Allan Green cocky as usual, Mikkel Kessler says it is easy to do talking in the ring

by Jorge Alarcon-Swaby 
 
This coming Saturday, Allan Green (31-3) will step into the ring against former WBA and WBC Super Middleweight Champion Mikkel Kessler (42-2) for the WBC Light Heavyweight World Championship (Silver). The bout will take place at the Parken Stadium in Denmark.

During their final press conference in Copenhagen, Green took several shots at his opponent, saying that he believed Kessler was past his prime. “He used to be a joy to watch, a great fighter, but that was before he fought Calzaghe,” Green said.

Kessler faced retired undefeated Welsh superstar Joe Calzaghe back in 2007 in what was a well promoted and anticipated fight. In the end Kessler was dominated by Calzaghe for 12 rounds and lost a unanimous decision, suffering his first career defeat.

Green thinks that the loss to Calzaghe back in 2007 still has a negative effect on Kessler to this day. “He has not been the same fighter since. I don´t know if it is mental or physical wear, but he’s just not been on the same level any more. Mikkel will not be worth a nickel when he will be in the ring with me. I will break his a** into two halves. I want him to be at his best on Saturday night, the best he can possibly be, and for his sake it better be enough!” Green said.

In 2009 Kessler suffered the second defeat of his career when he was stopped by American superstar Andre Ward in Oakland, California. Although both losses did in fact have negative effects on Kessler, he was able to bounce back and win again at the highest level by beating undefeated British start Carl Froch in 2010 in fight many considered a candidate for fight of the year. With that win, Kessler once again put his name and career back on the map and made himself a top contender.

On the other hand, Allen Green’s best performances have all taken place outside of the ring. He has always been a loud, confident and arrogant fighter, but unfortunately for Green he has never been able to carry those attributes into the actual ring. Through the years, everyone has come to take notice of this issue, including Kessler himself “Green just talks a lot,” Kessler said. “This is nothing unusual before a fight. He seems to be confident, which is good for him. He will need all his confidence on Saturday night.”

Green has in fact faced tough opponents in his career before. He faced Edison Miranda in 2007, and both Andre Ward in Glen Johnson in 2010. He was dominated by both Miranda and Ward and it took just 8 rounds for the 43 year old Johnson to stop him.

Kessler, like everyone else is well aware of Green’s failures to perform well under the big lights and therefore is very confident coming into this fight. “I´m in fantastic shape, I am ready to put on a great show. I know I can hurt Green and once I have hurt him, I will go for the KO. But I am not making any predictions about the outcome. I just know that I am going to win,” Kessler said.

Kessler’s head trainer Jimmy Montoya feels the same way, adding “Green, I respect you as a fighter, you are a good fighter, but a much better talker. Mikkel will beat you on Saturday night.”

I expect this bout to be competitive for 2 or 3 rounds in the beginning, at most. In the end, I believe Kessler will prevail as the better boxer and will dominate Green for the entire second half of the fight. Green is a good talented fighter, but until proven otherwise he seems to lack mental toughness, something he truly needs if he hopes to beat Kessler come Saturday.

I see Kessler winning a unanimous decision and with the win putting his name in running for future bouts against Andre Dirrell, Lucian Bute, Chad Dawson or even a rematch against Carl Froch just to name a few. Lets see if Green truly has what it takes to stop that from happening.