- Mikkel Kessler
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Mikkel Kessler Statistics Real name Mikkel Kessler Nickname(s) Viking Warrior
Hitman
Simply the BestRated at Super middleweight Nationality Danish Born March 1, 1979
Copenhagen, DenmarkStance Orthodox Boxing record Total fights 46 Wins 44 Wins by KO 33 Losses 2 Mikkel Kessler (born March 1, 1979) 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. Kessler, who holds the dinstinction of facing two of Britain's best contemporary fighters, has traded leather (and titles) with fan favorites Joe Calzaghe (L 12) and Carl Froch (W 12).[1]
Contents
Early life
Kessler was born to a Danish father and an English mother, Ann, who hails from Salisbury, Wiltshire.[2] He began his vocation early, training in boxing gyms at age 13.
Amateur career
Kessler fought three years as an amateur. He finished his amateur career with a record of 44 wins, and three losses. He won the Danish Championship five times in addition to the Norwegian Championship and the Scandinavian Championship.
Professional career
Kessler originally campaigned as a light middleweight and then middleweight for the first 22 fights of his career. He won 16 of his first 22 fights by knockout (KO).
After 3 years and 22 fights, Kessler settled in the super middleweight division. Kessler continued his hard hitting streak, dispatching 6 of his first 7 opponents by KO, thereby improving his record to 29–0 with 22 KO.
On November 29, 2002, Kessler fought for his first championship and defeated former World Boxing Council (WBC) super middleweight champion Dingaan Thobela over twelve rounds to become International Boxing Association champion. He gave up this belt to fight for the more recognized WBC International title on April 11, 2003, versus Craig Cummings. Kessler won by a knockout in the third round.
He defended his title on three occasions before finally hitting it big on November 12, 2004. His stablemate, Mads Larsen, another Danish World Class fighter, was set to challenge Manny Siaca for the World Boxing Association championship in Copenhagen. Larsen was injured in training and Kessler took the fight on short notice, winning the title.
Kessler defended his title against Anthony Mundine in Sydney in June 2005 and Eric Lucas in January 2006.
On October 14, 2006, Kessler was elevated to WBA "super champion" status after winning the WBC title in a unification battle against WBC World Champion Markus Beyer, at the Parken Stadium. He won by knockout at 2:58 in round 3.
Kessler defended his WBA super/WBC titles on March 24, 2007, at the Parken Stadium against WBC mandatory challenger Librado Andrade. The fight was scored as a shutout (120–108) by all three judges.
Kessler then met fellow undefeated champion Joe Calzaghe. The bout took place at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on November 3, 2007, in front of over 50,000 fans (then the largest indoor boxing event in European history) and was a unification bout for the WBO/WBA/WBC/Ring Magazine super middleweight titles. Kessler lost the unification bout via unanimous decision, with the judges scoring the fight: 117–111, 116–112, 116–112.[3]
Second Reign
Kessler faced Dimitri Sartison on June 21, 2008, for the vacant WBA Super Middleweight regular title. Kessler won the match by knockout in the 12th round.
Kessler successfully defended his title against Danilo Häussler, KO3 on October 25, and against Gusmyl Perdomo (16–2, 10KOs), KO4 on September 12, 2009, one minute into the round.
In November 2009 the WBA once again promoted him to Super Champion, this time prior to unifying any Super Middleweight titles.[4]
Super Six
His first fight was against Andre Ward on November 21, 2009 for Kessler's WBA Super Middleweight Championship in the Super Six World Boxing Classic. On November 21, 2009 Kessler lost his championship to Andre Ward. The fight was stopped in the eleventh round due to cuts on Kessler's face caused by what was deemed unintentional headbutts by Ward. The fight went to the scorecards and Ward was far ahead by scores of 98–92, 98–92, and 97–93 at the time of the stoppage. Many observers were disappointed with Kesslers performance against Ward, the ways in which he was exposed in his defence, movement and the ability to fight on the inside were evident in the fight, questions rose about his retirement from boxing after the loss, however Kessler wanted to prove his worth with a huge test against Carl Froch then the current WBC world champ.
On April 24. 2010 Kessler returned to form against Britain's undefeated WBC Champion Carl Froch, a match that was called "a classic" and "one of the best matches in Danish boxing ever."[5] The contest went the distance and Kessler was handed a close unanimous decision with scores of 115–113, 116–112, and a surprising 117–111. With the win Kessler became a two time WBC Champion, handing Carl Froch his first defeat in the process.
Andre Ward later praised Kessler tremendously in an interview with fightnews.com, calling Kessler "skill wise...the toughest I’ve fought so far". Ward went on to express admiration over Kessler's career and dispelling any criticism after his own victory over Kessler. "People want to put down Mikkel Kessler because of our fight but he’s proven himself. He’s proven that if he loses a title he can come back and become champion again, he did that after our fight so now he’s a three time world champion. Anybody that can win a world title three times and only have two losses in the process says a lot. He’s a great fighter and I give him a lot of credit and I have a lot of respect for him."[6]
On August 25, Kessler announced he was withdrawing from the Super Six tournament due to the worsening of the eye injury he suffered in his fight against Ward. According to Ekstra Bladet newspaper, Kessler stated he was seeing double. Doctors told him he must take a nine month break from boxing.[7]
The Comeback
Mikkel Kessler suddenly announced his comeback, and fought against Mehdi Bouadla and scored victory by TKO. Mikkel claimed that if he had lost this fight he would retire.
Other
On Volbeat's album Beyond Hell/ Above Heaven there is a song dedicated to Mikkel Kessler named "A Warrior's Call" which contains the lyrics "The viking warrior Mikkel Kessler". Also in which he provided vocals for the line "fight, fight, fight, fight", as revealed in the International EPK Video.
Kessler is sponsored by Jack&Jones clothing and can often be seen wearing the brand whilst training and as well on his underwear and shorts at weigh-ins and fights.
Kessler is the younger brother of adult model and actress Linse Kessler.
Professional boxing record
44 Wins (33 knockouts), 2 Losses, 0 Draws[8] Result Record Opponnent Type Rd., Time Date Location Notes Win 44–2 Mehdi Bouadla
TKO 6 (12), 2:25 2011-06-04 Parken Stadium, Copenhagen
Non-title bout. Win 43–2 Carl Froch
UD 12 2010-04-24 MCH Messecenter Herning, Herning
2nd fight in Super Six tournament. Won WBC Super Middleweight title. Loss 42–2 Andre Ward
TD 11 (12), 1:42 2009-11-21 Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
1st fight in Super Six tournament. Lost WBA Super Middleweight title. Win 42–1 Gusmyer Perdomo
TKO 4 (12), 0:51 2009-09-12 MCH Messecenter Herning, Herning
Retained WBA Super Middleweight title. Win 41–1 Danilo Haussler
KO 3 (12), 1:08 2008-10-25 Weser-Ems-Halle, Oldenburg, Niedersachsen
Retained WBA super middleweight title. Win 40–1 Dimitri Sartison
KO 12 (12), 2:00 2008-06-21 Brøndby Hall, Copenhagen
Won vacant WBA Super Middleweight title. Loss 39–1 Joe Calzaghe
UD 12 2007-11-03 Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Lost WBA, WBC, WBO & The Ring Super Middleweight titles. Win 39–0 Librado Andrade
UD 12 2007-03-24 Parken Stadium, Copenhagen
Retained WBC, WBA Super Middleweight titles. Win 38–0 Markus Beyer
KO 3 (12), 2:58 2006-10-14 Parken Stadium, Copenhagen
Retained WBA & Won WBC Super Middleweight titles. Win 37–0 Eric Lucas
TKO 10 (12), 1:51 2006-01-14 Brøndby Hall, Copenhagen
Retained WBA Super Middleweight title. Win 36–0 Anthony Mundine
UD 12 2005-06-08 Sydney Entertainment Centre, Sydney
Retained WBA Super Middleweight title. Win 35–0 Manny Siaca
RTD 7 (12), 3:00 2004-11-12 Brøndby Hall, Copenhagen
Won WBA Super Middleweight title. Win 34–0 Andre Thysse
TKO 11 (12), 1:32 2004-06-11 K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen
Retained WBC International Super Middleweight title. Win 33–0 Julio Cesar Green
KO 1 (12), 1:20 2004-03-13 Brøndby Hall, Copenhagen
Retained WBC International Super Middleweight title. Win 32–0 Henry Porras
TKO 9 (12), 2:46 2003-10-24 K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen
Retained WBC International Super Middleweight title. Win 31–0 Craig Cummings
KO 3 (12), 1:09 2003-04-11 K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen
Won Vacant WBC International Super Middleweight title. Win 30–0 Dingaan Thobela
UD 12 2002-11-29 Falconer Centret, Copenhagen
Vacant IBA super middleweight title. Win 29–0 Dean Williams
KO 1 (8), 1:58 2002-11-08 Falconer Centret, Copenhagen
Win 28–0 Gerard Zdziarski
TKO 8 (8), 2:33 2002-10-04 Holbæk Stadion, Holbæk
Win 27–0 Orlando Javier Acuna
TKO 7 (8), 0:10 2002-05-24 Aalborg Kongres & Kulturcenter, Aalborg
Win 26–0 Arthur Allen
TKO 6 (8), 0:52 2002-03-15 Viborg Stadionhal, Viborg
Win 25–0 Manny Sobral
TKO 5 (8), 0:10 2002-02-08 Falconer Centret, Copenhagen
Win 24–0 Fernando Hernández
TKO 2 (8), 1:30 2001-11-16 Roskilde Hallerne, Roskilde
Win 23–0 David Mendez
UD 6 2001-10-13 Parken Stadium, Copenhagen
Win 22–0 Rodrigues Moungo
KO 4 (6), 1:09 2001-04-27 Aalborg Hallen, Aalborg
Win 21–0 Miguel Julio
KO 3 (6), 0:30 2001-03-09 K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen
Win 20–0 Patrick Rubes
KO 2 (6), 0:45 2001-02-09 Odense Idraetshal, Odense
Win 19–0 Tony Menefee
TKO 6 (6), 1:36 2000-09-01 Kolding Hallen, Kolding
Win 18–0 Kevin Hall
KO 2 (6), 2:41 2000-04-28 K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen
Win 17–0 Tom Younan
KO 3 (6), 1:35 2000-03-31 Esbjerg Stadionhal, Esbjerg
Win 16–0 Israel Ponce
KO 2 (6), 2:59 2000-03-04 Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win 15–0 Charles Whittaker
KO 3 (6), 2:30 2000-02-18 Aalborg Hallen, Aalborg
Win 14–0 Sidney Mxoli Msutu
UD 6 2000-01-14 Kolding Hallen, Kolding
Win 13–0 Jean Paul D'Alessandro
UD 6 1999-05-04 Cirkusbygningen, Copenhagen
Win 12–0 Jose Maquina Rojas
KO 2 (6), 2:10 1999-04-16 K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen
Win 11–0 Alejandro De Leon
UD 6 1999-03-19 Falconer Centret, Copenhagen
Win 10–0 Jaime Balboa
KO 6 (6), 2:13 1999-02-12 Falconer Centret, Copenhagen
Win 9–0 Dean Martin
UD 6 1998-11-27 Vejlby-Risskov Hallen, Aarhus
Win 8–0 Anthony Ivory
UD 6 1998-11-06 K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen
Win 7–0 Edwin Murillo
KO 2 (6), 2:34 1998-10-16 Aalborg Hallen, Aalborg
Win 6–0 Sammy Sparkman
KO 1 (4), 1:54 1998-09-18 Sundbyoster Hallen, Copenhagen
Win 5–0 Terry Clark
KO 1 (4), 2:35 1998-09-04 Kolding Hallen, Kolding
Win 4–0 Rick Stockton
KO 1 (4), 2:16 1998-06-05 K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen
Win 3–0 Alex Lubo
UD 4 1998-05-01 Kolding Teater, Kolding
Win 2–0 Michael Corleone
TKO 3 (4), 2:40 1998-04-03 Holbæk Stadion, Holbæk
Win 1–0 Kelly Mays
KO 1 (4), 1:09 1998-03-20 Vejlby-Risskov Hallen, Aarhus
Kessler's professional debut. See also
See also: Joe Calzaghe vs. Mikkel KesslerReferences
- ^ http://boxrec.com/media/index.php/Mikkel_Kessler
- ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/boxingandmma/2324665/Mikkel-Kessler-displays-his-warrior-spirit.html
- ^ Calzaghe v Kessler as it happened
- ^ http://wbanews.com/artman/publish/news/Sartison-Bozic_for_WBA_Super_Middleweight_title.shtml
- ^ http://ekstrabladet.dk/sport/anden_sport/boksning/article1335734.ece
- ^ http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/qa-andre-ward-51192
- ^ http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/kessler-injured-57522
- ^ [1]
External links
- Mikkel Kessler Fight-by-Fight Career Record
- Professional boxing record for Mikkel Kessler from BoxRec
- Mikkel Kessler – The Viking Warrior official page
Preceded by
Manny SiacaWBA Super Middleweight Champion
November 12, 2004 – October 14, 2006
PromotedVacant Title next held byAnthony Mundine
as Regular ChampionVacant Title last held bySven OttkeWBA Super Middleweight Champion
Super Champion
October 14, 2006 – November 4, 2007Succeeded by
Joe CalzaghePreceded by
Markus BeyerWBC Super Middleweight Champion
October 14, 2006 – November 4, 2007Vacant Title last held byAnthony MundineWBA Super Middleweight Champion
Regular Title
June 21, 2008 – October 21, 2008Promoted Preceded by
Joe Calzaghe
as Super ChampionWBA Super Middleweight Champion
October 21, 2008 – November 3, 2009
PromotedVacant Title next held byDimitri Sartison
as Regular ChampionVacant Title last held byJoe CalzagheWBA Super Middleweight Champion
Super Champion
November 3, 2009 – November 21, 2009Succeeded by
Andre WardPreceded by
Carl FrochWBC Super Middleweight Champion
April 24, 2010 – September 7, 2010
Status changed: Emeritus ChampionSucceeded by
Carl FrochCategories:- World super-middleweight boxing champions
- World Boxing Association Champions
- World Boxing Council Champions
- Danish boxers
- People from Copenhagen
- 1979 births
- Living people
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