WARD DETHRONES KESSLER BY TECHNICAL DECISION IN SUPER 6 SHOWDOWN

In a virtuoso performance, the last U.S. Olympic gold medalist Andre Ward added pro gold to his resume completely dismantling Mikkel Kessler to win the WBA Super Middleweight title before a raucous crowd of 10,227 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. Not only did the win earn Ward two points in the Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament, but it may have elevated him into the elite category.

Fighting before his hometown crowd, Ward (21-0, 13 KOs) dominated from the second round on and in surprising fashion. Kessler (42-2, 32 KOs) of Copenhagen, Denmark was the odds-on betting favorite coming into the Super Six, but was completely outclassed in every regard by the Oakland native.

After a pretty even first round, Ward, 166 ½, turned offensive, boxing and moving on the slower Kessler, 167. One of the only bright spots at any point in the fight for Kessler was his ability to force Ward to the ropes in the first few rounds. However, Kessler was never able hurt Ward in any of those instances. As a sign of things to come, Ward closed the second by measuring Kessler with his left and landing a laser right behind it. By the end of the third round, Ward had burned off all of his nervous energy and settled in like a proven veteran.

Ward maintained the momentum into the third and never relinquished control as his speed kept Kessler out of any type of rhythm. As the fight progressed Ward continually beat Kessler by getting in shots on the inside and manhandling him at long range as well. Ward staggered Kessler with a minute left in the fourth. At the close of the round, Kessler returned to his corner with a cut below his right eye.

By the fifth, Kessler was no longer forcing Ward to the ropes and the Oakland native was eating the Dane alive in the center of the ring. It was quite apparent that Kessler stood almost no chance fighting at that geography. In another veteran move, Ward kept Kessler at range with his right hand and busted him up with the right. Kessler could not get past Ward’s extended left hand and when he tried the results were not what he had hoped for.

After a short burst to start the sixth, Kessler’s morale low was in the dumps. By the end of round eight, Kessler looked like a fighter that wanted someone to save him from further punishment. Rounds nine and ten were just more of the same, as Ward continued to exact his dominance over his beaten adversary. Referee Jack Reiss called time 1:42 into round eleven give the ringside doctor a look at Kessler. Without much hesitation, the doctor called the fight. However, the referee had ruled the original cut was a result of a headbutt (which the earlier replay confirmed). Thus, the fight went to the scorecards.

Swedish judge Mikael Hook somehow scored the bout 97-93. Better known South African judge Stanley Christodoulou and Californian Steve Morrow agreed with tallies of 98-92 all for Ward. The cut ruling may have cost Ward the extra point a knockout would have earned him in the tournament since a stoppage seemed eminent.

Even though Ward was clearly the superior fighter on Saturday, Kessler’s promoter Wilfried Sauerland clung to the belief that his fighter was taken out of the fight due to accidental headbutts. “In my opinion, and that of some of the guys I have spoken to, the referee helped him from the first minute,” said Sauerland. “He used his head, he used his elbow. He didn’t get warned, he didn’t even get cautioned. I think that was a bit much. Nothing to take away [from his win,] but it is something we have to say.”

While the Kessler camp pointed to apparently accidental headbutts as a contributing factor in the result, Ward was nothing but complimentary of his opponent’s performance. “He was what everybody said he was,” said Ward. “We fought the best tonight.”

The city of Oakland, a boxing hotbed decades ago, played host to a world championship fight for the first time in 25 years on Saturday. After the fight, promoter Dan Goossen pledged to reward Ward’s hometown for coming out in mass with another Super Six tournament fight. “Where do you think I want to go?” said Goossen when pinned for the location of Ward’s next fight. “I will do everything we can to come back here to Oakland. I was on my way to the Oracle to do an interview and I saw the [Oakland-Alameda County] Coliseum,” referring to the baseball stadium that sits adjacent to the arena. “That is where I want to do a championship fight. Do you believe we could sell that out? I do.”

Next up for Ward is a date with former champion Jermain Taylor, who fought a tough fight against Arthur Abraham last month before suffering a brutal knockout with six seconds left in the final round. Most insiders believed that Taylor would opt out of the tournament, but Ward paraphrased a quote from his Twitter page stating that he was already in training. Their Group Stage Two tournament fight, originally reported to take place in April or May of 2010, is penciled in for a March date according to Goossen.

Despite the loss in Group Stage One of the tournament, Kessler will have the opportunity to fight for the WBC 168-pound title in his next fight against Carl Froch. Ward’s victory prevented a Group Stage Two unification bout, but the fight now presents many intriguing questions. Some of the luster has surely been knocked off of Kessler, which makes the Froch bout more of a pick ‘em fight. Their bout had been slated to take place in March, but Kessler’s cuts will likely force that date to be pushed back.

In the final undercard bout, Tony Hirsch (10-3-1, 5 KOs) of Oakland added a once-noteworthy name to his resume as he scored a one-sided four-round decision over faded former welterweight contender Jose Celaya (31-6, 16 KOs) of Salinas, California. After a feeling out round, Hirsch, 164, began to pick up the pace in the second. The former pro football player controlled the distance, pot-shoting his Celaya, 166, at will. Stepping up the aggression, Hirsch landed a couple of telling blows on the flat-footed Celaya to punctuate the round.

To his credit, Celaya never stopped trying, even while taking several hard shots late in the fourth. In the end, scores read 40-36 across the board for Hirsch. The fight was scheduled to be a six-rounder, but was shortened due to time constraints. While Celaya still has his heart and will intact, it appears his career may have come to an end.

In a rematch from March of 2008, Karim Mayfield (11-0-1, 7 KOs) of Daly City, California scored his second win over Francisco Santana (11-2, 5 KOs) of Santa Barbara, California in a junior middleweight bout. The first round was the normal feeling-out process with Santana, 150 ½, coming forward for the better part of the round. Mayfield, 151 ½, landed the biggest shots of the round with consecutive overhand rights.

The second round had a bit more action with a few heated exchanges seemingly won by Mayfield. The two continued to measure each other out in the third with the bigger shots still being landed by Mayfield. The fourth round was relatively even with both guys not doing much fighting, however Santana did land a meaningful left towards the end. Mayfield hurt Santana big time in the middle of the fifth round with a series of body and head shots that hurt his game opponent, who went down to one knee. When Santana returned to his feet, it was only a matter of time before two powerful lefts to the body coupled with a right to the head put him down and out as the referee stopped the fight at 2:27 of round five.—by Rick McKenzie

In the second bout of the evening, undefeated Stan Martyniouk (8-0, 1 KO) of Sacramento, California met Anthony Martinez (21-33-3, 9 KOs) of Turrialba, Costa Rica in a four-round lightweight bout. Stan “The Man” moved well in the first round and, when he stopped, landed blistering combinations. Although Martinez, 138 ½, was game and continued to press forward, he was met with solid body shots and uppercuts. By the middle of the fourth and final round, Martinez was chasing and missing while throwing wild punches as Martyniouk, 136, cruised to a unanimous decision. Scores read 40-36 on all three judges’ scorecards.—by Rick McKenzie

Lightweight prospect Mel Crossty (4-0-1, 1 KO) of Cincinnati, Ohio scored one knockdown en route to a unanimous four-round decision over Carlos Herrera (2-3, 1 KO) of Oxnard, California. The knockdown came in the first, as Crossty, 130, landed a blow that caused the glove of Herrera, 130, to glance the canvas. Crossty upped the aggression in the third, rocking Herrera against the ropes. Herrera was game, still coming forward in the fourth, despite being completely outclassed. Scores were 40-35 twice and 39-36 for Crossty.

Photo by Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

Rick McKenzie contributed to this story

Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortega15rds@lycos.com.