Rafael's remarks: Well, fight freaks, we have a bona fide knockout of the year candidate here, as Kessler scored one of the nastiest, most ruthlessly violent knockouts you will ever see. Poor Green never knew what hit him. For those watching, though, it was a classic left hook that landed flush on the jaw and put Green to sleep square in the center of the ring. He was out before he even hit the canvas, and when he did, his arms were stretched over his head, his head drooped to the side and his legs seemed to be twitching as referee Ian John-Lewis immediately waived off the fight 17 seconds into the fourth round and raced to pull out Green's mouthpiece. Kessler knew the fight was over when the shot landed, raising his hands over his head, and 15,000 of his Danish countrymen who had packed the Parken Arena went wild for their hero as he jumped onto the ring ropes. Green was down for several minutes before coming around, probably with the realization that his career was over, at least in terms of ever again being in a notable main event.
Kessler, 33, a former three-time super middleweight titlist, was supposed to face Green, 32, of Tulsa, Okla., in November 2010 in the third stage of the Super Six World Boxing Classic. However, Kessler, who had suffered an eye injury in a win against Carl Froch in the second stage, withdrew not long before the fight and was replaced by Glen Johnson in the tournament. Johnson went on to knock out Green, himself a replacement in the tournament for Jermain Taylor. That was Green's second loss in a row, as he was also shut out by Andre Ward in his previous tournament bout. Following his elimination from the tournament, Green moved up to light heavyweight and won a pair of low-level bouts. Kessler, meanwhile, returned from the eye injury for a knockout win against Mehdi Bouadla in June 2011. He was then supposed to challenge super middleweight titlist Robert Stieglitz in November, but the fight was postponed until April and then canceled altogether because Kessler was not fully ready following a serious right hand injury. When Kessler was ready to return, he moved up to light heavyweight (although he only weighed in at 169½ pounds and probably could still make 168 if he wants to) and was matched with Green.
Green, a heavy underdog, looked like he might pull the big upset when he dropped Kessler in the first round. Green rocked him with a clean right hand and he went down after a couple of more shots, including a left to the body. But the right hand is what did it, and he was shaky when he got to his feet, and he still had 40 seconds left to survive. Inexplicably, Green had showed no sense of urgency at all and never went for the knockout. He let Kessler off the hook and never again was close to having a chance for the knockout.
Kessler recovered well from the knockdown and began to assert himself, especially with his left hand. He hurt Green with a big left hand near the end of the second round and landed the same shot to do more damage about halfway through the third round. The action was solid, and the fans were getting their money's worth, but it seemed like it was only a matter of time until Kessler got rid of Green. It finally happened courtesy of the vicious left hook in the fourth round that we'll probably still be talking about in December when it comes time to discuss the year's best knockouts.
With such an authoritative victory in an exciting fight, Kessler obviously will be in line for another big fight. He could still potentially challenge Stieglitz for his super middleweight title if he wants to lose an extra pound or two. He would certainly fit in the picture to face the winner of Lucian Bute's super middleweight title defense against Carl Froch on Saturday. A fight with Bute or a rematch with Froch would be excellent. Or Kessler could remain at light heavyweight and look for one of the titleholders.
Kessler, 33, a former three-time super middleweight titlist, was supposed to face Green, 32, of Tulsa, Okla., in November 2010 in the third stage of the Super Six World Boxing Classic. However, Kessler, who had suffered an eye injury in a win against Carl Froch in the second stage, withdrew not long before the fight and was replaced by Glen Johnson in the tournament. Johnson went on to knock out Green, himself a replacement in the tournament for Jermain Taylor. That was Green's second loss in a row, as he was also shut out by Andre Ward in his previous tournament bout. Following his elimination from the tournament, Green moved up to light heavyweight and won a pair of low-level bouts. Kessler, meanwhile, returned from the eye injury for a knockout win against Mehdi Bouadla in June 2011. He was then supposed to challenge super middleweight titlist Robert Stieglitz in November, but the fight was postponed until April and then canceled altogether because Kessler was not fully ready following a serious right hand injury. When Kessler was ready to return, he moved up to light heavyweight (although he only weighed in at 169½ pounds and probably could still make 168 if he wants to) and was matched with Green.
Green, a heavy underdog, looked like he might pull the big upset when he dropped Kessler in the first round. Green rocked him with a clean right hand and he went down after a couple of more shots, including a left to the body. But the right hand is what did it, and he was shaky when he got to his feet, and he still had 40 seconds left to survive. Inexplicably, Green had showed no sense of urgency at all and never went for the knockout. He let Kessler off the hook and never again was close to having a chance for the knockout.
Kessler recovered well from the knockdown and began to assert himself, especially with his left hand. He hurt Green with a big left hand near the end of the second round and landed the same shot to do more damage about halfway through the third round. The action was solid, and the fans were getting their money's worth, but it seemed like it was only a matter of time until Kessler got rid of Green. It finally happened courtesy of the vicious left hook in the fourth round that we'll probably still be talking about in December when it comes time to discuss the year's best knockouts.
With such an authoritative victory in an exciting fight, Kessler obviously will be in line for another big fight. He could still potentially challenge Stieglitz for his super middleweight title if he wants to lose an extra pound or two. He would certainly fit in the picture to face the winner of Lucian Bute's super middleweight title defense against Carl Froch on Saturday. A fight with Bute or a rematch with Froch would be excellent. Or Kessler could remain at light heavyweight and look for one of the titleholders.
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