early rounds and his willingness to stand in there and exchange likely won over fans. I hope to see both of these great fighters back in the ring soon.
Article posted with permission from thehaymaker.blogspot.com
