Joe Calzaghe vs Mikkel Kessler
Undefeated Super Middleweight Champions Battle
The top two super middleweights in the world fight to remain undefeated. It's a fight that could change the way American boxing audiences, and fighters, see the world.
Saturday, November 3rd at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, Joe Calzaghe (43-0, 32 KO's) takes on Mikkel Kessler (39-0, 29 KO's) to unify the WBA, WBC, and WBO titles. The highly anticipated broadcast will be televised on HBO at 6:00 PM ET.
Calzaghe won the WBO belt in October 1997 by beating Chris Eubank via unanimous decision. A resident of Newbridge, Wales, Calzaghe rarely ventures far from home to defend his title. A 2001 scrap with Will McIntyre in Denmark and a 2005 bout with Mario Veit in Germany being his only defenses outside the UK.
His reluctance to fight in anywhere beyond his backyard--and the tepid quality of his opposition--caused many in the media to be skeptical of his talent. A thorough domination of American slugger Jeff Lacy in 2006 put most of those suspicions to rest.
Kessler has shown a similar reluctance to fight away from home. Since knocking out Craig Cummings for the WBC title he has fought only once beyond the borders of his native Denmark--a unanimous decision win over Anthony Mundine in Australia back in 2005.
Speed Against Power
The fight brings speed against power, with a combination puncher in Calzaghe, who uses his hand speed to overwhelm his opponents, pitted against a one-punch KO artist in Kessler, who uses a textbook left jab to set up his heavy right hand. While Kessler has an advantage in age--he is 28 to Calzaghe's 35--Calzaghe hasn't been in many wars and shows no signs of slowing down.
This fight marks what could be a significant departure in the promotional politics of boxing. European fighters who refuse to fight elsewhere in the world--the United States especially--have been looked upon with considerable suspicion, but with boxing's surging popularity in Europe her fighters are beginning to shrug off such criticism. As a case in point, Saturday's match-up at Millennium Stadium expects to ring up 50 to 60,000 tickets--numbers that haven't been approached in the US for decades.
A Huge Fight On Regular Cable
Smaller, but prestigious venues such as Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas and Ceasars Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City coupled with expensive pay-per-view contracts have excluded many lower income households--the primary boxing demographic. Wittingly or not, by attracting a huge gate and offering the fight on regular, subscription cable, Calzaghe and Kessler have drawn up a new marketing model for the sport that could have far reaching impact.
Due to his age--at 28, he's just entering his prime--Kessler has the most to gain from a victory over the long-term and would likely be able to convince elite American fighters to cross the pond for a fight; an unthinkable scenario until recently. And something to look forward to.
