Mikkel Kessler (46-2, 35 KOs) is the new WBA Super-Middleweight Champion following a spectacular third-round destruction of Brian Magee (36-5-1, 25 KOs). Fighting in front of a boisterous crowd of 10,127 fans at Jyske Bank BOXEN in Herning, the Viking Warrior sent his opponent down in the second round with a huge right to the solar plexus. Kessler followed it up and scored another knock-down – only for the bell to save the champion. Kessler kept landing in the third, and when Magee went down from a body shot again, the referee waved the bout off. “It feels great to be champion again,” Kessler said. “We planned to go to the body and it worked very well. I am back at the very top, I am ready for everybody out there at super-middleweight.”

Magee praised Kessler afterwards. “He is a great champion and he deserved to win today. I never recovered from the first knock-down, which was a huge shot from him. I tried my best but couldn´t beat Kessler tonight. Congratulations to him.”

The victory gives Kessler plenty of options. “This is another great win for Mikkel,” promoter Kalle Sauerland said. “2012 was a big year for the Viking Warrior. First he destroyed Allan Green with huge left, now he stopped the reigning WBA champion with his right to the body. We will now carefully plan the next steps. There are a lot of great fights to be made.”

WBA Super-Middleweight World Championship:

Brian Magee: 76,2 kg

Mikkel Kessler: 76,1 kg

With three days to go until the Nordic Fight Night at Jyske Bank BOXEN in Herning, Mikkel Kessler (45-2, 34 KOs) and WBA Super-Middleweight Champion Brian Magee (36-4-1, 25 KOs) held a crowded final press conference at the venue to talk about Saturday´s showdown. Here is what the two camps had to say.

Mikkel Kessler: “It´s great to be fighting in Herning again. I got two great wins here, against Perdomo and against Froch. The atmosphere is going to be fantastic and I will beat Magee on Saturday. He has knocked out Markussen and Larsen, I have briefly spoken to both of them, but there is not much to say because I know what I have to do. My team has prepared a good plan and we will get the title on Saturday.”

Brian Magee: “It´s good to be in Denmark and I look forward to Saturday. I have a lot of respect for Mikkel, he is a great fighter, but I am here to defend my belt. I am as ready as I have ever been and can´t wait to get it on.”

Kalle Sauerland (Promoter Kessler): “The stakes have never been higher for Mikkel, he really needs to win this one. For Denmark and for himself. Whoever has his arm raised on Saturday will have a lot of great options but there is only one person that can emerge victorious on Saturday and I am convinced it will be Mikkel. The stage is set, we expect a fantastic crowd of more than 10.000 fans who will all scream the Viking Warrior to another huge win in Herning.”

Pat Magee (Manager Magee): “Brian is at the very top of his game, he has just been promoted to world champion after 14 years of working his way up, so he will leave it all in the ring and give everything to defend his title. We respect Kessler, but we are here to clinch another victory on Danish soil. Brian has knocked out Mads Larsen and Rudy Markussen and now wants to add Kessler to his list of knock-outs. They call him the Dane-Killer for a reason.”

Jimmy Montoya (Kessler coach): “Brian Magee will not be called the Dane-Killer after Mikkel has been in the ring with him. Magee will need painkillers after the fight, he will go all the way from Dane-Killer to Pain-Killer! He is a good fighter and deserves to be champion, but Mikkel is in a different league and Magee will find out on Saturday.”

Bernado Checa (Magee coach): “It´s good to hear that Mikkel is ready and in his best ever shape. So there will be no excuses when Brian has beaten him.”

Georg Soerensen (CEO MCH Herning): “It´s a great honour to stage this fight at Jyske Bank BOXEN. We have had a lot of international superstars in town but hosting a fight of the Viking Warrior is always something very special. We are ready for a great night of boxing with a fantastic crowd.”

Tickets for the Nordic Fight Night at Jyske Bank BOXEN can be purchased at www.billetnet.dk.

Jimmy Montoya has predicted that Mikkel Kessler (45-2, 34 KOs) will knock out WBA Super-Middleweight Champion Brian Magee (36-4-1, 25 KOs) in Saturday night´s clash at Jyske Bank BOXEN. “I don´t want to take anything away from Magee, he is a great fighter and very skilled, but Mikkel is just too strong and too good for him,” Montoya said at today´s press training in Herning. “Mikkel is just one of a kind. Magee won´t be there for the tenth round.”

Kessler is confident he will claim another spectacular victory. “The KO over Allan Green was great, now I want to defeat Magee and become world champion again,” he stated. “This is personal now, Magee has knocked out two of my countryman, but now his winning streak in Denmark will come to an end. I´m in great shape and I´m ready to get it on.”

Magee was impressed by the pre-fight media interest. “You can tell by the hype that there is great interest in our fight,” he said. “I guess I am the most hated man in Denmark this week but that´s fine. I am here to beat one of the greatest fighters Denmark has ever had and I am confident I can do that. I love fighting in Denmark, the fans are great and the atmosphere will be brilliant. It´s going to be fantastic fight, a fantastic show. I am ready to beat Kessler.”

Tickets for the Nordic Fight Night at Jyske Bank BOXEN can be purchased at www.billetnet.dk. More pictures are available at www.facebook.com/TeamSauerlandBoxing.

(Pictures: Team Sauerland)

Mikkel Kessler (45-2, 34 KOs) travelled to Belfast today to promote his WBA Super-Middleweight World Title clash with Brian Magee (36-4-1, 25 KOs). Both fighters, who will collide at Jyske Bank BOXEN in Herning on December 8, and their promoters faced the media during a packed downtown press conference at the renowned Europa Hotel, which is the world´s most bombed hotel, according to Wikipedia. “This place certainly has a history,” promoter Kalle Sauerland said. “Just like Brian Magee has a history with the Danish sports fans. He has come over to Denmark twice to eradicate two of their boxing heroes, Mads Larsen and Rudy Markussen. You have to give him credit for that. But twice is more than enough. Mikkel Kessler will put an end to his streak, set the record straight and win this fight for his country.”

Kessler, a much sought-after interview partner, enjoyed the trip to the Northern Irish capital. Just ten minutes from where the press conference was held, the famous Titanic was built. “Well, I guess you can´t really compare the Titanic and Brian Magee,” Kessler said. “Brian has already made a lot of successful trips abroad, and two of them have been to Denmark. But I will make sure that his third trip over will not be a good one for him. I have a lot of respect for Brian, he is a warrior. There are a lot of similarities between us. We are solid fighters and we are not scared to fight abroad. I have fought in Wales, Australia and the US, and Brian has also fought in a lot of places, including Denmark, of course. But I think I am the better boxer, I have much more power. I have never lost a fight in Denmark and it will be no different against Magee. With my fans behind me, nothing can stop me. It will be a great fight at Jyske Bank BOXEN.”

Said Brian Magee: “Mikkel is a great fighter, he ranks right up there along with the all-time greats. We have mutual respect for each other, but once the bell goes, it will be all business and a hell of a fight. We both have a lot of power, so the fans can expect a great fight. I´ve beaten Larsen and Markussen and now I will beat Kessler.”

Said Pat Magee, Brian Magee´s manager: “It´s not very often that you see one-punch knock-outs in boxing, but Brian took out Markussen with one shot and Mikkel took out Allan Green with one shot, so this will really be a special fight. We look forward to it.”

Tickets are available at www.billetnet.dk.

(Pictures: Kessler visiting the birthplace of the Titanic, Kessler and Magee atop the famous Europa Hotel, Kessler and his promoter Kalle Sauerland in Belfast; Credit: Team Sauerland

WBA, WBC & WBO Female Welterweight Champion Cecilia Braekhus (21-0, 5 KOs) lived up to her billing as boxing´s “First Lady” with a spectacular points victory over French star Anne Sophie Mathis (26-3, 22 KOs). After ten exciting rounds, she was ahead 97-93 on all three cards. “This is the happiest day of my life,” she said afterwards. “Mathis was very strong, the toughest opponent of my career, but I found a way to beat her. This is my biggest win ever.”

With 2,345 fans in attendance – at least 550 of them from Norway – at Arena Nord in Frederikshavn, Braekhus used her superior boxing skills to stay out of harm´s way, although Mathis had her moments. But Braekhus cleverly blocked her attacks and landed punches on her own – single shots as well as combinations. In the seventh, she even wobbled Mathis, but she bounced back, and it remained an exciting encounter until the very end. “Cecilia fought a great fight,” Mathis said. “She is very fast and a very good boxer.” Asked about a potential meeting with Holly Holm, whom Mathis had knocked out cold last December, she answered: “Braekhus is better than Holm. She is faster, has better movement and better boxing skills.”

Promoter Nisse Sauerland praised Cecilia after “the fight of her life.” He said: “Cecilia left no doubts that she is the best female boxer out there. Mathis was very strong, very dangerous, but Cecilia proved her class in impressive fashion. This was a fantastic fight.”

In the co-featured main event, Patrick Nielsen defended his WBA Intercontinental Middleweight Title with a clear points victory over Jose Yebes. Dennis Ceylan also celebrated a successful professional debut, stopping Artsem Abmiotka in the second round. Erik Skoglund continued his winning streak with a points victory over Ivan Maslov, while Torben Keller outpointed Laszlo Szekeres. Ahmed Kaddour also defeated Max Maxwell on points.

Meanwhile, it was announced that Mikkel Kessler (45-2, 34 KOs) will challenge Brian Magee (36-4-1, 25 KOs) for the WBA Super-Middleweight World Championship at Jyske Bank BOXEN in Herning, Denmark on December 8. Tickets will go on sale at BILLETnet/Ticketmaster on Monday, October 1, at 10 am. “I look forward to fighting in Herning again,” the Viking Warrior said. “The atmosphere was fantastic last time when I fought Carl Froch. The fans made the difference that night, their support really lifted me to one of my greatest victories. With their help, I will become world champion again on December 8.”

Kessler only has the best memories of Herning. In September 2009, he stopped Gusmyr Perdomo to pave his way into the Super Six World Boxing Classic. In April 2010, he then defeated WBC Super-Middleweight Champion Carl Froch in what many thought was the greatest fight ever on Danish soil. “The fans raised the roof that night,” promoter Kalle Sauerland said. “History repeats itself, we expect a sell-out crowd, a fantastic fight and another world title for the Viking Warrior.”

Sauerland is sure that Kessler will take out the “Dane Killer” Magee, who has stopped Mads Larsen and Rudy Markussen. “It´s up to Mikkel to restore the Danish fighting pride,” Sauerland added. “But when he is at the top of his game, nobody can stop him. His KO over Allan Green was impressive. Magee is the next in line to taste the wrath of the Viking Warrior.”

Prior to Saturday´s Nordic Fight Night in Frederikshavn, Team Sauerland
is delighted to confirm that Mikkel Kessler (45-2, 34 KOs) will
challenge Brian Magee (36-4-1, 25 KOs) for the WBA Super-Middleweight
World Championship in Denmark later this year. The date and the venue
will be announced in due time. “This will be a massive event, I believe
the whole country will get behind Mikkel,” promoter Kalle Sauerland
said. “He can become world champion for a record fourth time and restore
the Danish boxing pride by avenging the bitter KOs of Rudy Markussen and
Mads Larsen. It´s taken a while but now all is signed and sealed –
except for the venue and the date, which we expect to be finalised
shortly. Magee will feel the wrath of the Viking Warrior! It´s a
question of honour!”

After stopping Mads Larsen (January 2010) and Rudy Markussen (February
2012), Magee will be looking to complete his Danish KO hat-trick. At the
same time, Kessler will be trying to become world champion for a fourth
time, having proved his class with a spectacular KO victory over Allan
Green at PARKEN in May. His one-punch knock-out has been dubbed as a
potential KO of the year. “I look forward to fighting Magee,” the Viking
Warrior said. “He´s a good boxer with a lot of heart. It takes something
to come to Denmark and knock out both Mads and Rudy. But his winning
streak will end when we meet. I am very keen to be world champion again
and Magee cannot prevent this from happening. It will be interesting as
I think it will be a little like a national team match, I am a proud
Dane and this guy will take a beating for having knocked out my countrymen.”

Magee is convinced he will claim another prominent Danish scalp. “I am
ready for the hat-trick of KO´s,” he said. “I´ve stopped Larsen, I´ve
stopped Markussen and now it´s Kessler´s turn. He´s a great fighter, no
doubt about that, but I have the tools to break him. He ran from a fight
earlier in the year after he was ringside and witness to the destruction
of Markussen but now I have him and he will go the same way. I have
already commenced early training and I am working on a fight plan with
my coach Bernardo Checa. Denmark has been good to me and I am happy to
be going back.”

Further details about the Kessler-Magee fight will be announced after
Saturday´s Nordic Fight Night in Frederikshavn. At Arena Nord, Patrick
Nielsen defends his WBA Intercontinental Middleweight Title against
Spaniard Jose Yebes. The card also features the “Pacquiao Mayweather of
women´s boxing” – the showdown between WBA / WBC / WBO Female
Welterweight Champion Cecilia Braekhus and French KO queen Anne Sophie
Mathis. Ahmed Kaddour, Torben Keller, Dennis Ceylan and Erik Skoglund
will also be in action. Tickets are available at arenanord.dk.

Lucian Bute made the seventh defense of the IBF Super Middleweight crown with a body punch assault tenth round stoppage over gritty Brian Magee in front of over 13, 000 rabid fans at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.

Bute came out and over the first few rounds was very effective with the right hook but Magee was competitive as he featured some body work. Magee was doing well at the beginning of rounds but Bute would box well enough to take most of the first five frames. In round six, Bute landed a vicious right hook to the that sent Magee down to a knee. Magee got up but Bute was dominant the rest of the round as he landed some more right hooks and straight lefts.

Just seconds after being sent to the canvas via a low blow, Magee was dropped with another right hook to the body in round seven. Replays later showed that the low blow was indeed a solid and legal punch. Magee came out in round eight looking like a tired fighter from the effects of the body work.

Magee would not go away as he was tough as nails in taking some shots and not giving up in an effort to pull off the big upset.

In round ten, Bute landed yet another crushing uppercut but this time landing flush on the chin that sent Magee to his knees and referee Pete Patgorski waved off the bout immediately at 2:04 of round ten.

Bute, 167 1/2 lbs of Montreal is now 28-0 with twenty-three knockouts. Magee, 167 3/4 lbs of Northern Island is now 34-4-1.

The fifth consecutive stoppage by Bute begged the obvious question: Who is next? Ready to answer that question was Mikkel Kessler, who flew from Denmark to attend the fight and provide commentary with the SHOWTIME broadcasting team. Asked if he would fight Bute in front of the Lucian-loving Montreal crowd, Kessler responded, “Yea, why not?” He later continued, “[Bute] can have his hometown. I’ll kick his [butt] anywhere.”

When questioned if he would be interested in a match with the former WBA and WBC Super Middleweight Champion, Bute commented, “If he’s well enough to fight, I’ll fight anyone.”

Courtesy of fightpickexperts.com