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Ward to get home-cooking versus Kessler
Ward to get home-cooking versus Kessler
Denmark’s most successful boxer of all-time has the odds stacked against him when he meets Andre Ward in the ring.
Boxing champion Mikkel Kessler is confident about his chances of a victory Saturday night, when he takes on undefeated André Ward in the much-ballyhooed Super Six World Boxing Classic.
But Kessler knows he’s in for a tough battle, despite expert consensus that he is the best super middleweight in the world.
Kessler evened the odds a bit by agreeing to meet Ward in the American’s hometown of Oakland, California. But what the Dane’s camp didn’t expect was that two of the fight’s three judges are scheduled to be Californians. The news greeted Kessler’s camp yesterday and neither he nor his management team was especially pleased.
‘We’ve protested to the WBA that two local judges have been assigned to the fight,’ Wilfried Sauerland, owner of Team Sauerland, told Sporten.dk. ‘They’ve also picked a referee who’s never worked a fight at this level.’ Sauerland said he is pushing for referee Jack Reiss to be replaced, as well as at least one of the Californian judges.
The upcoming fight has Kessler’s WBA belt on the line. The Dane sports a record of 42-1 with 32 knockouts. His only loss was a 12-round decision to retired Joe Calzaghe, who many experts consider to be one of the greatest ever in his weight class. Ward is 20-0 with 13 knockouts to his credit. The Kessler fight is by far his most challenging, however, as his biggest match to date was his defeat of Edison Miranda in May.
The Super Six tournament includes six of the world’s top super middleweight fighters, who will first compete in a three-fighter round-robin programme. In the round, each boxer will participate in three fights against opponents chosen by a draw, and the standings are determined through a point system format. A win by decision is worth two points, while a victory by knockout is worth three. No points are awarded for a loss.
After the round, the top four fighters move on to the semifinals, where the first round’s top scorer faces the fourth place fighter, while the second and third place boxers also meet.
The 30-year-old Kessler’s draw pits him first against Ward, then WBC champion Carl Froch in what would be a WBA-WBC unification bout if the Dane gets past Ward. Kessler’s third fight in the tournament’s first round is against 31-year-old Jermaine Taylor, the former undisputed middleweight champion who is on the downside of a stellar career. The other two boxers in the group are Arthur Abraham and Andre Dirrell.
Experts like the Dane’s chances to win the tournament, and Kessler himself says he’s in the best condition of his career. ‘The last couple weeks in Sacramento have really given me a good idea of where I’m at,’ he said. ‘I’ve fulfilled all the goals I set for myself physically, and mentally I feel very strong. I know it’ll be a tough fight, but I’m totally ready for Ward.’
Denmark’s most successful boxer of all-time has the odds stacked against him when he meets Andre Ward in the ring.
Boxing champion Mikkel Kessler is confident about his chances of a victory Saturday night, when he takes on undefeated André Ward in the much-ballyhooed Super Six World Boxing Classic.
But Kessler knows he’s in for a tough battle, despite expert consensus that he is the best super middleweight in the world.
Kessler evened the odds a bit by agreeing to meet Ward in the American’s hometown of Oakland, California. But what the Dane’s camp didn’t expect was that two of the fight’s three judges are scheduled to be Californians. The news greeted Kessler’s camp yesterday and neither he nor his management team was especially pleased.
‘We’ve protested to the WBA that two local judges have been assigned to the fight,’ Wilfried Sauerland, owner of Team Sauerland, told Sporten.dk. ‘They’ve also picked a referee who’s never worked a fight at this level.’ Sauerland said he is pushing for referee Jack Reiss to be replaced, as well as at least one of the Californian judges.
The upcoming fight has Kessler’s WBA belt on the line. The Dane sports a record of 42-1 with 32 knockouts. His only loss was a 12-round decision to retired Joe Calzaghe, who many experts consider to be one of the greatest ever in his weight class. Ward is 20-0 with 13 knockouts to his credit. The Kessler fight is by far his most challenging, however, as his biggest match to date was his defeat of Edison Miranda in May.
The Super Six tournament includes six of the world’s top super middleweight fighters, who will first compete in a three-fighter round-robin programme. In the round, each boxer will participate in three fights against opponents chosen by a draw, and the standings are determined through a point system format. A win by decision is worth two points, while a victory by knockout is worth three. No points are awarded for a loss.
After the round, the top four fighters move on to the semifinals, where the first round’s top scorer faces the fourth place fighter, while the second and third place boxers also meet.
The 30-year-old Kessler’s draw pits him first against Ward, then WBC champion Carl Froch in what would be a WBA-WBC unification bout if the Dane gets past Ward. Kessler’s third fight in the tournament’s first round is against 31-year-old Jermaine Taylor, the former undisputed middleweight champion who is on the downside of a stellar career. The other two boxers in the group are Arthur Abraham and Andre Dirrell.
Experts like the Dane’s chances to win the tournament, and Kessler himself says he’s in the best condition of his career. ‘The last couple weeks in Sacramento have really given me a good idea of where I’m at,’ he said. ‘I’ve fulfilled all the goals I set for myself physically, and mentally I feel very strong. I know it’ll be a tough fight, but I’m totally ready for Ward.’
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