Mikkel Kessler: "Ward should probably learn to fight outside his country sometimes"

CIANI: You mentioned the Super Six a little while ago, and the Final is coming up in October in a fight between two guys you have faced: Andre Ward and Carl Froch. Given the fact that you’ve been in the ring with both of these guys, how do you see that fight going down?

KESSLER: (laughs) Oh, it’s a difficult fight like all the other Super Six fights. I would say that Carl Froch is a very, very strong fighter and he wants to fight with you. He wants to stand toe-to-toe and he wants to fight. I like those boxers. Andre Ward, he’s a sneaky guy! He wants to have it his way, always on his home field, and he’s a different fighter. He wants to ruin a fight instead of fighting. So of course Andre Ward is a great fighter. He’s a fast fighter. Froch is maybe not as fast, but he’s good mentally in the ring. He’s strong and as you saw against Glen Johnson, he’s getting stronger I think. It’s going to be a great fight and if Carl reads his homework well, I see him as the Super Six winner.

CIANI: Now you also said that you want to fight the big fights out there, and if you beat Robert Stieglitz there are going to be two directions that fans want to see you go in. They’re either going to want to see you fight Lucian Bute, or they’re going to want to see you fight the winner of the Super Six. I’m curious, which direction would you prefer to go in if you are successful against Stieglitz?

KESSLER: (laughs) Oh, as I said before it’s difficult to say. I just want a big fight. Lucian Bute, it’s like he didn’t want to fight me the last we asked. So maybe if I have a belt to negotiate he might want to fight me. But still with Andre Ward I would like to have a rematch against Andre Ward. You know of course I would! I know I’m a much better fighter than he is. If I have to go against Carl (laughs), I’m also ready for that! I know it’s going to be a hard fight but I don’t doubt myself. I think I could beat them all and one of the three guys could be a possibility. Now I just have to get rid of Robert Stieglitz first, as he is a big fight too in my career.

JENNA: Now Mikkel you said that you’re a much better fighter than Andre Ward, and you had a lot of struggles in the fight you had with him. What were those struggles in general with yourself, and what would you do differently if you had that opportunity for a rematch that would allow you to be successful?

KESSLER: I don’t want to stand here and come up with bad excuses. I had a bad day, a very bad day! I wasn’t there at the fight. Everything was bad. They said I had to go in five minutes, and it took them almost an hour since I had to go out of the dressing room. Everything was not my way: the judge, the referee, everything! Everything was just very bad. My trainer couldn’t watch because of the camera man. He couldn’t tell me anything. Everything went bad. Everything over there was very bad. I had a fight against Perdomo like 60 or 50 days before the fight. I had to train too much for that fight. I thought I was there, but when I came out I wasn’t quick, I couldn’t move, my reactions were very bad, and of course I’ve seen the fight a few times and I couldn’t recognize myself at all. So that sounds like a big excuse, so of course I want a rematch to show also the American fans that that’s now who I am. You know. That’s not the fighter I am.

JENNA: Alright well Mikkel, after Joe Clazaghe retired many people considered you to be the best super middleweight in the world. How much would you like to get the recognition back?

KESSLER: Oh very much, very much! (laughs) That’s why I’m still so hungry for the boxing, because I’ve been so close so many times. Two times I have defeats in my career and those, of course, are bad defeats, but I’ve been so close to show them I am the best. Of course I’ve had some fights where when I was there and nobody could beat me. So I hope everything is going to go my way the next time.

JENNA: My Co-Host brought up before about Andre Ward and Carl Froch fighting each other, and just from your view looking on the outside, do you think either of those guys has improved since they’ve been in the ring with you?

KESSLER: Yes, of course. I actually think Carl Froch has improved again when he fought Glen Johsnon. He learned a lesson from his loss. Andre Ward of course learned a lot, too. Ward’s fighting in the States all the time. He should probably learn to fight outside his country sometimes. But of course he is improving every fight, too. I hope he wants to fight Froch, and not have too many head-butts and holding. That’s not what boxing fans want to watch.



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Should Ward beat Froch, his star power may well keep him in the driver's seat (and I say keep him there, because I believe his team did a great job in negotiating him the best deal possible--which is what they're supposed to do).

In all honesty, do you think the fight's being in California had any impact on anyb of the outcomes of any of Ward's Super Six victories thus far?

 

That's a different question entirely than the one I asked, and the two are not mutually exclusive.

:smoke