For a fighter criticized over his ten year reign atop the super middleweight division for not always fighting top opposition, when WBO champion Joe Calzaghe has stepped it up against those perceived to be his biggest threats, he has been nothing short of outstanding, and Sunday morning was no different, as Calzaghe clearly outpointed previously unbeaten Mikkel Kessler before 50,000 fans at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, unifying the 168-pound championship in the process.
Scores were 117-111, 116-112 twice, for Newbridge, Wales? Calzaghe, who adds the WBA and WBC belts to his trophy case.
Calzaghe ran across the ring at the bell to open the bout, but his early offensive output didn?t match his reckless start. Once the two settled in though, the 35-year old Calzaghe moved forward and threw straight shots to the body while Kessler predictably worked his jab and seemed to edge out the opening frame behind his crisp counters.
Early in the second, Calzaghe was warned for holding behind the head by referee Mike Ortega, but he continued his forward march. Unfortunately, the more aggressive the Welshman got, the more accurate Kessler was with his blows to the head, which were coming straight down the pipe while Calzaghe tried to land with wide shots.
Kessler hit the deck early in the third via a slip, but once the Dane rose, he fought as if he needed to re-establish control, and Calzaghe threw with both hands as if he had his foe hurt. This turn of events brought a thunderous roar from the crowd, and as the round progressed, Calzaghe started to land more and more hard shots as he pushed Kessler backwards.
?The Viking Warrior? got back on track in the fourth, winning some heated exchanges and drilling Calzaghe with solid right uppercuts to the jaw, diluting the pre-fight rumor that the Copenhagen native had hurt his hand in training camp.
From a pure technical standpoint, the fifth round was not only difficult to score, but it was aesthetically perfect, as both Calzaghe and Kessler showed what boxing can be when contested at the elite level, with both men taking turns landing and defending for the entire three minutes.
The sixth saw more of the same as both stood and battled at close quarters. But this time, it was Calzaghe clearly taking the round behind some brilliant boxing.
Looking to get back in a rhythm, Kessler tried to make things happen in the seventh, but Calzaghe would dip or pull out of range of his opponent?s power shots and come back with crisp counters that put more money in his points bank. The first half of the eighth was a better round for Kessler though, as he moved forward aggressively in an effort to turn the tide. In the final minute though, Calzaghe responded with a ferocious attack to the head and body, clearly putting Kessler on the defensive, with only a second warning from Ortega giving the Dane a reprieve.
Again in the ninth and tenth rounds, Kessler ? whose left eye was swelling badly – showed a refusal to let his ?0? go without a fight, but for every one or two punches he landed, Calzaghe roared back with three or four shots that put yet more rounds in the books.
?You know what it?s about now, knock him out,? Kessler was told by his trainer between rounds ten and eleven, but despite the WBA and WBC champion?s refusal to give in and his insistence on trying to win, Calzaghe was just on another level tonight, and his speed, jab, and combinations were too much for the 28-year old, whose 12th round rally was impressive, but not enough to pull out the victory.
With the win, Calzaghe improves to 44-0 with 32 KOs. Kessler falls to 39-1 with 29 KOs.
