Ward wants Kessler rematch; still says Bute has to earn fight

By Boxing News - 12/26/2011 - Comments

Image: Ward wants Kessler rematch; still says Bute has to earn fightBy Sean McDaniel: WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Andre Ward (25-0, 13 KO’s) wants to face Mikkel Kessler in 2012 to prove to boxing fans that his win over him two years ago was a legitimate victory. Ward also states that he’s serious about wanting IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute to prove himself by beating some A level fighters.

Ward is willing to wait for all of 2012 if h has to while Bute faces and hopefully beats some A level fighters to meet Ward’s requirements. Ward doesn’t mind waiting and is more concerned with ensuring that Bute has proven himself adequately before he goes through the trouble to fight him.

The Kessler fight is one that obviously won’t be Ward’s first fight in 2012, because Kessler is already tied up with a fight against Robert Stieglitz in April and won’t be available to fight Ward until later in the year. Ward’s mandatory challenger is unbeaten Anthony Dirrell and that’s likely going to be the opponent that Ward will be meeting next in early 2012. Ward also would like to fight Carl Froch again but that fight will hinge on whether Froch can get through his two proposed fight against Bute in one piece and if he can get by Kessler, if he opts to fight Kessler again. Froch is no good to Ward if he gets beaten by Kessler or Bute.

Ward says he may move up to the light heavyweight division after he completely cleans out the super middleweight division, but that’s not going to happen a little while yet. Ward still has Bute, Kessler and the Dirrell brothers to beat before he’s defeated all the best fighters at super middleweight.



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