Darius M v Ward/Kessler/Froch

Simple enough question really. How do people think Ward, Kessler and Froch would fare if they stepped up to light heavyweight against a peak Darius Michalszewski?

Tricky.

I'd feel pretty comfortable backing Ward, first off. He's shown that he's got just about as complete a skill set as any fighter out there right now, looks more than strong enough to handle a step up in weight and is such a slippery and quick operator, too, and I think his style is all wrong for the mechanical, upright Dariusz. Ward by comfortable decision as I'm not sure that Michalczewski brings anything to the table which Ward hasn't seen or dealt with already.

Froch and Kessler, though? I'm not sure. Neither of them really have that speed and elusiveness which Michalczewski didn't like, neither hit quite hard enough to be sure of being able to stop the German-based Pole and both of them can be outboxed; and Michalczewski does have at least one very, very high-class win on his ledger against a fast, top-notch technician in Hill. Granted, Hill was maybe half a step slower by 1997 than he had been, but it's very much worth looking in to here, I think.

As there are similarities between the three it's hard to tell how or if the styles of Michalczewski, Kessler and Froch would gel and there's a chance that they could produce a fight which is seriously hard to score.

But they can't make Dariusz miss and waste punches the way Ward can, can't outspeed him, and as a result I think the natural size and weight of Michalczewski may be more relevant here. Dariusz was a big and very genuine Light-Heavyweight and, given that it's hard to separate the three of them in the same way I can separate Ward from the pack, maybe it's a bit too much of a leap of faith to think they could get the better of a similar fighter who happens to be naturally bigger?

Not really comfortable on the latter two, but Ward to beat Michalczewski clearly enough on points but Kessler and Froch to fall just short (something like 115-113 in Dariusz's favour) would be my best guess.

I think Ward beats him.....He has too many tricks and is to smooth but it would be a battle....

The other two with their styles just aren't big enough for me.