By Cliff Rold

One man came to box.

The other came to fight.

The difference in approach was evident on Mikkel Kessler’s (42-2, 32 KO) face at the end of the bout.  The 30-year old Dane came into Saturday’s bout, and the “Super Six” Super Middleweight tournament, as the favorite to win.  He came with the WBA belt at 168 lbs. 

25-year old 2004 U.S. Olympic Light Heavyweight Gold medalist Andre Ward (21-0, 13 KO) took the belt and might just have snatched all of the above.

Let’s go to the report card. 

Pre-Fight Grades
Speed – Kessler B+; Ward A/Post: B; A
Power – Kessler B+; Ward B-/Post: B+; B
Defense – Kessler B; Ward B+/Post: C+; A
Intangibles – Kessler B+; Ward B/Post: B-; A

Leaping off the screen from the opening seconds and through to the end was just how dramatic an advantage Ward’s speed would be.  Kessler aided the advantage by being economical with his jab.  The now-former titlist took some sharp counters early while attempting to jab downstairs and became reluctant with the weapon.  It was to his detriment because, when he aimed it high, he found better contact and was in better defensive position. 

He needed the positioning.  Over the course of the fight, Ward’s left hooks (from orthodox and southpaw stances) were landing at will as were laser right hands.  Ward showed a little more pop than assumed as well, stunning Kessler on more than one occasion.

Ward’s approach has been called a little dirty by some.  It was.  So what?  His clinch-fire-clinch approach was done at such a fast pace that it didn’t kill the action.  It worked, as did leading with his head.  It was a full range of tricks one would expect from a seasoned veteran.  Like an aging pitcher who knows how to grease the ball with subtlety, Ward knew when and how to employ tactics which bent the rules and got away with it.

Kessler could have done things about it, even things within the rules.  The way to beat speed is with a consistent jab; Kessler lacked that.  One way to stop a guy diving head first from up and under is by taking a step back and tagging him with an uppercut.  Kessler instead tried for right hands which sailed over the shoulders of Ward.  As was the case in his loss to Joe Calzaghe, Kessler didn’t, or couldn’t, adjust to his opponents transitions.

Ward’s defense, beyond the ram technique, was superlative throughout the ten completed rounds and into the eleventh where it was ultimately sent to the cards due to cuts over Kessler’s eyes.  It wasn’t a night where Ward never got hit.  Kessler got his attention more than once with right hands and found success with left hooks.  Ward made sure that, on those occasions, he was getting hit only once.  If the right landed, Ward would either pull his hands in to block the follow-up left or bend away; the same affect when the left landed first.  He’d also clinch, push, and reset to break any chance of momentum.  In rounds five and nine, Kessler opened up more and Ward showed a willingness to engage and return fire.  It made for compelling exchanges and further forced Kessler towards the brink.

Ward’s mental game has been a point of discussion since his amateur days, his maturity always treated as an asset.  He showed the qualities on Saturday.  In front of a hometown Oakland crowd, he never got outside of himself or let the moment get too big for him.  Kessler on the other hand fought like he didn’t know Ward might switch stances, use clinching as a weapon, or be comfortable fighting inside.

He fought like he’d never seen Ward before in his life.  He’s seen him now.  To his credit, Kessler had a choice to make about whether or not he would finish the fight.  He ultimately chose to keep going.  Not quitting was the unfortunate highlight of the night, but it was something.

Looking Ahead

Round one of the “Super Six” is over…which means not much just yet.  While the end of a big fight usually means speculation about who could be next, we know who IS next for all six men. 

Round two will kick off in the first half of 2010 and things are more compelling than they would have been with a Kessler win.  Had Kessler defeated Ward, the feeling of inevitability some had about a Kessler-Abraham final might have ruined the fun.

Now, it’s really got the feel of anyone’s ball game.  Until at least his next fight, Ward will be the player with the hot hand.  He’ll have Jermain Taylor (28-4-1, 17 KO) assuming Taylor is continuing.  Taylor is coming off two stoppage losses, before the tournament to fellow participant and WBC titlist Carl Froch (26-0, 20 KO) and in round one to Abraham (31-0, 25 KO).  Taylor is more physical than Kessler and Ward doesn’t have the pop of the men who have beaten him to date.  Can Jermain provide the tournament its second pleasant surprise?

Conversely, a Kessler-Froch fight which once would have strongly favored Kessler now looks more even.  Froch may not be a classic boxer, but he’s got pop and he is tough.  Taylor can attest to that; so can current WBC Light Heavyweight titlist Jean Pascal who lost a wild brawl versus Froch last year.  Froch didn’t look good, even in victory, during round one versus Andre Dirrell (18-1, 13 KO), but Kessler isn’t going to make it a foot race.  Kessler is likely to land the right hand with more authority than he did Saturday.  This could be the best fan’s fight of round two.

Can Dirrell limit his foot race instinct just enough to take advantage of Abraham’s methodical offensive approach?  It’s slated as the first round two bout though no firm date is in place yet.  Dirrell, who some thought deserved the nod against Froch, can make a huge statement with a win while Abraham can seek to show he can catch up to even the trickiest of foes.

In other words, three new fights mean three new combinations of styles and three new sets of questions.  This is the way it should be but isn’t often enough in the sweet science.  Anyone who assumes to know the answers is almost certain to be wrong at some point, or once again, before the curtain closes on this endeavor.

Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com