By James Slater – Though he came in at a fraction below 170-pounds for his fight last night with Allan Green, and though he could certainly make the 168-pound limit easily enough if he wanted to, Mikkel Kessler showed us he is a genuine force at light-heavyweight. Kessler, a former three-time champ at super-middleweight, scored a brutal KO over Green, his left hook sending him into oblivion in the 4th-round.
Now the holder of the practically meaningless WBC “Silver” title at 175-pounds, the 33-year-old Dane will be looking for a genuine belt to make his own soon. And there are a few good-looking fights that he could get in the coming months.
Ring Magazine ruler and world #1 Chad Dawson is tied up with his almost-signed fight with #1 super-middleweight Andre Ward (the last man to have beaten Kessler), so he is unavailable at present, while IBF king Tavoris Cloud is set to face former champ Jean Pascal in August, ruling him out for the time being. Maybe Kessler will be able to get a date with WBA ruler Beibut Shumenov (who defends his belt against Enrique Ornelas on June 2nd), but a fight with WBO boss Nathan Cleverly seems to look more likely in the eyes of many..
Unbeaten Cleverly of Wales was to have fought Germany’s Robin Krasniqi next (and maybe still will), but a fight between he and Kessler would prove far more exciting – to the fans and to “Clev” and Kessler themselves. This fight would practically sell itself. Back in November of 2007, Kessler travelled to Cardiff, Wales to face Welsh hero Joe Calzaghe. The crowd of around 50’000 witnessed a classic and Kessler would almost certainly like to come back, fill The Millennium Stadium all over again, and this time defeat the current Welsh hero.
For Cleverly, a fight with Kessler would afford him the opportunity of really showing his class. 25-year-old Cleverly, 24-0(11) is at or about the stage of his career where he is entering his prime; Kessler, 45-2(34) may be at the stage where he has only two or three great fights left in him. If the two stars did meet, the fight would either result in a changing of the guard, or we would see a future Hall of Famer further solidify his credentials as one of the best.
Kessler-Cleverly makes all the sense in the world.