By Ian S Palmer
Mikkel Kessler challenges WBA Super Middleweight king Brian Magee on Saturday Dec. 8 at the Jyske Bank Boxen in his homeland of Denmark. Kessler will climb through the ropes with a fine record of 45-2, with 34 Kos while the champion enters the ring with a 36-4-1 mark with 25 Kos.
Magee, from Belfast, Northern Ireland, is one of the least-known world champions in boxing. He’s 37 years old and a solid, but not spectacular fighter. He turned professional back in 1999 and has decent power. He’s got quite a bit of experience and has faced some tough opposition along the way, but usually falls short when he steps up in class. He’s been beaten by the likes of Carl Froch, Lucian Bute, and Robin Reid. Froch and Bute both stopped him in the late rounds of their fights. He’ll be stepping up in class again against Kessler and has a huge task in front of him.
Kessler hasn’t been too active lately with just three bouts in the last 30 months and he might have a little bit of ring rust to shake off in the early rounds against Magee. He’s got plenty of boxing skills and also has pretty good power in his fists. Kessler beat Froch in March of 2010 by unanimous decision and Froch has since gone on to take away Bute’s IBF title. Kessler has lost decisions to unbeaten fighters Joe Calzaghe and Andre Ward for his two losses. He’s got a wonderful jab and is quite accurate with his shots. Kessler’s at his best when throwing combinations and can be quite a handful for anybody in the world when he gets in a groove. He also proved against Froch that he has a solid chin and likes to press the action.
He’ll find out that Magee has pretty good hand speed and a solid punch, but he’s too economical, meaning he doesn’t stay busy enough. Kessler should be able to control the pace and considering he’s never been stopped, it means Magee will likely have to outbox him to earn a decision. That’s really not going to be easy to do, especially in Denmark. Magee should put up a good fight, but he just doesn’t match Kessler when it comes to speed, strength, power, and experience.
Magee’s a 6-foot southpaw with a 74-inch reach while the 33-year-old Kessler’s 6-1 with the same reach. Kessler’s last bout was in May when he knocked out American Alan Green in the fifth round while Magee last fought in February when he stopped Rudy Markussen in the fifth round.
Prediction
Kessler is simply too good for Magee at this stage of their careers. In fact, he always has been and probably always will be. If Magee was a decade younger it might have been a decent matchup. But at the age of 37, everything points towards a Magee loss, probably by a knockout in the last half of the fight.
