(By Erik Killin @ Ringside) – In front of an international crowd of 10,277 fans at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, Andre “S.O.G.” Ward (21-1, 13 KOs) dismantled Mikkel “The Viking Warrior” Kessler (42-2, 31 KOs) Saturday night. The hometown hero became the only American to win in the opening stage of Showtime’s Super Six Super Middleweight Tournament.
Ward used combinations and great defense to win a stunning, relatively easy, technical decision. The bout was stopped from one of three cuts suffered by the Viking Warrior. The cut which prompted the referee to call an end to the bout in round eleven was the result of a headbutt suffered in the middle rounds.
Ward attempted to establish the jab early on in round one and successfully switched to southpaw and scored well. After the feeling out process, Kessler landed a partially blocked left hook. Ward ended the opening stanza with good movement and body shots.
Round two was a better round for Kessler. The champ backed up Ward a bit more but Ward’s defense frustrated Kessler. Ward landed a right hand to punctuate the round.
Ward came out firing the jab in round three and just slightly missed a big right hand. Ward picked up the pace and was able to land well with both hands. Kessler’s face began showing signs of Ward’s offense.
Round four was the best round early on with both men landing solid shots. Kessler landed his best punch of the fight via a left hook which Ward absorbed well. Moments later Ward landed a big right that stunned the champ.
Round five was a bit slower paced. Kessler tried to slow down Ward by going to the body more consistently.
Ward peppered Kessler with jabs in round six. Ward backed up Kessler in the final minute with nice combos and landed a big right to finish the round.
Round seven was a rougher round fought at close quarters. This didn’t help the Viking Warrior though as Ward still held the edge. Ward also bounced a beautiful left hand off the champ’s head.
In round eight, a clash of heads opened a nasty cut over the champ’s left eye. Kessler began clinching a bit and appeared to be wearing down. Ward landed some nice body shots while in the clinch.
Kessler picked up the pace in round nine attempting to salvage his title. This was a decent round for the champ.
Another headbutt occurred in round ten as the cuts worsened for Kessler. Ward landed jabs throughout the round and backed up the champ with combinations.
Needing a knockout to win, Kessler pressed forward. Ward landed some big rights mid-round as the cuts worsened. The doctor stepped in to examine the cut and called a halt to the bout at 1:42 of round eleven.
Judges Stanley Christodoulou and Steve Morrow had it 98-92, and Michael Hook scored the bout 97-93, all in favor of Ward. Boxingfanatics.com scored the bout 98-92, for Ward.
Ward is now scheduled to face Jermain Taylor in 2010 in stage two of the Super Six tournament.
The undercard wasn’t as strong as the main event.
In a four round junior middleweight bout. Tony Hirsch, (10-3-1, 5 KOs) won an uneventful unanimous decision over Jose Celaya, (31-6, 16 KOs). All three judges scored the bout 40-36.
Local Jr middleweight prospects Karim “Hard Hitta” Mayfield, (11-0-1, 7 KOs), and Francisco Santana, (11-2, 5 KOs) battled it out in a highly anticipated rematch. After two very slow rounds the two picked it up in round three. Santana landed a couple of solid left hooks that didn’t seem to faze Mayfield.
In round four, both fighters continued to trade with Mayfield seeming to get the better of the exchanges. Mayfield dropped Santana in round five after landing several big right hands. Mayfield went to the wrong corner giving Santana some extra time to recover. It was academic as Mayfield ended the fight with a flurry at 2:27 of round five.
Local prospect Stan Martyniouk, (8-0, 1 KO), won an easy four round decision against late sub Anthony Martinez, (21-33-3, 9 KOs). Martyniouk used his superior handspeed to land combos and left hooks to the body in round one.
Stan continued the offense in round two landing one-two combos.
In round three Martyniouk used the jab to control the round while doubling up on the left hook to the body. Martinez seemed ready to go early in round four but came back strong in the second half. Martyniouk attacked the body while Martinez taunted and sat on the ropes.
Final scores all read 40-36 in favor of Martyniouk.
In the opener, junior lightweight Mel Crossty, (4-0-1, 1 KO), won a four round unanimous decision over Carlos Herrera, (2-3, 1 KO). Crossty dropped Herrera in round one. The southpaw then went on to use a slick defense to dominate the remainder of the fight. Official scores read 39-36, 40-35, and 40-35.
(By Erik Killin) - Andre ward takes on Mikkel Kessler this Saturday in Oakland at the Oracle arena. The hometown hero takes on his biggest test to date when he faces the WBA Super Middleweight Champion. The two combatants have a combined record of 62-1 with 45 KOs.
Come out and support the only American fighter left in the tourney without a loss.
Unbeaten local prospects Karim Mayfield and Stan Martyniouk are also on the card in separate bouts.
Tickets are still available. Contact: (510) 569-2121 or visit Ticketmaster.com
ANDRE WARD-MIKKEL KESSLER MEDIA WORK OUT:
11:30 for Kessler workout; 12:30 p.m. for Ward workout.
Note: Workout is open to the public.
Kings Gym
843 35th Avenue
Oakland, CA., (510) 261-2199
MIKKEL KESSLER vs. ANDRE WARD
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
ORCALE ARENA, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA
Live on SHOWTIME(r) 10 p.m. (ET/PT)
NEW YORK (November 17, 2009) – The Mikkel Kessler vs. Andre Ward fight
will be televised live on SHOWTIME from Oracle Arena, in Oakland,
Calif., on Saturday, Nov. 21, beginning at 10 p.m. (ET/PT) (delayed on
the West Coast).
The Kessler-Ward fight is part of the historic inaugural Super Six World
Boxing Classic, a six fighter, round-robin tournament featuring the
class of the Super Middleweight division from home and abroad. Five of
the world’s top boxing promoters have collaborated with SHOWTIME
Sports(r) to facilitate this epic tournament. Lou DiBella of DiBella
Entertainment, Dan Goossen of Goossen Tutor Promotions, Mick Hennessy of
Hennessy Sports, Gary Shaw of Gary Shaw Productions LLC and Wilfried and
Kalle Sauerland of Sauerland Event will promote the tournament which
began October 17th and runs through spring 2011.
For more information on the Super Six World Boxing Classic, including
exclusive videos, photography, expert analysis from Al Bernstein and
Steve Farhood, and much more please visit www.WorldBoxingClassic.com.
For information on all SHOWTIME Sports telecasts, including exclusive
behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries from its events and complete
information on the Super Six World Boxing Classic, please visit the website at: http://www.sports.sho.com
(By Mitch Abramson, NY Daily News) - The sport of boxing has a lot of belts (and problems). There are interim belts and belts in recess and New York State belts. There are so many belts that if you’re a fighter, chances are you own one.
Showtime is doing its part to remedy this headache by staging a round-robin tournament that would straighten out the super middleweight division and its four different world champions.
It’s called the Super Six World Boxing Classic and it will include two current super middleweight champs, two former middleweight champs and a pair of rising boxers with Olympic pedigrees.
It’s the brainchild of senior VP of Showtime Sports, Ken Hershman, who convinced five different promoters to sign on.
