Mikkel Kessler vs. Andre Ward

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Mikkel Kessler vs. Andre Ward
Date21 November 2009
Venue Flag of the United States.svg Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
Title(s) on the lineWBA Super Middleweight Championship
Tale of the tape
Boxer Flag of Denmark.svg Mikkel Kessler Flag of the United States.svg Andre Ward
Nickname The Viking Warrior S.O.G.
Hometown Copenhagen, Denmark Oakland, California
Pre-fight record 42–1 (32 KO) 20–0 (13 KO)
Recognition WBA
Super Middleweight Champion
WBA
No. 6 Ranked Super Middleweight
Result
Ward won by technical decision

Mikkel Kessler vs. Andre Ward was a professional boxing match fought as part of the Super Six World Boxing Classic, a tournament staged by Showtime to crown a unified world super middleweight champion. The bout was the final match in the first group stage of the tournament and took place at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California on 21 November 2009.

Contents

Mikkel Kessler (43–1, 32 KOs) was making the third defense of the World Boxing Association championship he entered the tournament with. Kessler defeated Dimitri Sartison in June 2008 for the title Joe Calzaghe had defeated him for the previous fall; after defeating Kessler, Calzaghe vacated his super middleweight titles to campaign at light heavyweight.

Andre Ward (20–0, 13 KOs) was fighting in his first world title bout, after a victory against former two-time world title challenger Edison Miranda.

Broadcast

The fight was broadcast live in the United States on Showtime and in the UK on Primetime. [1]

Result

Despite Kessler's status as the overall favorite, Ward was able to outpunch the champion and won a unanimous technical decision to win his first world championship. [2] The fight was halted in the eleventh round after Kessler, who suffered cuts due to two controversial headbutts, was ruled unable to continue by the ringside doctor and as per the rules the final score was tabulated at the time of the stoppage. Ward was ahead 98–92, 98–92 and 97–93 at the time of the stoppage. Ward joined Calzaghe as the only fighters at the time to defeat Kessler.

Aftermath

Following the victory, Ward led the Ring Magazine's rankings for super middleweights. [3]

Fight Card

The fight card included the following fights: [4]

Weight ClassWeightVs.Result
Super Middleweight 168 lbs. Andre Ward def. Mikkel Kessler (c) Rnd 10 TD
Super Welterweight 154 lbs. Karim Mayfield def.Francisco SantanaRnd 5 TKO
Super Lightweight 140 lbs.Stan Martynioukdef.Anthony MartinezUD
Super Middleweight168 lbs.Tony Hirschdef. Jose Celaya UD
Super Featherweight130 lbs.Mel Crosstydef.Carlos HerreraUD

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References

  1. "Kessler – Ward live on Showtime and Primetime". boxrec.com. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  2. Gonzalez, Edgar (29 November 2009). "Ward defeats Kessler". MyBoxingFans. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  3. "Mikkel Kessler vs. Andre Ward – BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  4. "Fight Card". boxrec.com. Retrieved 19 June 2016.