Joe Calzaghe vs. Mikkel Kessler
Encyclopedia
Joe Calzaghe
versus Mikkel Kessler
was a super middleweight boxing contest between the number one and two super middleweights in the World. At the time both fighters were unbeaten. On the line was the WBO, WBC and WBA World belts as well as the The Ring Magazine
championship. Calzaghe won by unanimous decision.
for the vacant belt in 1997. He had defended the belt a total of twenty times and had also briefly held the IBF version of the title following a victory over American Jeff Lacy
. In total Calzaghe was undefeated in 43 fights and was considered one of the best pound for pound fighters in the World.
Mikkel Kessler was the holder of both the WBC and WBA belts. Originally winning the WBA belt in November 2004 with a victory over Manny Siaca. He defended twice before taking on WBC champion Marcus Beyer in a unification bout in October 2006. He defended both titles in his next fight against Librado Andrade in March 2007. Kessler was considered to be second only to Calzaghe in the super middleweight division.
Talks had been held between the two camps for the fight since October 2006 after Kessler successfully defended against Andrade and Calzaghe had defeated Sakio Bika
. Kessler had complained that the Welshman spoke more about facing the likes of Bernard Hopkins
and Roy Jones than face his nearest rival in the division. Eventually in July 2007 a fight was agreed for November with Calzaghe's promoter Frank Warren and Mogens Palle representing Kessler coming up with a suitable deal. Speaking of the fight Calzaghe claimed that this was the fight that would mean the most to his career so far even more than the victories over Lacy and Eubank.
in Cardiff
in front of 50,000 fans and broadcast on the television networks HBO and Setanta Sports
. The first three rounds were closely fought before Kessler had the better of the 4th with two separate right uppercuts winning him the round. The following rounds saw Calzaghe's work rate begin to take control although Kessler seemed to have the advantage in terms of power with a number of shots seeming to rock Calzaghe further. According to Compubox at the end of the fight Calzaghe had thrown 1010 punches against 585 for Kessler although Kessler had the edge on accuracy and the amount of power punches which landed. Speaking of the fight and the amount of punches thrown Kessler said afterwards "his punches weren't particularly hard but it was confusing when he hit you 20 times." In the interview immediately after the fight, Kessler did admit that Calzaghe had hurt him with one particular body shot.
The fight ended with a unanimous points decision for Calzaghe with the judges awarding the contest 117-111, 116-112 and 116-112 (Curiously, the British and Danish press commentators had the fight somewhat closer at 115-113 while the U.S. commentators at HBO had the fight a wide 118-110 for Calzaghe ).
The decision meant that Calzaghe had been able to unify three belts in the division and fully establish himself as the top super middleweight in the World.
(25 defenses), Dariusz Michalczewski
(23 defenses) and Ricardo López
(23 defenses) had achieved more. Calzaghe was awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award
for his achievements in boxing throughout 2007.
Kessler regrouped by winning back the now vacant WBA title against Dimitri Sartison
and defending once against Danilo Haussler.
Joe Calzaghe
Joseph William Calzaghe, CBE, MBE is a Welsh former professional boxer. He is the former WBO, WBA, WBC, IBF, The Ring & British super middleweight champion and The Ring light heavyweight champion....
versus Mikkel Kessler
Mikkel Kessler
Mikkel Kessler is a Danish professional boxer and former two time WBA & WBC Super Middleweight champion. In his professional career he has a record of 44–2 with 33 knockouts...
was a super middleweight boxing contest between the number one and two super middleweights in the World. At the time both fighters were unbeaten. On the line was the WBO, WBC and WBA World belts as well as the The Ring Magazine
The Ring (magazine)
The Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
championship. Calzaghe won by unanimous decision.
Build-up
Joe Calzaghe entered the contest having held the WBO version of the World super middleweight title for nine years, originally beating Chris EubankChris Eubank
Chris Eubank, Lord of the Manor of Brighton is a retired British boxer who held world titles at middleweight and super middleweight...
for the vacant belt in 1997. He had defended the belt a total of twenty times and had also briefly held the IBF version of the title following a victory over American Jeff Lacy
Jeff Lacy
Jeffrey Scott Lacy is an American boxer. He is a former International Boxing Federation super middleweight champion.-Amateur career:...
. In total Calzaghe was undefeated in 43 fights and was considered one of the best pound for pound fighters in the World.
Mikkel Kessler was the holder of both the WBC and WBA belts. Originally winning the WBA belt in November 2004 with a victory over Manny Siaca. He defended twice before taking on WBC champion Marcus Beyer in a unification bout in October 2006. He defended both titles in his next fight against Librado Andrade in March 2007. Kessler was considered to be second only to Calzaghe in the super middleweight division.
Talks had been held between the two camps for the fight since October 2006 after Kessler successfully defended against Andrade and Calzaghe had defeated Sakio Bika
Sakio Bika
Sakio "The Scorpion" Bika , is a professional boxer in the super middleweight division. He is the former IBO super middleweight world champion.-Amateur career:...
. Kessler had complained that the Welshman spoke more about facing the likes of Bernard Hopkins
Bernard Hopkins
Bernard Hopkins Jr, known as The Executioner is an American boxer and the current Ring Magazine and WBC light heavyweight champion...
and Roy Jones than face his nearest rival in the division. Eventually in July 2007 a fight was agreed for November with Calzaghe's promoter Frank Warren and Mogens Palle representing Kessler coming up with a suitable deal. Speaking of the fight Calzaghe claimed that this was the fight that would mean the most to his career so far even more than the victories over Lacy and Eubank.
The fight
The fight was held at the Millennium StadiumMillennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
in front of 50,000 fans and broadcast on the television networks HBO and Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports is an international sports broadcaster based in Dublin, Ireland. Setanta Sports was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events...
. The first three rounds were closely fought before Kessler had the better of the 4th with two separate right uppercuts winning him the round. The following rounds saw Calzaghe's work rate begin to take control although Kessler seemed to have the advantage in terms of power with a number of shots seeming to rock Calzaghe further. According to Compubox at the end of the fight Calzaghe had thrown 1010 punches against 585 for Kessler although Kessler had the edge on accuracy and the amount of power punches which landed. Speaking of the fight and the amount of punches thrown Kessler said afterwards "his punches weren't particularly hard but it was confusing when he hit you 20 times." In the interview immediately after the fight, Kessler did admit that Calzaghe had hurt him with one particular body shot.
The fight ended with a unanimous points decision for Calzaghe with the judges awarding the contest 117-111, 116-112 and 116-112 (Curiously, the British and Danish press commentators had the fight somewhat closer at 115-113 while the U.S. commentators at HBO had the fight a wide 118-110 for Calzaghe ).
The decision meant that Calzaghe had been able to unify three belts in the division and fully establish himself as the top super middleweight in the World.
Aftermath
The fight with Kessler had been the 21st defense of Calzaghe's WBO title. The achievement meant that the boxer was now in the record books as having made the 4th highest amount of world title defenses. Only the likes of Joe LouisJoe Louis
Joseph Louis Barrow , better known as Joe Louis, was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949. He is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time...
(25 defenses), Dariusz Michalczewski
Dariusz Michalczewski
Dariusz Michalczewski is a retired Polish- German boxer and former Lineal, WBO, WBA, & IBF light heavyweight champion and WBO cruiserweight champion.-Early career:...
(23 defenses) and Ricardo López
Ricardo López
Ricardo López may refer to:* Ricardo López Aranda , Spanish playwright* Ricardo López Felipe , Spanish footballer* Ricardo López Jordán , Argentine soldier and politician...
(23 defenses) had achieved more. Calzaghe was awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award
BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award
The BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award is the titular award of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony, which takes place each December. The winner is the sportsperson, adjudged by a public vote, to have achieved the most that year. The recipient must either be British or reside and...
for his achievements in boxing throughout 2007.
Kessler regrouped by winning back the now vacant WBA title against Dimitri Sartison
Dimitri Sartison
Dimitri Sartison , is a professional boxer from Germany with orthodox stance. His professional record includes 27 fights: 26 wins , and 1 loss. He lives in Hamburg, Germany, but was born in Rudniy, Kazakhstan. He won the vacant WBA super middleweight title against Stjepan Božić from Croatia on 21...
and defending once against Danilo Haussler.