American Andre Ward battered Mikkel Kessler on Saturday, seizing the Dane’s World Boxing Association super-middleweight world title by an 11th-round technical decision.
The fight was stopped on the advice of the ringside doctor at 1:42 of the 11th round, but the cut to Kessler that prompted the move came from a head-butt so the decision came down to the scorecards.
One judge scored it 97-93, while two others saw it 98-92 for Ward, who improved to 21-0 with 13 knockouts. Kessler fell to 42-2 with 32 knockouts.
With the triumph before his hometown fans, Ward added a world title to the Olympic gold that highlighted his amateur career.
The “Viking Warrior” had been the favorite to emerge on top in the Super Six World Classic tournament matching six of the world’s top fighters in the division.
Kessler’s face was a bloody mess by the 11th round, when the ringside doctor advised a halt.
Ward rocked Kessler with an uppercut in the fourth round, then began firing off combinations.
Ward opened a cut over Kessler’s left eye in the middle rounds as the champion struggled to find a solution to the American’s busy style.
Kessler said much of the damage done to him was through head-butts.
Ward denied the charge.
The 25-year-old became the first US winner in the Super Six tournament, after Arthur Abraham stopped Jermain Taylor and Briton Carl Froch kept his World Boxing Council title with a split-decision victory over Andre Dirrell.
erdei claims title
AP, KIEL, Germany
Zsolt Erdei of Hungary won the WBC cruiserweight title with a majority decision over Italian veteran Giacobbe Fragomeni on Saturday.
Erdei, who vacated the WBO light heavyweight title to step up a division, improved his record to 31-0.
Fragomeni dropped to 26-2, with one draw.
One judge scored Saturday’s fight 114-114, while the other two had Erdei ahead 115-113.
Erdei controlled the first three rounds with his speed and landed several powerful rights to the Italian’s head.
But the 40-year-old, Fragomeni stepped up the pace in the middle rounds, and his relentless style began to wear down his five years-younger opponent.
Fragomeni began landing more punches to the body and to the Hungarian’s chin and appeared to be gaining the upper hand.
Erdei landed a right and then a left hook at the end of the sixth round that otherwise went Fragomeni’s way.
The Hungarian looked tired at the end of the seventh but he ended the next round with a good right to the chin.
The last two rounds were a free-for-all, with both fighters connecting with their guards down.
Although Fragomeni threw a flurry of punches in the last round, the judges ruled in favor of the counterpunching Erdei.
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