Nathan Cleverly Ready To Face Froch-Kessler Winner

WBO light heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly has offered Saturday’s winner, between Carl Froch and Mikkel Kessler, a crack at his world title. Froch and Kessler will battle in a high stakes super middleweight unification in London. Cleverly helped Kessler with some sparring in training camp, as the Danish superstar wants to repeat his 2010 decision win over Froch.

“Whoever loses can always move up to light-heavyweight,” Cleverly told skysports.com. “If they want to move up and challenge me, there’s an opportunity waiting for them! He does have great momentum since their first fight and I think he goes into the second one as a slight favourite. I think the home crowd will be the difference though. They will get behind him and when the going gets tough in the later rounds, I believe that in itself will give Froch the advantage. I predict Froch is a close winner on points.”

http://www.boxingscene.com/nathan-cleverly-ready-face-froch-kessler-winner–65766

Team Sauerland has announced that Mikkel Kessler’s next fight in Copenhagen has been postponed to May 19. The Viking Warrior has not yet regained the necessary fitness following last year´s hand surgery, forcing him to pull out of the April 14 clash with WBO Super-Middleweight Champion Robert Stieglitz. Details about the new opponent will be announced at a press conference next week. “I hate to keep my fans waiting and I am really sorry about the delay,” Kessler said. “As a boxer, my fists are my biggest weapon. To fight and to win at the highest level, I need my hand to be fully recovered. Unfortunately, the April 14 date comes just a little too early but I will be ready on May 19. I have kept my shape and can´t wait to be fighting again in front of my Danish fans.”

Said promoter Kalle Sauerland: “Although I believe that Mikkel would defeat 90 percent of the super-middleweights out there with just one hand, we will not let him into the ring when he is not fully recovered. His health has always been our top priority. The five-week delay is disappointing but it´s not the end of the world. On May 19, Mikkel will come back in style and put on a great show.”

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/kessler-pulls-out-of-stieglitz-fight-110117

As a nice distraction from the everyday training, WBO super middleweight champion Robert Stieglitz celebrated “Rose Monday” among the carnival revelers in Köthen, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, the hometown of his trainer Dirk Dzemski. The champion was invited to b guest of honor in the largest carnival parade in Central Germany. Just beginning his training camp for his April 14 clash with Mikkel Kessler in Copenhagen, this trip was a pleasant and above all fun change of pace. Tens of thousands were on hand to take part in the festivities as the parade moved through the city Köthen with Stieglitz right in the middle tossing sweets from a float, shouting “KU-KA-KÖ” and of course signing many autographs.

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/robert-stieglitz-update-2-108576

If you were one of the many boxing fans that were hoping to see American talents WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Andre Ward or Andre Dirrell get the first crack at the April 14th winner of the Mikkel Kessler (44-2, 33 KO’s) vs. Robert Stieglitz (41-2, 23 KO’s), you can pretty much forget all about that happening because it’s not going to go down.

WBO Europe Super Middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (33-3, 27 KO’s) was recently installed as the number #2 contender by the World Boxing Organization and he’s already talking about getting a shot at the winner of the Kessler-Stieglitz fight.

Both Kessler and Abraham fight for Sauerland Promotions, which kind of makes it academic that the fight will be happening next. Will be surprised if Kessler faces Abraham rather than Dirrell or Ward? Nope! I never was crazy enough to think that Kessler would fight either of them in the first place because he already got spanked by Ward once in November 2009 in the Super Six tournament and he’s been making excuses ever since.

And facing Dirrell is like the same as Kessler fighting Ward. Both of them are almost carbon copy talents, only Dirrell brings a little more hand and foot speed and defensive skills to the table.

Kessler will play it safe by fighting the short 5’9” Abraham to get an easy win rather than risking his hide fighting the likes of Ward or Dirrell and losing the WBO belt in his first title defense.

However, I have strong doubts that Kessler will even get by Stieglitz because that’s going to be a very tough fight for him and he’s already badly faded from what he was in 2007. Stieglitz has gotten Kessler at the right point in his career when Stieglitz is at his best and Kessler is on the downside of his career. All Stieglitz has to do is outwork Kessler and he’ll get the ‘W’ in this fight.

By Scott Gilfoid:

http://www.boxingnews24.com/2012/02/abraham-will-likely-face-kessler-stieglitz-winner/

Former champion Arthur Abraham is focused on capturing a new championship at 168-pounds. Abraham (33-3, 27KOs) returned last month and knocked out Pablo Farias in five rounds. With the victory Abraham captured the WBO’s European title at super middleweight. He will be watching April’s fight between WBO champion Robert Stieglitz and former two-time beltholder Mikkel Kessler.

By Yuri Tarantino, Allboxing.ru

http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&opt=printable&id=49542

Former two-time champion Mikkel Kessler (44-2, 33KOs) is already training for his next fight, scheduled on April 14th in Copenhagen against WBO super middleweight king Robert Stieglitz (41-2, 23KOs). Kessler is not taking Stieglitz for granted and expects a tough fight.

“He’s strong and I know that. I know that we will win against Stieglitz but it will be a tough fight. I’ve fought the best in the world, but Stieglitz is a physically strong fighter and he has strength for all of the twelve rounds and you have to be in very good condition to beat him. That’s very important,” Kessler said.

One of the goals of Kessler is to obtain a rematch with WBA/WBC champion Andre Ward, who decisioned the Danish star in 2009.

“Of course I want a rematch with Ward, but I hope that this time he flies out of his country and flies to my country, or to a foreign or neutral place,” Kessler said.

Przemyslaw Osiak covers boxing for bokser.org.

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Former world middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (33-3, 27KOs) returned last Saturday in Germany and stopped Argentine boxer Pablo Farias in five rounds. Abraham, who planned on going back to middleweight, will remain in the super middleweight division.

Abraham won the WBO’s European super middleweight title last Saturday and wants to fight the winner of April’s fight between WBO champion Robert Stieglitz and Mikkel Kessler. There rumors that Kessler may opt to chase a rematch with WBC/WBA champion Andre Ward.

A return date of March 31 is possible, says Abraham.

“I would like to do better, but this requires more work and further training. The mistakes that I made [against Farias], we are going to analyze and continue training so they are not repeated.

“It is quite possible [that I can face Stieglitz]. I think that our promoter [Sauerland Event] would organize this fight. Stiglitz also wants this fight, and so do I, of course. Such a fight would be a great event for Germany. So I hope that he could it could take place at the end of the year.[But] I would like to fight with the champ, so this would have to be in case he wins [against Kessler].

If Kessler wins, Abraham says a fight with his stablemate “is quite possible.”

By Yuri Tarantino, allboxing.ru

http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&opt=printable&id=48664

Today in his hometown of Magdeburg, Germany, WBO super middleweight champion Robert Stieglitz finished the sparring phase of his preparations for his January 14 fight against Henry Weber, the first world title defense of any champion in 2012.

“I’m prepared!” declared Stieglitz. “The fight against Henry Weber is on Saturday next week. For my fifth title defense I had a great number of sparring rounds with, for example, Stjepan Bozic, Christopher Rebrasse and my two stablemates, the light heavyweights Robin Krasniqi and Dennis Simcic. Especially Stjepan Bozic was very useful because he is tough and had a great performance against Henry Weber in their last fight. My trainer Dirk Dzembski found the right motivation program in the last two months after the postponement of the fight against Mikkel Kessler and so eight months without a fight. This year 2012 will be my year. Starting with Weber on January 14th I’m highly motivated to cross my gloves with all the other champs in my division!”

Photos: Eroll Popova

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/stieglitz-ready-for-first-world-title-defense-of-2012-105550

According to several sources, Robert Stieglitz (40-2, 23 KOs) will defend his WBO super middleweight title against Mikkel Kessler (44-2, 33 KOs) on April 14 in Copenhagen. The fight was originally scheduled for November, but Kessler suffered an injury in training and the date was pushe back to next year. Both boxers will step in the ring from lengthy layoffs. 30-year-old Stieglitz last fought in April in Magdeburg, when he successfully defended his belt against Khoren Gevor, and the 32-year-old Dane has not fought since June, when he scored a sixth round technical knockout over Mehdi Bouadla.

By Luke Furman

http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&opt=printable&id=46129