Super Six tourney gets very interesting

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Andre Ward left Oracle Arena hoping for just a normal Sunday in the Oakland suburbs, including plenty of church and family time with his wife and children.

Yet he also realizes life will never be the same after what he did to WBA champion Mikkel Kessler on Saturday night in a victory that turned the super middleweight division on its head.

“I think I’m the most underestimated fighter in the game,” Ward said, before adding quickly: “I don’t know about after tonight.”

Ward’s unanimous technical decision shook a division packed with talented fighters who all thought they were chasing Kessler (42-2), the power-punching Dane who had reigned for most of the past five years. Instead, Kessler was overwhelmed by Ward (21-0), whose speed and discipline reduced the division’s dominant fighter to an excuse-making sore loser.

Ward’s victory in front of a rollicking hometown crowd also injected a new wave of energy into the Super Six tournament, which began last month with two victories by European fighters over Americans. With this seismic shift, Ward (21-0) has finally broken onto the international stage five years after winning Olympic gold in Athens.

The innovative, Showtime-backed Super Six tournament takes on a whole new tenor when it continues early next year with Andre Dirrell’s bout against Arthur Abraham. Ward is expected to fight Jermain Taylor in March, likely in Oakland.

“This is going to put a lot of steam into the Super Six tournament,” said Ward’s promoter, Dan Goossen. “Andre is like a boulder rolling downhill right now. We’ve got a lot of believers after this, and he’s just going to get bigger and bigger.”

Until Saturday, the two main knocks against Ward were his seemingly unimpressive level of competition and his ability to take a punch. He firmly answered both questions by trouncing the best 168-pounder around and barely even getting hit in the process.

Kessler’s excuses, including complaints about Ward’s head-butting and holding, held no water with a crowd of more than 10,000 gathered to watch Ward’s first major title shot. Kessler’s utter ineffectiveness seemed to be due more to Ward’s elusiveness and power, which put Kessler firmly on the defensive nearly every minute after the first three rounds.