Will Andre Ward be willing to fight Mikkel Kessler in Denmark?
Mikkel Kessler is now Andre Ward's WBA mandatory.
When Kessler had the WBA "Super" title, he fought Ward in his hometown of Oakland. During the fight, the California referee Jack Reiss kept admonishing Kessler for nothing, while permitted Ward to use illegal tactics such as deliberate headbutts and hitting off the break.
Despite winning the Super Six, because of his dull style, Ward still doesn't have enough of a fanbase to have his promoter Goossen win the WBA purse bid. Sauerland will very likely win and choose to have the fight in Denmark, where it will be a huge PPV event.
Ward has been afraid to travel. He demanded to have his Super Six fights in the USA, while all the others (Taylor, Froch, Kessler, Abraham) had to fight in foreign countries.
Will Andre Ward drop his WBA title, or will he be brave enough to fight Kessler in Denmark?
Re: Will Andre Ward be willing to fight Mikkel Kessler in Denmark?
Re: Will Andre Ward be willing to fight Mikkel Kessler in Denmark?
Ward does not have to fight Kessler in Denmark but he could just because he knows he has beaten him already and may fancy the challenge.
Re: Will Andre Ward be willing to fight Mikkel Kessler in Denmark?
article from ESPN: The Worldwide Leader In Sports a couple of days before the Kessler-Ward fight:
Quote:
WBA super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler's camp is unhappy about the assignment of local judges and a California referee to his Super Six tournament bout against Andre Ward in Oakland on Saturday.
The WBA might refuse to sanction the bout as a title fight unless the California State Athletic Commission finds judges and a referee who aren't from Ward's native state, Kessler's representatives told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Kessler (42-1, 32 KOs) agreed to travel from his native Denmark to the hometown of Ward (20-0, 13 KOs), the undefeated Olympic gold medalist, for a lucrative payday in their first bout in the high-profile 168-pound tournament.
The contracts signed by each of the tournament's six fighters set out very specific requirements for the nationality of the officials, requiring two judges and the referee to be "from a neutral territory."
Wilfried Sauerland, Kessler's promoter, was told a referee and two judges from California have been assigned to the fight, along with well-known South African judge Stanley Christodoulou.
"Not all the judges can be from California," Sauerland said after a news conference in downtown Oakland. "If it stays like this, definitely there won't be a world championship on Saturday. We have a really serious problem."
Neutrality in boxing officiating has been a popular topic in recent months, particularly after Paulie Malignaggi's loss to Juan Diaz in August in a 140-pound fight that ended with at least one baffling scorecard favoring Diaz in his native Houston, Texas.
The first two bouts in the Super Six tournament adhered to the contracts; requirements of no more than one judge from each fighter's "home territory," along with a neutral judge and a neutral referee, said Sauerland Event attorney Scott Shaffer.
On Oct. 17, Arthur Abraham stopped Jermain Taylor in Germany, Abraham's adopted homeland. Later that night, two non-British judges awarded a split decision to Carl Froch over Andre Dirrell in Froch's native Nottingham, England.
"It's just very frustrating, because we put this in the contract, and everyone agreed to it up front," Shaffer said, noting that Sauerland fighter Abraham didn't have German judges at ringside. "Mikkel Kessler is a huge star in Denmark, and we're taking a huge risk bringing him to fight an Olympic gold medalist in his own backyard. We thought we protected him in the contract, and now we find out it's just being ignored."
Shaffer stressed that Sauerland has no grudges or suspicions about any of the officials assigned to the fight, but merely wanted its contract stipulations honored.
"If it's a close fight, we don't want there to even be the appearance of somebody getting a hometown decision," Shaffer said.
Sauerland's protests have reached the California commission, which is addressing them.
"We are aware of the concerns of the promoter, and so we have been working with both the promoter and the sanctioning body to address those concerns, and that process is ongoing," Russ Heimerich, a spokesman for the athletic commission, told the AP. Heimerich said the commission hopes to "come to an understanding" with Sauerland by Thursday.
Kessler has been the WBA 168-pound champion for most of the past five years. He lost the belt to Wales' Joe Calzaghe in March 2007, but reclaimed it last year and made two title defenses before agreeing to meet Ward at Oracle Arena.
Ward is about to get his first major title shot after a deliberate five-year climb from the amateur ranks. He is the only American gold medal-winning boxer to come out of the past three Olympics.
Re: Will Andre Ward be willing to fight Mikkel Kessler in Denmark?
Kessler V Froch is what the fans want, it would generate a big pay day for both of them, if you want
action it the only fight out there, Ward can't draw flys.;)
Re: Will Andre Ward be willing to fight Mikkel Kessler in Denmark?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Dia bando
Kessler V Froch is what the fans want, it would generate a big pay day for both of them, if you want
action it the only fight out there, Ward can't draw flys.;)
True.
I'd love to see Mikkel get his revenge on Ward, but Froch-Kessler II would be a more entertaining and more popular fight.
Re: Will Andre Ward be willing to fight Mikkel Kessler in Denmark?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Freedom
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Dia bando
Kessler V Froch is what the fans want, it would generate a big pay day for both of them, if you want
action it the only fight out there, Ward can't draw flys.;)
True.
I'd love to see Mikkel get his revenge on Ward, but Froch-Kessler II would be a more entertaining and more popular fight.
I am not sure Kessler would come to Nottingham either though. It would be refreshing to see Kessler and Froch in the UK, and then if Froch is successfu,l a trilogy decider in Las Vegas. It would be equally startling to see Ward face his mandatory in Denmark. I would also like a Triumph speed triple and a night in with Kelly Brook but it is probably unrealistic to hope that any of these things will ever happen.;D
Re: Will Andre Ward be willing to fight Mikkel Kessler in Denmark?
Ward said in social media that a trip to England to fight Froch after he dismantled Bute is an interesting prospect but I doubt he travels.
He does not need to travel to Denmark to fight Kessler as he is viewed as the man at the weight. Now that isn't fair given his tourney run and never leaving Oakland but that's just the way it is.
I truly believe that Kessler will never leave Denmark again and instead will do his best impersonation of Sven Ottke for the remainder of his career regardless of what he says in the press.
Carl already went to his neck of the woods
Re: Will Andre Ward be willing to fight Mikkel Kessler in Denmark?
Ward isn't the fight for Kessler right now; a rematch with Froch makes more sense from a monetary standpoint and a risk standpoint.
Kessler dominated Magee in impressive fashion. He's had a good year. No huge wins, but the knockouts were exactly what he wanted.
Re: Will Andre Ward be willing to fight Mikkel Kessler in Denmark?
Why does his boxrec page say he's fighting Pavlik? Is that real?
Re: Will Andre Ward be willing to fight Mikkel Kessler in Denmark?
Considering Ward's history of not going far and considering the reputation of integrity of boxing in Denmark; It's highly doubtful he'd agree to it.
