Robert Stieglitz vs. Mikkel Kessler

Date	14 April 2012
Location	Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark
Title(s) on the line	WBO Super Middleweight Championship
Robert Stieglitz vs.  Mikkel Kessler
		Viking Warrior
Tale of the tape
Magdeburg, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany	From	Copenhagen, Denmark
40–2-0 (23 KO)	Pre-fight record	44–2-0 (33 KO)
5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Orthodox	Style	Orthodox
WBO Super Middleweight Champion	Recognition	Former WBA/WBC Super Middleweight Champion
Result	TBD

Robert Stieglitz vs. Mikkel Kessler is a championship fight for the WBO Super Middleweight title. The clash will take place at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark on April 14, 2012 and will be televised via Showtime Championship Boxing.^[1] Initially, Kessler turned down an offer to challenge IBF Super Middleweight champion Lucian Bute in favour of a bout with Stieglitz. This action triggered a bizarre series of events which ultimately culminated with Kelly Pavlik pulling out of a fight with Bute, citing that he had not been offered as much money as Kessler for the bout.^[2][3]

Background

Stieglitz

Stieglitz won the WBO belt on August 22, 2009, battering Karoly Balzsay on the way to an eleventh round stoppage when his opponent's corner threw in the towel.^[4]. He has since defended his title four times, with his most recent bout being a disqualification win over Khoren Gevor on April 9, 2011 in an ugly battle. Gevor repeatedly fouled Stieglitz throughout the fight and was eventually penalized a point for his tactics. In the tenth round both men became entangled and crashed to the canvas, which resulted in Stieglitz sustaining a bad cut over his right eye. The referee then proceeded to disqualify Gevor, who attacked the ref and was immediately escorted out of the arena by security personnel.^[5].

Kessler

Kessler was a part of the of the elite group of Super Middleweights originally chosen to take part in Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Classic.^[6] In his first fight as part of the six-man tournament, Kessler was defeated by Andre Ward via technical decision, losing his WBA title. The fight was stopped in the eleventh round due to a deep cut on Kessler's forehead deemed to have been caused by an accidental clash of heads.^[7] Kessler then faced off against Carl Froch in a brutal encounter, eventually winning a unanimous decision and gaining Froch's WBC belt.^[8]. However, after this bout Kessler was forced to withdraw from the tournament and vacate the WBC title, citing an eye injury that had been "bothering him for some time".^[9] Kessler eventually returned to ring on June 4, 2011, stopping France's Mehdi Bouadla inside six rounds.^[10]

Fight card

Televised

• Super Middleweight Championship bout: Robert Stieglitz vs. Mikkel Kessler

Preliminary card

• Women's Super Featherweight Championship bout: Ramona Kuehne vs. Agota Ilko

• Women's Welterweight Championship bout: Cecilia Brækhus vs. Kuulei Kupihea

• Middleweight bout: Patrick Nielsen vs. TBA

• Cruiserweight bout: Micki Nielsen vs. TBA

• Super Middleweight bout: Rudy Markussen vs. TBA

Result

^{[To be determined]}

International broadcasting

Country / Region	Broadcaster
Denmark	TV2
Germany	ARD
United Kingdom	BoxNation
United States	Showtime

References

1. ^ BoxRec Boxing Records. Boxrec.com. Retrieved on September 18, 2011.
2. ^ Satterfield, Lem (August 2, 2011). "Pavlik threatens to pull out of fight". The Ring. http://ringtv.craveonline.com/rumors/articles/168345-is-pavlik-cunningham-off-of-this-wekends-show-. Retrieved September 18, 2011. 
3. ^ Satterfield, Lem (August 4, 2011). "Pavlik goes into attack mode". The Ring. http://ringtv.craveonline.com/blog/168369-kelly-pavlik-is-still-one-of-the-biggest-names-in-boxing. Retrieved September 18, 2011. 
4. ^ Ake Persson, Per (August 23, 2009). "Robert Stieglitz TKOs Karoly Balzsay!". East Side Boxing. http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=20912&more=1. Retrieved September 18, 2011. 
5. ^ Chikov, Ruslan (April 9, 2011). "Robert Stieglitz Beats Khoren Gevor By DQ in Ten Rounds". Boxing Scene. http://www.boxingscene.com/robert-stieglitz-beats-khoren-gevor-by-dq-ten-rounds--37947. Retrieved September 18, 2011. 
6. ^ Rafael, Dan (July 11, 2009). "Super middleweight tournament planned". ESPN. http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=4317510. Retrieved September 18, 2011. 
7. ^ Vester, Mark (November 21, 2009). "Andre Ward Punishes Mikkel Kessler, Captures WBA Belt". Boxing Scene. http://www.boxingscene.com/andre-ward-punishes-mikkel-kessler-captures-wba-belt--23629. Retrieved September 18, 2011. 
8. ^ Dirs, Ben (April 24, 2010). "Mikkel Kessler snatches WBC title from Carl Froch". BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/boxing/8638338.stm. Retrieved September 18, 2011. 
9. ^ Christ, Scott (August 25, 2010). "Mikkel Kessler withdraws from Super Six with eye injury". Bad Left Hook. http://www.badlefthook.com/2010/8/25/1649556/mikkel-kessler-withdraws-from. Retrieved September 18, 2011. 
10. ^ Helmut, Hermann (June 5, 2010). "Kessler Stops Boudla in Denmark". Saddo Boxing. http://www.saddoboxing.com/15870-kessler-stops-bouadla.html. Retrieved September 18, 2011. 

External links

• Stieglitz vs. Kessler Official Fight Card from BoxRec

Preceded by vs. Khoren Gevor	Robert Stieglitz's bouts April 9, 2011	Succeeded by [To be determined]
Preceded by vs. Mehdi Bouadla	Mikkel Kessler's bouts June 4, 2011	Succeeded by [To be determined]