Skip to main content
Kill The Body

and the head will die

Dingaan Thobela vs Mikkel Kessler — record, stats and common opponents compared

🇿🇦SOUTH AFRICA

Dingaan Thobela

🇩🇰DENMARK

Mikkel Kessler

Dingaan Thobela (40-14-2) and Mikkel Kessler (46-3) are compared on record, finishing method, activity, and common opponents on Kill The Body. The two have met once. They share 2 common opponents.

Thobela

40

Wins26 KO · 65%

14

Losses

2

Draws56 tracked bouts

Kessler

46

Wins35 KO · 76%

3

Losses

0

Draws49 tracked bouts

Head to Head

Kessler leads 1–0

Dingaan Thobela and Mikkel Kessler have met 1 time; Kessler leads 1–0.

Dingaan Thobela and Mikkel Kessler have met 1 time; Kessler leads 1–0.
Met2002Nov 29Series
Dingaan ThobelaFighter ALLost0–1W–L
Mikkel KesslerFighter BWWon1–0W–L
ResultUD1Meeting

The Numbers

Thobela 0 · Kessler 8 of 8 measurable rows
ThobelaKessler
Record
40-14-246-3 (edge)
Win %0–100%
73.2%
93.9% (edge)
Wins by knockoutmax 35
26
35 (edge)
KO rate0–100%
65%
76.09% (edge)
Stoppage rate (tracked wins)†0–100%
65%
76% (edge)
Times stopped†max 4
4
0 (edge)
Title reignsmax 7
3
7 (edge)
Bouts per year‡max 3.2
2.8
3.2 (edge)
Bouts trackedcoveragemax 56
56
49

† Counted from bouts Kill The Body has ingested, not a career total. · ‡ Across each fighter's tracked career span. · Bars are scaled per row — percentages on 0–100, counts against the larger of the two. Every figure is also printed as text.

Tale of the Tape

Height+6″
Dingaan Thobela: 5′7″
Mikkel Kessler: 6′1″ (edge)
Reachnot held
Dingaan Thobela: 72″
Mikkel Kessler: No reach on file
Agenot comparable
Dingaan Thobela: Died aged 57
Mikkel Kessler: 47
Stance
Dingaan Thobela: Orthodox
Mikkel Kessler: Orthodox

Dingaan Thobela left, Mikkel Kessler right, as everywhere on this page. Age is stated, not scored — neither age nor stance carries an edge.

How They Win

Tracked bouts only
Dingaan Thobela40 wins · from 56 tracked bouts

Dingaan Thobela: 40 tracked wins — 26 by KO/TKO (65%) and 14 on the cards (35%). Counted from 56 bouts Kill The Body has ingested.

26 by KO/TKO 65%14 on the cards 35%

Mikkel Kessler46 wins · from 49 tracked bouts

Mikkel Kessler: 46 tracked wins — 35 by KO/TKO (76%) and 11 on the cards (24%). Counted from 49 bouts Kill The Body has ingested.

35 by KO/TKO 76%11 on the cards 24%

One square per tracked win. Counted from the bouts Kill The Body has ingested for each fighter — Dingaan Thobela 56, Mikkel Kessler 49 — not from a career-complete method table.

Common Opponents

2 shared

2 shared · Kessler better on 1 · even on 1

Thobela

Opponent

Kessler

  • Dingaan Thobela

    Loss, TKO 8

    2001

    LucasKessler better

    Mikkel Kessler

    Win, TKO 10

    2006

  • Dingaan Thobela

    Win, KO 8

    1995

    BalboaEven

    Mikkel Kessler

    Win, KO

    1999

Both sides are set at the same size on purpose. Kill The Body does not score a second-round knockout above a split decision — the edge counts losses first and wins as the tiebreak, and the rest is yours to argue. Shared opponents are matched on fighter identity, not on name, so two different fighters with the same name never merge into one row.

Current Form

Oldest left · newest right

Dingaan Thobela has lost seven straight. Thobela last boxed on Oct 27, 2006.LLLLL

Kessler Nov 2002Grant Nov 2003Nielsen Dec 2003Bute Dec 2004Botes Oct 20062.8 tracked bouts per year

Mikkel Kessler last boxed on May 25, 2013 — 4,899 days ago. Kessler had won four in a row before losing a decision to Carl Froch.WWWWL

Froch Apr 2010Bouadla Jun 2011Green May 2012Magee Dec 2012Froch May 20133.2 tracked bouts per year

Common Questions

With the rows behind them
Have Dingaan Thobela and Mikkel Kessler ever fought each other?
Yes. Dingaan Thobela and Mikkel Kessler met once on November 29, 2002, and Mikkel Kessler won by UD.
The meeting

LNov 29, 2002 · Kessler · UD

Head to Head ↓
Who has the better record, Thobela or Kessler?
Dingaan Thobela is 40-14-2 and Mikkel Kessler is 46-3. Mikkel Kessler has the higher win percentage.
Records · win %

Thobela40–14–273.2%

Kessler46–393.9%

The Numbers ↓
Who has more knockouts, Thobela or Kessler?
Dingaan Thobela has 26 knockout wins and Mikkel Kessler has 35. Mikkel Kessler has more.
Knockout wins · KO rate

Thobela2665%

Kessler3576.1%

The Numbers ↓
Do Thobela and Kessler have any common opponents?
Dingaan Thobela and Mikkel Kessler share 2 common opponents: Éric Lucas and Jaime Balboa. Mikkel Kessler fared better against 1 of them.
2 shared opponents

Éric LucasLW

Jaime BalboaWW

Common Opponents ↓
Who is bigger, Thobela or Kessler?
Mikkel Kessler is the taller fighter at 185 cm, 14 cm above the other.
Height · reach

Thobela171 cm183 cm reach

Kessler185 cm

Tale of the Tape ↓
How much fight data does Kill The Body have on Thobela and Kessler?
This comparison is drawn from 56 bouts tracked for Dingaan Thobela and 49 bouts tracked for Mikkel Kessler. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.
Bouts tracked · no edge

Thobela56bouts

Kessler49bouts

How They Win ↓

Compare someone else

6 suggested matchups

Compare Thobela with…

Compare Kessler with…

Someone else?

Release either fighter to put someone new in that slot — the other one stays put.