It’s probably safe to say that everyone who has had the pleasure of meeting Andre Ward has come away impressed with the 2004 Olympic gold medalist.

Boxing writers are often struck more by Ward’s maturity than his obvious athletic ability and considerable skill in the ring.

Spend 10 minutes on the phone with Ward and he’ll make a you a believer without giving you a hard sell. He doesn’t have to tell anyone that he’s a winner for them to get that impression. That’s how focused and confident -- without being cocky -- the 25-year-old super middleweight contender is.

Truth be told, Ward is a winner. The young man hasn’t lost a boxing match since he dropped an amateur bout at age 14. Over the next 11 years, Ward won three national amateur titles on his way to the 178-pound gold medal at the Athens Games before turning pro and winning 20 consecutive fights.

However, despite his accomplishments, Ward (20-0, 13 knockouts) is a decided underdog in his 21st pro fight, against titleholder Mikkel Kessler on Saturday at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif.

Kessler (42-1, 32 KOs) is not only expected to beat Ward, the Danish star is the favorite of Showtime’s Super Six World Boxing Classic, the unique six-man 168-pound tournament, the first round of which ends with Saturday’s showdown.

Even Ward acknowledges Kessler as the tournament favorite.

“I think that’s a fair assessment,” Ward told RingTV.com after Wednesday’s final press conference.

It’s hard to pick against Kessler, a skilled boxer-puncher with textbook technique. At age 30, the Dane is still in his athletic prime, but his main advantage in Saturday’s bout is his experience. It’s not just the number of fights he has, it’s the level of his competition that sets him apart from Ward and the other participants of the Super Six.

Kessler has faced a Who’s Who of the super middleweight division, including former champ Joe Calzaghe, former titleholders Eric Lucas, Anthony Mundine and Markus Beyer, and top contender Librado Andrade. His only loss is a decision to Calzaghe and he was competitive with the future hall of famer.

Ward has only fought one notable opponent, former contender Edison Miranda, who he out-pointed in a 12-round bout in May.

And yet, Ward’s promoter Dan Goossen did not hesitate to enter his 168-pound contender into the Super Six when invited by Showtime, which will air Saturday’s fight at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). Neither Goossen nor his fighter flinched when Kessler was scheduled as Ward’s first opponent in the tournament.

“I believe the strategy we had in developing Andre to this point will all come into play in a way that is a benefit to him Saturday night,” Goossen told RingTV.com. “It’s not going to be easy with Kessler; he’s the tournament favorite for a reason. But there’s something about Andre Ward that never ceases to amaze me.”

Goossen believes that his Southern California-based promotional company, Goossen Tutor, scored a coup by signing Ward shortly after the Oakland resident won his Olympic gold medal. Ward was the only U.S. boxer win gold at the Athens Games and the first American Olympic champ in eight years.

However, it was Ward’s character that sold Goossen on the fighter.

“The obvious reason we wanted to sign Andre was that he was the lone American Olympic gold medalist in 2004,” Goossen said. “That was the key factor. When a boxer reaches the pinnacle of his amateur career with an Olympic gold medal, he’s more than an established amateur star, he’s in a very rare category. Andre is unique in this era because Olympic success has been tough to obtain for American boxers.

“But once we signed him and I got to know him, I realized how special he was. He’s like no other fighter I’ve ever been associated with. Part of what makes him special are his qualities in the ring, his boxing ability and his dedication to the sport, but most of it is the way he carries himself outside of the ring.

“He’s a man of faith, he’s totally devoted to his wife and three kids, he does community work. He’s the type of man that anyone would be proud to be associated with. He’s the kind of person that parents hope their children grow up to be.”

Ward is also the kind of athlete who wants children to look up to him.

To Ward, fighting in his hometown is more of an opportunity to serve as a positive role model than any sort of advantage over Kessler.

“The excitement around here is unbelievable,” said Ward, a native of San Francisco who grew up in Oakland and Hayward, Calif. “I see a lot of hope in people’s eyes, especially the kids who go to the schools that I attended, Fairview Elementary, Brett Harte Junior High School and Hayward High School. We’ve had some of them come to the events for the fight and I could see the inspiration. I can see them thinking, ‘If Andre can get this far, so can I,’ and that inspires me.”

The fact that Kessler is favored to win also inspires Ward.

“It’s more gratifying to me to take the belt from a real champion, someone who is respected like Kessler, rather than win a vacant belt against an unknown fighter,” Ward said. “I like the fact that people believe that Kessler is the best super middleweight. I like that the odds are against me. It puts me in the right mind frame.”

Although Ward and Kessler have mutual respect for one another and have been civil during the various media events they’ve shared, it’s obvious that the Dane’s confidence has sparked the Californian’s competitive spirit.

“Kessler’s got a level of respect for me, so there’s no trash talking between us, but I don’t think he and his team are giving me the respect I think I deserve,” Ward said. “That’s OK. I have to earn it. I can’t demand it before we fight. I have to get my respect in the ring.

“I’m not saying that Kessler’s overconfident. He just doesn’t think that I have what it takes to beat him. That’s to be expected, he’s the champion. I think he’s prepared for me, but I don’t think he’s ready for what I’m going to show him on Saturday.”

Most fans and members of the boxing media believe that Ward possesses the ability, namely uncommon hand speed and reflexes, to out-point Kessler. It’s his lack of pro seasoning that prevents them from picking him.

However, Goossen, who was criticized for moving 1996 Olympic gold medalist David Reid too fast in the pro ranks, believes that Ward’s 20 professional outings have prepared him for his first title bout.

Ironically, Goossen was criticized for moving Ward too slowly after a few shaky moments early in his fighter’s pro career. Ward was rocked by unheralded Kenny Kost in the second round of his second pro bout, which was televised nationally. He was dropped by journeyman Darnell Boone in his seventh pro bout.

Goossen says it was all part of the young man’s development.

“Honestly, as a lot of other people thought, the first few fights of his pro career weren’t necessarily ones that brought visions of him being able to fight for a world title in 10 to 12 fights like Oscar De La Hoya or David Reid,” Goossen admitted. “But we could see his athletic talent and we could tell that he had a solid foundation, it was just going to take a little longer for him to mature in the ring.

“There’s two routes you can take with a prospect, the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. road, where each fight is just another bout to pad his record, or you can take the road with more risk attached to it but one in which the fighter is able to learn from his fights. I believe we took the riskier road with Andre because he was in with fighters who came to win and would have been able to beat him if he hadn’t been taking care of business before he got into the ring.

“(Goossen Tutor matchmaker) Tom Brown is one of the best at matching young fighters with opponents who will fight back and force the up-and-comer to deal with some adversity that may cause others to have doubts about him. But we know that he’s learning.

“I’d rather see our fighter overcome a knockdown or a wobbly moment when he’s coming up than at the major level when he’s never experienced it before, because at the major levels he might not come out of it.”

Ward believes his extensive amateur background should also be factored into Saturday’s matchup.

“You have to count my amateur experience,” Ward said. “Mikkel Kessler didn’t have much of an amateur career. You can tell by looking at his record. You can’t name the first 30 pro fighters he faced. He didn’t fight anyone with a name until Anthony Mundine, and he already had over 30 pro bouts by that time. His first 30 pro fights was his amateur career.”

Goossen agrees but still sees a tough fight for Ward.

“You have to factor in that Andre was on the world stage during the Olympics and that the 20 fights he’s had were carefully calculated to bring him to this point, but we really won’t know if he’s ready for sure until Saturday night,” he said. “Once the fight begins we’ll know if everything Andre has experienced so far matters or not.”

If a fighter’s character matters in a fight, Ward has a good shot.

“It’s going to come down to our mind frames,” Ward said. “I believe my time is now, and I feel I’m going to be the better man on Saturday night. It doesn’t matter to me when Kessler started fighting top fighters. Even if he did have a great amateur career, even he‘s been fighting top guys for 10 years or if he had 100 pro bouts, it wouldn‘t change the way I‘m approaching this fight.

"If you’re fighting for a world title and you are concerned about your opponent’s experience or his amateur background, you’re not in the right mind frame to fight for that title.

“My mind is set on winning Saturday night.”


Doug Fischer can be reached at dougiefischer@yahoo.com