Mikkel Kessler Mikkel Kessler (born 1 March 1979) is a Danish former professional boxer who competed from 1998 to 2013. He held multiple super-middleweight world championships, including the WBA title three times between 2004 and 2013, and the WBC title twic ...

vs.

Andre Ward Andre Michael Ward (born February 23, 1984) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2017. He retired with an undefeated record and held multiple world titles in two weight classes, including the unified WBA (Super) ...

was a professional boxing match fought as part of the

Super Six World Boxing Classic The Super Six World Boxing Classic was a professional boxing tournament organized by the Showtime television network in co-operation with Sauerland Event. The tournament was held from 2009 to 2011, with all fights being contested in the super mi ...

, a tournament staged by

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

to crown a unified world super middleweight champion. The bout was the final match in the first group stage of the tournament and took place at

Oracle Arena An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word ''or ...

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

on 21 November 2009. Mikkel Kessler (43–1, 32 KOs) was making the third defense of the

World Boxing Association The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is the oldest and one of four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Council (WBC), International Boxi ...

championship he entered the tournament with. Kessler defeated Dimitri Sartison in June 2008 for the title

Joe Calzaghe Joseph William Calzaghe ( ; born 23 March 1972) is a Welsh former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2008. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the unified WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, WBO, '' Ring'' magazin ...

had defeated him for the previous fall; after defeating Kessler, Calzaghe vacated his super middleweight titles to campaign at light heavyweight. Andre Ward (20–0, 13 KOs) was fighting in his first world title bout, after a victory against former two-time world title challenger Edison Miranda.

Broadcast

The fight was broadcast live in the United States on Showtime and in the UK on Primetime.

Result

Despite Kessler's status as the overall favorite, Ward was able to outpunch the champion and won a unanimous technical decision to win his first world championship. The fight was halted in the eleventh round after Kessler, who suffered cuts due to two controversial headbutts, was ruled unable to continue by the ringside doctor and as per the rules the final score was tabulated at the time of the stoppage. Ward was ahead 98–92, 98–92 and 97–93 at the time of the stoppage. Ward joined Calzaghe as the only fighters at the time to defeat Kessler.

Aftermath

Following the victory, Ward led the Ring Magazine's rankings for super middleweights.

Fight Card

The fight card included the following fights:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kessler, Ward 2009 in boxing 2009 in sports in California 2000s in Oakland, California November 2009 sports events in the United States Boxing matches in California

Ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

Kessler Kessler or Keßler (in German) may refer to: * Kessler (automobile), an American automobile made 1921–1922 * Kessler (name), people named Kessler * ''Kessler'' (TV series), a British television series from 1981 * Kessler, Ohio, an unincorporat ...

Sports competitions in Oakland, California Super Six World Boxing Classic