Super Six Classic: Kessler VS Green preview
As another season is rolling in, so is another match in the much flaunted Super Six Classic Tournament. Though it has yet to be confirmed, a 25 September date has been rumoured for the next match and title defence for WBC Middleweight champ Mikkel ‘Viking Warrior’ Kessler against Allan Green.
Allan Green looking to make an impact
Green is coming off a rough loss to Andre Ward who, so far, has been the dynamo of the tournament, dethroning Kessler in dramatic fashion in their first round encounter. The first bout has not been kind to Green who never quite looked up to par with the former Olympic champ. He was unconvincing at best before losing via unanimous decision.
Kessler on the other hand, is fresh off his second round victory over Carl Froch, winning the WBC title and stripping Froch of his undefeated record in the process. Though it was a tough and close fight all around, Kessler managed to edge out a unanimous victory. Froch declared after the fight that although he’s not taking anything away from Kessler, he felt that would the fight have taken place in Nottingham he would have gotten the decision instead. Perhaps Froch forgot that it’s highly possible that this is the only reason he won his last outing against Andre Dirrell, earning a highly disputed split decision victory.
In the case of Green, this is a must-win situation. In the eyes of many, this is a tournament in which Green should simply not be a part of to begin with. Many middleweights out there, some of them sporting championship gold (Lucian Bute comes foremost to mind) can boast an equally, if not more, impressive resume without receiving the nod to enter the tourney. Green dropped his first match and now gets another go at a world championship. Getting two championship matches in as many encounters is a very infrequent thing as it is, especially if you’re not considered as the number one challenger for the title. Should he fail to get past Kessler on this occasion, it could be a very long time coming before Green gets another title shot.
Time to make a stand
As for Kessler, he finds himself in the ring with someone who in normal circumstances would never cross his path in the ring. Fighting someone like Green gives Kessler a chance to show what he can do but few will be impressed if he wins in a less than decisive fashion. He has shown his full potential against Froch (silencing some of his own Danish critics in the process) but now needs to score a KO if he hopes to get ahead of the line. The exact location has yet to be determined for the encounter but the fight will take place in Denmark where Kessler’s legions of fans are sure to support their hero in his quest to prove himself as the legitimate and undisputed king of the middleweights.
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