The desperate Kessler went berserk in the 8th using a combination of wild uppercuts and laser guided punches that do not faze the Welshman, suddenly Calzaghe unleashed a combination that had Kessler seeming discombobulated but Calzaghe was unable to finish him off as referee Arthur Mercante interrupted the action by standing between the fighters and  issuing a badly timed warning to Calzaghe for some illegal tactic that had the foaming fans furious at being denied the kill.

Kessler recovered and changed tactics so much that Calzaghe began to lose his balance in the ninth and tenth as Kessler unloaded some powerful jabs and overhand rights looking to knock out Calzaghe who returned fire and landed a monstrous 260 punches according to HBO's compubox stats in the eleventh as he coasted to win the fight 117-111, 116-112, 116-112 on all judges score cards.

This impressive performance will guarantee the elevation of Calzaghe undefeated in 44 fights up the pound for pound ranking and probably for all time down memory lane. So  convincing and complete was his performance that is it would be impossible to get him to retire right now, and although he is not interested in fighting "Popkins" his humorous reference to the aged 43  year old Bernard Hopkins forever rumored to be his possible opponent, he lights up when the more interesting super fight with fellow country man IBF Light Heavyweight champion Clinton Woods who has been calling him out for ages is mentioned. That fight could happen and you have to give Joe more than a passing shot to win after his confidence boosting performance in Cardiff.