By Scott Gilfoid: Unbeaten American Andre Ward (20-0, 13 KO’s) fired off some salvos on last night’s Showtime bout, saying this about the 30-year-old Mikkel Kessler: “Right now, Mikkel Kessler is the man, but he’s a typical European fighter with a little flair. He has a little more special effects than most European fighters.” I have to say that I totally agree with Ward.

Kessler is a typical European fighter. Kessler fights in a real basic way, throwing a jab, hook and straight right hand and not much more than that. Kessler is kind of a primitive fighter for the most part. When you watch Kessler fight, you’re seeing a fighter from the 60s who hasn’t evolved much through the new things that have been learned about the sport of boxing. Kessler has been able to get away with it because the super middleweight division has been so poor for all these years.

It’s been one of the worst divisions in boxing up until the talented Americans Andre Dirrell and Ward burst on the scene. At the same time that Dirrell and Ward emerged, Joe Calzaghe, Kessler’s conqueror, decided it was time to fold up the tent and retire from boxing. Strange timing, I must say, but I guess Calzaghe decided he had enough of boxing and didn’t want to stick around and risk his unbeaten record against the young lions like Dirrell and Ward. Without Calzaghe around, Kessler has suddenly found himself seen as the number #1 fighter in the super middleweight division.

It’s hard to see why though, because Kessler hasn’t beaten anyone that I consider to be talented. However, Kessler feels different about it, remarking “He [Ward] hasn’t fought the best in the world; I have.” Yeah, right, Kessler. You beat Librado Andrade, Anthony Mundine, Markus Beyer and Eric Lucas, so we’re supposed to consider you as having fought the best in the world?

Man, I don’t see any of those guys lasting 12 rounds with Dirrell and Ward. I see those as easy fights for both Ward and Dirrell. It just shows you how weak the super middleweight division is if that’s Kessler’s best wins of his 11 year pro career. Kessler is in the last 1/3 of his pro boxing career and doesn’t have much more time left before he’s forced to call it a day. It’s too bad that he’s facing the talented Ward at this point in his career rather than earlier on because Kessler has slowed down in the past couple of years and doesn’t look like the same fighter he was in 2006.

“This tournament [the Super Six tourney] is a dream come true for me,” Kessler says. I know it’s a dream, but it’s about to become your nightmare, Kessler, because you’re facing a much better fighter in Ward than you ever have faced in your entire career. Ward would have mopped the deck with Calzaghe in 2007, back when Kessler was younger and more able bodied. Now, Kessler will be facing a fighter that is superior in every facet of his game – offense, defense, speed and youth.

Kessler appears in denial about Ward’s superior talent, commenting “He’s a typical American fighter. I know how they fight. I know how they move their head. I am a faster fighter. I have fast hands. I know just what to do.” First of all, Kessler, you’re not the faster fighter, Ward is, okay? Second of all, you won’t know how Ward moves his head because he is completely unpredictable. No one can guess what Ward will do with his head because he moves constantly and doesn’t have a set pattern of fighting.

Ward: “I feel like to a degree I’m being overlooked. Beating Mikkel Kessler will definitely be sending a message that Ward is a serious player in the Super Six tournament.” I absolutely agree with you, Mr. Ward. The deluded boxing fans are overlooking you, but they’ll find out on November 21st just how wrong they were when you school Kessler and make him look like an old man in the process of giving him a beating of his life.