FanHouse has a Mikkel Kessler vs. Andre Ward live blog for round-by-round updates for one of the Showtime Super Six Super Middleweight World Boxing Classic bouts.
The 168-pound main event will start a little after 10PM ET. The live blog begins below.
Kessler (42-1, 32 knockouts) vs. Ward (20-0, 13 KOs) live blog: Refresh this page often for minute-by-minute updates.
Oleg Maskaev had won two of five fights and been stopped three times when promoter, Dennis Rappaport, met him in 2002 -- not long after the 33-year-old Russian-American had suffered an eighth-round knockout loss to journeyman, Corey Sanders.
Since then, however, Maskaev is 14-1 with 10 knockouts -- a run that began with six straight KOs. The first stoppage was a one-rounder against Erroll Sadikovski in February of 2003.
"Oleg, in the ring, is now doing something that he's never done before -- and that's being relaxed," Rappaport said of Maskaev, who is coming off of a first-round knockout of Rich Boruff in March -- his second straight win since being dethroned as WBC champ a year earlier by Samuel Peter in six rounds.
"A relaxed fighter is the most dangerous fighter in the world. Oleg's boxing beautifully, he's devastating to the body," said Rappaport. "Even at his age, he's learning new things, and, more importantly, he's got the desire to continue learning."
Denmark's WBA champion, Mikkel Kessler, is considered boxing's premier 168-pounder -- and for good reason.
And it is among those same reasons why the 30-year-old "Viking Warrior" is favored to take down 25-year-old former Olympic gold medalist Andre Ward in defense of his title on Saturday night at Oracle Arena.
"Mikkel Kessler's just been in with a higher quality of opponent. And Kessler's been involved with more big fights, fighting, more or less, for 12 rounds since Andre Ward has been a professional boxer," said Doug Fischer, co-editor of RingTV.com. "And now he's fighting in Andre Ward's hometown of Oakland, Calif., which is going to be nothing new to him."
One of the two California judges initially chosen to work Saturday night's 168-pound bout between Denmark's WBA king Mikkel Kessler and challenger Andre Ward has been replaced with a Swedish official, quelling a controversy that had threatened the fight's championship status.
Kessler's promoter, Wilfried Sauerland, said on Wednesday that the WBA had threatened not to sanction Kessler-Ward as a super middleweight title matchup because the referee, Jack Riesse, and at least two of the three judges assigned were from California.
That was in violation of the rules regarding the matchup -- part of Showtime's Super Six Super Middleweight World Boxing Classic -- wherein, at least two judges and the referee were to be from neutral territories, in accordance with contracts signed by each of the tournament's six fighters regarding the nationalities of the officials.
But Ward's promoter, Dan Goossen, said the commission has removed one California judge in favor of Sweden's Mikael Hook, who will work the fight along with South Africa's Stanley Christodoulou and California's Steve Morrow.
A problem has developed concerning Saturday's 168-pound WBA title fight between champion Mikkel Kessler of Denmark and Andre Ward, the third bout of Showtime's Super Six Super Middleweight World Boxing Classic that is being fought at the Oracle Arena in the challenger's hometown of Oakland, Calif.
At least two judges and the referee for each matchup are to be from neutral territories, in accordance with contracts signed by each of the tournament's six fighters regarding the nationalities of the officials.
But during a press conference yesterday at Oakland's City Hall, Kessler's promoter, Wilfried Sauerland, said that the referee, Jack Riesse, and at least two of the three judges selected for the fight are from California, along with South African judge, Stanley Christodoulou, according to a report by the Associated Press.
Denmark's WBA super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler will meet former Olympic gold medalist Andre Ward on Saturday night in what shapes up as a clash of similar styles, even as it is a battle of Ward's youth against Kessler's experience.
Both the 30-year-old Kessler (42-1, 32 knockouts) and the 25-year-old Ward (20-0, 13 KOs) are considered excellent athletes whose arsenals include comparable speed as well as solid chins, stamina and general boxing skills.
FanHouse sought the opinions of 10 boxing experts for their predictions on the 168-pound matchup. See the results after the jump.
The champion has more than three times as many knockouts, and could be stronger than the challenger, if not equally as fast and athletic.
And although Kessler is six years older than Ward, the WBA super middleweight titlist seems to be in his prime.
Ward (pictured far right) appears to be the underdog in most phases of the matchup. But if you ask his promoter, Dan Goossen, that's just the way Ward likes it.
Dmitriy Salita had spent weeks training like a madman at the Poconos resort in Pennsylvania, but the boxer hadn't worked as feverishly as he had while running around in search for a working television on Saturday night.
"I tried to go to different places, but I couldn't find anywhere with good reception," said Salita, "because, you know, this place is out in the middle of nowhere."
By the time Salita was able to achieve his goal, the news already was out: One of his best friends, Yuri Foreman, had become the first Israeli citizen to earn a professional world title.
A scene involving former middleweight world champion, Jermain Taylor, represents one of the more compelling moments in FIGHT CAMP 360: Inside The Super Six World Boxing Classic.
Asked if he feels blessed to be in the tournament, pitting six of the world's premiere super middleweights (168 pounds) in a round-robin affair, Taylor responds to the affirmative.
"When I first heard about this tournament, I was on my boat. Then I get a call saying something about the Super Six [Tournament,]" said Taylor, a soft-spoken native of Little Rock, Ark., who speaks with a slight stutter.
"They said there are going to be six guys in the super middleweight division, and they're going to put us all in the ring, and 'May the best man win,' " said Taylor. "I was just like, 'This is a blessing.' After this tournament -- after I win it -- I'll be right back on top, no matter what happens."
By now, everyone knows what has happened, and it wasn't good for Taylor.
LAS VEGAS -- When former world champion Winky Wright enters the ring in San Juan's Coliseo de Puerto Rico on Dec. 11, it will be with the short-range goals of acheiving past glory.
Wright (51-5-1, 25 knockouts), a southpaw who turns 38 on Nov. 26, will end an eight-month layoff when he meets Brewer, who will turn 39 on Dec. 22. Brewer (26-11, 15 KOs) has won eight consecutive fights, inlcluding first- and, second-round knockouts of his past two opponents in May and August.
Wright twice defeated current world champion, Shane Mosley, as a junior middleweight (154 pounds) in 2004, and then followed that up with a rise to middleweight (160) for a one-sided, May, 2005, unanimous decision over former world champion and Puerto Rican great, Felix Trinidad.
Oleg Maskaev had won two of five fights and been stopped three times when promoter, Dennis Rappaport, met him in 2002 -- not long after the 33-year-old Russian-American had suffered an eighth-round knockout loss to journeyman, Corey Sanders..jpg)
Denmark's WBA champion, Mikkel Kessler, is considered boxing's premier 168-pounder -- and for good reason.
Denmark's WBA super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler will meet former Olympic gold medalist Andre Ward on Saturday night in what shapes up as a clash of similar styles, even as it is a battle of Ward's youth against Kessler's experience.
Dmitriy Salita had spent weeks training like a madman at the Poconos resort in Pennsylvania, but the boxer hadn't worked as feverishly as he had while running around in search for a working television on Saturday night.
A scene involving former middleweight world champion, Jermain Taylor, represents one of the more compelling moments in FIGHT CAMP 360: Inside The Super Six World Boxing Classic.
LAS VEGAS -- When former world champion Winky Wright enters the ring in San Juan's Coliseo de Puerto Rico on Dec. 11, it will be with the short-range goals of acheiving past glory.
