WBA King Mikkel Kessler Invades Challenger Andre Ward's Hometown

Although Denmark's Mikkel Kessler is nicknamed "The Viking Warrior," he could easily borrow the monicker of another fighter, "The Road Warrior," given how he has embraced the prospect of defending his WBA crown against American Andre Ward on Nov. 21 in the latter's hometown of Oakland, Calif.

"I've been here for three weeks now in California. The climate and the time change are very good. You have to be there at least three weeks beforehand to adapt," said Kessler, 30, who will face Ward (20-0, 13 knockouts) in a 168-pound, first-round clash of Showtime's Super Six Middleweight World Boxing Classic at Oracle Arena.

"It took me about three or four days to get used to it, but I'm in a very good rhythm now, and my conditioning hasn't been better. I just fought eight rounds today, and it's been one of the best eight rounds of my life. I'm looking forward to Ward, and I'm so ready for Ward," said Kessler (42-1, 32 knockouts), who has fought only once in the U.S.

"I think after this fight, people are going to recognize me better. I'm going to show them how my boxing style is," said Kessler. "I'm ready to show the American boxing fans how I fight, because it's difficult for me, as a Danish guy, to get known in the U.S., so here's my big chance for it."


The tournament's initial first-round fight was held on Oct. 17, starting with Germany's Athur Abraham (31-0, 25 KOs) scoring a 12th-round knockout of Arkansas' Jermain Taylor (28-4, 17 KOs) in a matchup of former middleweight (160 pounds) champions.

On the same night, England's Carl Froch (26-0, 20 KOs) earned a split-decision over former Olympic bronze medalist Andre Dirrell (18-1, 13 KOs) of Flint, Mich., in defense of Froch's WBC title.

In the next group stage, Taylor, 31, is scheduled to fight Ward, Abraham is slated to meet Dirrell, and Froch, to face Kessler. In the third and final group stage, it's Abraham-Froch, Dirrell-Ward, and, Kessler-Taylor.

When the three group stages are completed, the top four point-earners will be seeded to comprise the semifinals, from which the two finalists will be determined. The tournament is not expected to be completed until 2011.

Showtime and NFL Films, meanwhile, are embedded into the respective camps of Kessler and Ward as they prepare for the second episode of the reality show FIGHT CAMP 360: Inside The Super Six World Boxing Classic.

The second episode will air on Saturday night on Showtime at 10:40 p.m., and will offer a look back at the start of the tournament.

While Abraham and Froch fought their American rivals before their respective home crowds, Kessler is the first of the three Europeans to come to the U.S.

"It's going to be a massive event next weekend. Andre Ward, unbeaten professional gold medalist in the Olympics for the USA. It's going to be a massive challenge for Mikkel here. But Mikkel is a man who has been there before, having boxed against people like Joe Calzaghe in front of 55,000 Welsh fans," said Kessler's promoter, Kalle Sauerland.

"So we're going into the lion's den, which speaks a lot about Mikkel's mentality as a champion who is prepared, as part of the tournament, to go away from home in his first fight and box in front of 19,000 fans in Oakland," said Sauerland.

"It's obviously a massive stadium, and a massive setting for this great, Super Six event. We have no doubt that the preparations have gone excellent," said Sauerland. "Everyone will see the Viking warrior come into the states and making a statement about what he wants to do in this tournament."

The lone defeat for Kessler, the tournament's favorite, was by a unanimous decision to Joe Calzaghe, in Calzaghe's hometown of Wales in November of 2007. Calzaghe retired undefeated.

"As a fighter, you always want to be the underdog that no one believes in, but it has been such for me a long time. So now, I'm very happy that people can see my skills as a fighter, and I'm going to show them that I am the champ," said Kessler, who said that he is not feeling pressure to score a knockout, worth two tournament points.

"If the knockout is there, it's there, and I'm going to take the chance. But I don't think that I have to score a knockout. I only think about winning. I'm expecting Ward's best performance. He's 25 years old, an upcoming fighter, and this is his chance.

"I'm expecting a very hard fight. But every fight I have fought, I see it as my last one," said Kessler. "That's how I see it. I'm going outside of my home country, and I'm very excited to fight Ward in his hometown."

Kessler was dethroned by Calzaghe as WBC and WBA super middleweight champion, but regained the WBA crown in his next fight by stopping Dimitri Sartison in two rounds. Kessler has twice defended his title.

"I know how to perform in a fight. The routine that I have with me now, as a result of losing, is much better," said Kessler, stating that he fought Calzaghe with a broken right wrist. "I fought my heart out. I gained a lot of experience in my first loss. But all of that's over now, and it's only made me stronger."

In September, Kessler thrilled his countryman at the MCH Messecenter in Herning, Denmark, by scoring his third straight knockout over mandatory challenger, Gusmyr Perdomo (16-3, 10 KOs), of Venezuela, 56 seconds into the fourth round.

Kessler was returning to the ring for the first time since his third-round knockout of Germany's Danilo Haussler in October.

"Of course, when I signed up for the tournament, I said to my promoter that I don't care where I fight. You always want to be on your home turf, and I want to fight in Denmark, but hopefully, next time, maybe," said Kessler, whose only American appearance was for a March, 2000, second-round knockout over Israel Ponce in Las Vegas.

"But a fight is a fight, and a win is a win, and I don't care where it is," said Kessler. "Of course, if it's a decision, you always seem to have [an advantage with the judges] when you're fighting on your own home turf. But I'm the kind of fighter that scores a lot of points through the rounds, and I'm very confident in myself."



Below are the air dates and times for FIGHT CAMP 360°: Inside The Super Six World Boxing Classic--Episode2:

Saturday, Nov. 14 - 10:40 p.m. SHO (premiere)

Monday, Nov. 16 - 10 p.m. SHO2

Tuesday, Nov. 17 – 10 p.m. SHO2

Tuesday, Nov. 17 – 12 a.m. SHO

Wednesday, Nov. 18 – 11 p.m. SHO2

Thursday, Nov. 19 – 10 p.m. SHO2

Thursday, Nov. 19 – 1:05 a.m. SHO

Friday, Nov. 20 – 10 p.m. SHO2

Saturday, Nov. 21 – 4:35 p.m. SHO

Note: all times ET/PT