By Sammy Rozenberg
The star power of Mikkel Kessler (39-0, 29 KOs) has already dominated the entire country of Denmark. In order to gain the recognition of being the best in the world, he must take chances by fighting outside of his home country against the best fighters at his weight.
Before a capacity crowd of nearly 25,000 screaming fans in Copenhagen's Parken Arena (the national soccer stadium of Denmark), Kessler successfully defended his WBC/WBA super middleweight titles by scoring a unanimous decision over a game Librado Andrade (24-1, 18 KOs).
Andrade, was an undefeated Mexican boxer who was appointed as the mandatory challenger to Kessler's WBC title. Most boxing insiders expected a very game effort from Andrade and several even predicted a possible upset.
An upset was something that never came close to fruition during the contest, but Andrade did test Kessler's ability. On the outside, the official scorecards of 120-108 across the boards did not see Andrade winning a single round, but he made the fight an exciting one by constantly applying pressure by coming forward and letting his hands go.
Kessler used his quicker hands, hard punches, defense and ring generalship to pile up the points on the scorecards of the judges. In the final three rounds, better known as the championship rounds, Kessler began to engage Andrade in a battle of wills as both stood their ground by unloaded power punches. Andrade tried going for broke, but Kessler was able to fight him off.
Over the last year, hardcore boxing fans have been calling for a unification showdown between Kessler and undefeated WBO super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe. The two fighters and their promotional teams have attacked each other in the press with both sides pointing the finger over who was to blame for the fight not taking place.
No longer a hidden commodity thanks to his appearances on HBO, more and more fans are jumping on the train for Kessler to come together with Calzaghe in order to settle the dispute as to who is the best super middleweight in the world. Kessler’s career dream is to lure Calzaghe into the ring.
“Let´s settle it where it should be settled in the boxing ring. I don´t know why Joe continues to call out Hopkins and these other guys,” Kessler said. “He should want what the fans want which is that he and I get it on. Joe knows in his heart he cannot beat me!”
The problem has always been over who should get the home court advantage. Because both fighters are superstars in their respective countries, it’s very difficult to stage the fight in America when the fight is worth so much more from a financial standpoint in England and Denmark.
"Kessler's the second-best super middle in the world, but I see myself beating him, like anyone else at the weight," said Calzaghe to BBC Sport. "Obviously I don't want to go to Denmark and fight him, the same as he doesn't want to come to Britain, but we'll have to wait and see."
Its obvious the bigwigs at HBO would like to see Calzaghe and Kessler do battle on their network, if only they could throw in enough money to lure the fight to American soil as both men refuse to give up the homecourt advantage. One way is to place the fight on pay-per-view, but because the two of them have rarely fought outside of their home turf, the fight is hard to sell to an American public that barely recognizes either man.
While Kessler has never fought in England, Calzaghe has fought in Denmark. In 2003, Calzaghe stopped Will McIntyre in four rounds at Copenhagen's Parken Arena. But, Kessler will travel to enemy territory for the right amount of money. In 2005, he traveled to Australia to decision Anthony Mundine before a very hostile crowd at the Entertainment Centre in Sydney.
Calzaghe is currently eyeing bouts with Bernard Hopkins, Winky Wright and Jermain Taylor. Kessler has to create a backup plan for himself by facing other top fighters at the weight. Undefeated power punchers like Carl Froch and Lucian Bute are very credible opponents that are making names for themselves at super middleweight. There is always the option of coming to America and taking on someone with a name, like a Jeff Lacy.
The one thing Kessler can’t do is stay hidden in Denmark.