Mikkel Kessler

Mikkel Kessler
File:MikkelKessler2012.jpg Kessler in 2010
Statistics
Nickname(s)	Viking Warrior
Rated at	Light middleweight Middleweight Super middleweight Light heavyweight
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Reach	188 cm (74 in)
Nationality	Danish
Born	(1979-03-01) 1 March 1979 Copenhagen, Denmark
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	49
Wins	46
Wins by KO	35
Losses	3

Mikkel Kessler (born 1 March 1979) is a Danish former professional boxer. He is a four-time super middleweight world champion, having won the WBA title three times, unifying this with the WBC title, and later winning the WBC title for a second time.

Early life

Kessler was born to a Danish father and an English mother, Ann, who hails from Salisbury, Wiltshire. He began his vocation early, training in boxing gyms at age 13.

Amateur career

Kessler competed five years as an amateur (2/93-1/98). He finished his amateur career with a record of 44 wins and three losses. He won the 1995 European Cadet (15-16 age group) Championship, 1996 and 1997 Danish Junior Championships, the 1996 Nordic Amateur Championship, and in his last amateur bout won the 1998 Zealand International Tournament after stopping all 3 of his opponents.

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 29 November 2002, Kessler fought for his first championship and defeated former WBC Super Middleweight Champion Dingaan Thobela over twelve rounds to become the International Boxing Association Champion. He gave up this belt to fight for the more recognized WBC International title on 11 April 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 12 November 2004. His stablemate, Mads Larsen, another Danish World Class fighter, was set to challenge Manny Siaca for the WBA 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 14 October 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) and WBC titles on 24 March 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 vs. Calzaghe

Main article: Joe Calzaghe vs. Mikkel Kessler

Kessler then met fellow undefeated champion, Welshman Joe Calzaghe, in a bout that would unify his WBA and WBC super middleweight championships with Calzaghe's WBO and The Ring titles. The bout took place at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on 3 November 2007, in front of over 50,000 fans (then the largest indoor boxing event in European history), and Kessler lost the unification bout via unanimous decision, with the judges scoring the fight: 117–111, 116–112, 116–112.

Second Reign

After Calzaghe vacated the WBA title to move up to light heavyweight, Kessler was put in a match with Dimitri Sartison on 21 June 2008, for the vacant belt. Kessler knocked out Sartison in the final round to regain his title.

Kessler successfully defended his title against Danilo Häussler by third round knockout on 25 October and against Gusmyl Perdomo (16–2, 10KOs) by fourth round knockout on 12 September 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.

Super Six

Kessler vs. Ward

Main article: Mikkel Kessler vs. Andre Ward

His first fight was against Andre Ward on 21 November 2009 for Kessler's WBA Super Middleweight Championship in the Super Six World Boxing Classic. On 21 November 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 were deemed as 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 Kessler's 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 arose 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 Champion.

Kessler vs. Froch

On 24 April 2010 Kessler returned to fight 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." The contest went the distance and Kessler was handed a unanimous decision with scores of 115–113, 116–112 and 117–111. With the win, Kessler became a two time WBC Champion, handing Carl Froch his first defeat in the process. Froch later stated that he'd suffered a minor ear injury during training and he felt he would've won the fight if it had been held in his home-country of England, but congratulated Kessler on his victory.

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."

On 25 August 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.

Kessler vs. Bouadla

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. He was scheduled to fight against Robert Stieglitz in Copenhagen, Denmark at Parken Stadium, but the fight was cancelled due to a hand injury Kessler sustained in training.

Kessler vs. Green

In 2012, Kessler moved up in weight class to light heavyweight. In May 2012, he fought Allan Green for the vacant WBC Silver Light Heavyweight title. Kessler won via knockout in the fourth round,after getting dropped by a hard right hand in the first round.

Kessler vs. Magee

Main article: Mikkel Kessler vs. Brian Magee

Late in 2012, Kessler went up against Brian Magee of Northern Ireland for the WBA Super middleweight title. Two times in the 2nd round Brian Magee went to the floor after hard bodyshots from Kessler, and 24 seconds in the third round it was allover, when Kessler landed another hard bodyshot to Brian Magee.

Kessler vs. Froch II

On 15 January 2013, it was announced that a rematch between Mikkel Kessler and Carl Froch was going to take place on 25 May 2013 at The O2 Arena in London. There will be two belts on the line, Kessler's WBA- and Froch's IBF title. Kessler won the last showdown between the two boxers, in Herning, Denmark. That time Froch was an undefeated WBC title holder, and they were both fighting in the Super Six World Boxing Classic. The faced each other at stage 2, after Kessler lost his first fight against Andre Ward, and Froch won a close fought contest against Andre Dirrell.

Froch defeated Kessler by unanimous decision on 25 May 2013, by 118-110 116-112 115-113 as he controlled Kessler with his jab for large parts of the fight. Kessler caught Froch with a big right hand in the 11th round to wobble him, but it was too late in the fight.

Retirement

On 1 February 2015, Kessler announced that he was in a "state of retirement" via social media.

Other

The first single from Danish heavy metal band Volbeat's fourth album, "A Warrior's Call", is dedicated to Mikkel Kessler, mentioning him by name in the lyrics, "The Viking Warrior Mikkel Kessler." Kessler also provided vocals for the line "fight, fight, fight, fight," in the song, 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 the buxom adult model, actress and television personality Linse Kessler.

Professional boxing record

46 Wins (35 knockouts, 11 decisions), 3 Losses (0 knockouts, 3 decisions), 0 Draws
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	46–3	Carl Froch	UD	12	25 May 2013	O2 Arena, Greenwich, London	Lost WBA (Regular) Super Middleweight title. For IBF Super Middleweight title.
Win	46–2	Brian Magee	TKO	3 (12), 0:20	8 December 2012	BOXEN, Herning	Won WBA (Regular) Super Middleweight title.
Win	45–2	Allan Green	KO	4 (12), 0:17	19 May 2012	Parken Stadium, Copenhagen	Won vacant WBC Silver Light Heavyweight title.
Win	44–2	Mehdi Bouadla	TKO	6 (12), 2:25	4 June 2011	Parken Stadium, Copenhagen	Won vacant WBO European Super Middleweight title.
Win	43–2	Carl Froch	UD	12	24 April 2010	MCH Messecenter Herning, Herning	Won WBC Super Middleweight title.
Loss	42–2	Andre Ward	TD	11 (12), 1:42	21 November 2009	Oracle Arena, Oakland, California	Lost WBA Super Middleweight title.
Win	42–1	Gusmyr Perdomo	TKO	4 (12), 0:51	12 September 2009	MCH Messecenter Herning, Herning	Retained WBA Super Middleweight title.
Win	41–1	Danilo Haussler	KO	3 (12), 1:08	25 October 2008	Weser-Ems-Halle, Oldenburg, Niedersachsen	Retained WBA Super Middleweight title.
Win	40–1	Dimitri Sartison	KO	12 (12), 2:00	21 June 2008	Brøndby Hall, Copenhagen	Won vacant WBA Super Middleweight title.
Loss	39–1	Joe Calzaghe	UD	12	3 November 2007	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales	Lost WBA and WBC Super Middleweight titles. For WBO and The Ring Super Middleweight titles.
Win	39–0	Librado Andrade	UD	12	24 March 2007	Parken Stadium, Copenhagen	Retained WBA and WBC Super Middleweight titles.
Win	38–0	Markus Beyer	KO	3 (12), 2:58	14 October 2006	Parken Stadium, Copenhagen	Retained WBA Super Middleweight title. Won WBC Super Middleweight title.
Win	37–0	Eric Lucas	TKO	10 (12), 1:51	14 January 2006	Brøndby Hall, Copenhagen	Retained WBA Super Middleweight title.
Win	36–0	Anthony Mundine	UD	12	8 June 2005	Sydney Entertainment Centre, Sydney	Retained WBA Super Middleweight title.
Win	35–0	Manny Siaca	RTD	7 (12), 3:00	12 November 2004	Brøndby Hall, Copenhagen	Won WBA Super Middleweight title.
Win	34–0	Andre Thysse	TKO	11 (12), 1:32	11 June 2004	K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen	Retained WBC International Super Middleweight title.
Win	33–0	Julio Cesar Green	KO	1 (12), 1:20	13 March 2004	Brøndby Hall, Copenhagen	Retained WBC International Super Middleweight title.
Win	32–0	Henry Porras	TKO	9 (12), 2:46	24 October 2003	K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen	Retained WBC International Super Middleweight title. WBC Super Middleweight title eliminator.
Win	31–0	Craig Cummings	KO	3 (12), 1:09	11 April 2003	K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen	Won vacant WBC International Super Middleweight title.
Win	30–0	Dingaan Thobela	UD	12	29 November 2002	Falconer Centret, Copenhagen
Win	29–0	Dean Williams	KO	1 (8), 1:58	8 November 2002	Falconer Centret, Copenhagen
Win	28–0	Gerard Zdziarski	TKO	8 (8), 2:33	4 October 2002	Holbæk Stadion, Holbæk
Win	27–0	Orlando Javier Acuna	TKO	7 (8), 0:10	24 May 2002	Aalborg Kongres & Kulturcenter, Aalborg
Win	26–0	Arthur Allen	TKO	6 (8), 0:52	15 March 2002	Viborg Stadionhal, Viborg
Win	25–0	Manny Sobral	TKO	5 (8), 0:10	8 February 2002	Falconer Centret, Copenhagen
Win	24–0	Fernando Hernández	TKO	2 (8), 1:30	16 November 2001	Roskilde Hallerne, Roskilde
Win	23–0	David Mendez	UD	6	13 October 2001	Parken Stadium, Copenhagen
Win	22–0	Rodrigues Moungo	KO	4 (6), 1:09	27 April 2001	Aalborg Hallen, Aalborg
Win	21–0	Miguel Julio	KO	3 (6), 0:30	9 March 2001	K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen
Win	20–0	Patrick Rubes	KO	2 (6), 0:45	9 February 2001	Odense Idraetshal, Odense
Win	19–0	Tony Menefee	TKO	6 (6), 1:36	1 September 2000	Kolding Hallen, Kolding
Win	18–0	Kevin Hall	KO	2 (6), 2:41	28 April 2000	K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen
Win	17–0	Tom Younan	KO	3 (6), 1:35	31 March 2000	Esbjerg Stadionhal, Esbjerg
Win	16–0	Israel Ponce	KO	2 (6), 2:59	4 March 2000	Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	15–0	Charles Whittaker	KO	3 (6), 2:30	18 February 2000	Aalborg Hallen, Aalborg
Win	14–0	Sidney Mxoli Msutu	UD	6	14 January 2000	Kolding Hallen, Kolding
Win	13–0	Jean Paul D'Alessandro	UD	6	4 May 1999	Cirkusbygningen, Copenhagen
Win	12–0	Jose Maquina Rojas	KO	2 (6), 2:10	16 April 1999	K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen
Win	11–0	Alejandro De Leon	UD	6	19 March 1999	Falconer Centret, Copenhagen
Win	10–0	Jaime Balboa	KO	6 (6), 2:13	12 February 1999	Falconer Centret, Copenhagen
Win	9–0	Dean Martin	UD	6	27 November 1998	Vejlby-Risskov Hallen, Aarhus
Win	8–0	Anthony Ivory	UD	6	6 November 1998	K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen
Win	7–0	Edwin Murillo	KO	2 (6), 2:34	16 October 1998	Aalborg Hallen, Aalborg
Win	6–0	Sammy Sparkman	KO	1 (4), 1:54	18 September 1998	Sundbyoster Hallen, Copenhagen
Win	5–0	Terry Clark	KO	1 (4), 2:35	4 September 1998	Kolding Hallen, Kolding
Win	4–0	Rick Stockton	KO	1 (4), 2:16	5 June 1998	K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen
Win	3–0	Alex Lubo	UD	4	1 May 1998	Kolding Teater, Kolding
Win	2–0	Michael Corleone	TKO	3 (4), 2:40	3 April 1998	Holbæk Stadion, Holbæk
Win	1–0	Kelly Mays	KO	1 (4), 1:09	20 March 1998	Vejlby-Risskov Hallen, Aarhus	Professional debut.

Titles in boxing

Major World Titles:

• (3) WBA Super Middleweight Champion (168 lbs)
• (2) WBC Super Middleweight Champion (168 lbs)

Minor World Titles:

• IBA Super Middleweight Champion (168 lbs)

Regional/International Titles:

• WBC International Super Middleweight Champion (168 lbs)
• WBO European Super Middleweight Champion (168 lbs)

Special Titles:

• WBC Emeritus Super Middleweight Champion (168 lbs)
• WBC Silver Light Heavyweight Champion (175 lbs)

See also

See also: Joe Calzaghe vs. Mikkel Kessler

External links

• Mikkel Kessler Fight-by-Fight Career Record
• Professional boxing record for Mikkel Kessler from BoxRec
• Mikkel Kessler – The Viking Warrior official page

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Manny Siaca	WBA Super Middleweight Champion 12 November 2004 – 14 October 2006 Promoted	Vacant Title next held by Anthony Mundine as Regular Champion
Vacant Title last held by Sven Ottke	WBA Super Middleweight Champion Super Champion 14 October 2006 – 4 November 2007	Succeeded by Joe Calzaghe
Preceded by Markus Beyer	WBC Super Middleweight Champion 14 October 2006 – 4 November 2007
Vacant Title last held by Anthony Mundine	WBA Super Middleweight Champion 21 June 2008 – 3 November 2009 Promoted Regular title until 21 October 2008	Vacant Title next held by Dimitri Sartison as Regular Champion
Vacant Title last held by Joe Calzaghe	WBA Super Middleweight Champion Super Champion 3 – 21 November 2009	Succeeded by Andre Ward
Preceded by Carl Froch	WBC Super Middleweight Champion 24 April 2010 – 7 September 2010 Status changed: Emeritus Champion	Vacant Title next held by Carl Froch
Preceded by Brian Magee	WBA Super Middleweight Champion Regular Title 8 December 2012 – 26 May 2013 Lost bid for unified title	Succeeded by Carl Froch as Unified Champion