Team Sauerland regrets to inform boxing fans that Mikkel Kessler´s next
fight in Copenhagen has been postponed to May 19. The Viking Warrior has
not yet regained the necessary fitness following last year´s hand
surgery, forcing him to pull out of the April 14 clash with WBO
Super-Middleweight Champion Robert Stieglitz. Details about the new
opponent will be announced at a press conference next week. “I hate to
keep my fans waiting and I am really sorry about the delay,” Kessler
said. “As a boxer, my fists are my biggest weapon. To fight and to win
at the highest level, I need my hand to be fully recovered.
Unfortunately, the April 14 date comes just a little too early but I
will be ready on May 19. I have kept my shape and can´t wait to be
fighting again in front of my Danish fans.”

Said promoter Kalle Sauerland: “Although I believe that Mikkel would
defeat 90 percent of the super-middleweights out there with just one
hand, we will not let him into the ring when he is not fully recovered.
His health has always been our top priority. The five-week delay is
disappointing but it´s not the end of the world. On May 19, Mikkel will
come back in style and put on a great show.”

Team Sauerland regrets to announce that Mikkel Kessler (44-2, 33 KOs)
has sustained a hand injury in practice, forcing him to postpone his
hotly-anticipated November 5 clash with WBO Super-Middleweight Champion
Robert Stieglitz (40-2, 23 KOs) to early 2012. The venue will remain
Copenhagen´s PARKEN Stadium, and all tickets purchased will remain
valid. The new date for the show, which will be co-promoted by Team
Sauerland and SES boxing, will be confirmed as soon as possible. “This
is a major disappointment for me,” Kessler said. “We´ve had a great
preparation and I was in fantastic shape when I injured my right hand
during a routine training session. The doctors advised me that it needs
a rest and I can´t fight on November 5. I am very sorry to keep my fans
waiting. The good news is that the injury should heal quickly after a
little break. I will rest my hand and then get back to training to be
fit for Stieglitz early next year.”

Just like the Viking Warrior, promoter Kalle Sauerland was gutted. “It´s
a shame that this big clash of champions has to be postponed,” he
stated. “I know how hard Mikkel has worked and how disappointed he is to
postpone the original fight date, but we have been through this before.
We will now speak to our broadcasting partners – TV2 in Denmark, ARD in
Germany and SHOWTIME in the US – to find a new date in early 2012 as
soon as possible. We will then kick off the new year with a massive show
at PARKEN, with two of the world´s best super-middleweights battling it
out.”

As soon as the new date for the show at PARKEN has been confirmed, Team
Sauerland will make an announcement. All tickets purchased will remain
valid. Fans unable to attend the fight on the new date can refund their
tickets through billetlugen.dk’s call center (+45 70 263 267) until
three weeks after the announcement of the new date.

Dan Rafael of espn/com is reporting that WBO Super Middleweight champion Robert Stieglitz will take on former world champion Mikkel Kessler on November 5th in Denmark.

“The negotiations with SES Boxing and Robert Stieglitz have been tough but now everything is in place,” said Kalle Sauerland, who promotes Kessler. “With the support of his ferocious Viking fans, I am sure that Mikkel will accomplish his goal and become world champion for a fourth time.”

“I have a lot of respect for Robert Stieglitz,” Kessler said. “He has a very good record and he is a deserving world champion. But his reign will be over once we meet in the ring. Throughout my career, I have proven myself against the best fighters out there. I can’t wait to be world champion again. Winning the title for a fourth time will be special. & I have never lost a fight in Denmark. It will be no different this time. It can promise my fans a hell of an evening with me leaving the ring as the winner.”