The best thing about the World Boxing Classic, also known as the Super Middleweight Tournament, is that each bout thus far could stand on its own, tournament or no tournament. Tonight the first round of bouts ends with WBA belt-holder Mikkel Kessler of Denmark wasthe defending against unbeaten
Olympic gold medal winner Andre Ward. The bout will be in Ward’s hometown of Oakland, Calif., and televised on Showtime.
The moment of truth has arrived for Ward, whose climb from winning gold in Athens to his first shot at a world title has been a deliberate journey slowed briefly by injuries to his thumb and knee. In Kessler, Ward faces a two-time champion, whose only loss was to future Hall of Famer Joe Calzaghe.
“This is what it’s all about,” Ward said. “I’ve been at the highest level as an amateur and now I’m preparing for my first world title fight as a professional. I see all you [media], and I know what a big fight is all about. I’m ready.”
Kessler-Ward is the third and final fight of the first round. In earlier bouts, Arthur Abraham of Germany knocked out Jermain Taylor in the 12th round in Berlin, Germany, and WBC Champion Carl Froch earned a 12-round decision over previously unbeaten Andre Dirrell in Nottingham, England.
Each fighter will have at least three bouts during the round-robin portion of the tournament with winners by decision collecting one point and those winning by knockout earning two. The four fighters with the most points will meet in a single-elimination semifinal before moving on to the finals scheduled for 2011.
Abraham (31-0, 25 KOs) will face Dirrell (18-1, 13 KOs) on Jan. 23 in the second round of the round robin. Taylor is expected to withdraw after suffering his third brutal knockout in his last five fights. Allan Green could be his replacement.
Though Ward is 20-0 with 13 KOs, Kessler has more than double the experience (42-1, 32 KOs) and said he thinks that gives him a huge edge.
“He’s a great, young fighter,”
Kessler said. “He reminds me a lot of myself when I was his age. I won my first world title at 24, but I’m more experienced in a lot of different ways. I can see that he is hungry, has good speed and good technique. But I think my strengths are also speed and my experience. You can pick things up from all kinds of bouts.”
Ward, 25, said he believes his preparation, ability and the hometown crowd will help him against the hard-punching Kessler, 30.
“We have a general plan, but at the end of the day it’s going to be about getting in there and being myself,” Ward said. “The days that you go in there and try to be perfect are usually your worst days, but the days that you go in there and say, ‘I’m going to have fun,’ and do are generally your best.”
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Let’s see: Titans owner Bud Adams was fined $250,000 for giving the middle finger
salute to fans during the Titans-Bills game Sunday. Meanwhile, Top Rank boss Bob Arum made the same gesture from the middle of the ring to a ringside reporter moments after Yuri Foreman of Brooklyn defeated Daniel Santos for the WBA junior middleweight title.
Arum gave the finger to ESPN boxing writer Dan Rafael, who earlier had criticized the undercard of Pacquiao-Cotto by saying the Foreman-Santos matchup could be “potentially horrific.”
Because there’s no governing body in boxing like there is in the NFL, Arum will not be fined, and it’s not like the Nevada State Athletic Commission is going to do anything. Heck, it’s boxing.
george.willis@nypost.com
Source: nypost.com
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