BIGGEST WINNER

Andre Ward: Sometimes a fighter emerges as a true star on one special night. That was the case with Andre Ward on Saturday in his hometown of Oakland. The former Olympic gold medal winner was supposed to be overmatched by the more-experienced Super Six Boxing Classic favorite, Mikkel Kessler. Instead, he dismantled the talented Dane with superior skill and the poise of a veteran. Not even Joe Calzaghe dominated Kessler as Ward did. I believe Ward instantly emerged as one of the best fighters in the world pound for pound, although he’ll have to prove it more than once to receive credible recognition as such. I suspect he will do that. I’ll stick with my pick of Arthur Abraham to win the 168-pound tournament but now I have my doubts.

BIGGEST LOSER

Mikkel Kessler: Kessler lost to a better fighter in a game performance. No shame in that. It was the way he lost – so convincingly – that was so stunning and perhaps revealing. The Dane has beaten some very good opponents, including Librado Andrade, Markus Beyer, Eric Lucas and Anthony Mundine, but none are true stars. And he lost convincingly to the two best fighters he faced, Joe Calzaghe and now Ward. This suggests that he might be slightly overrated. Of course, the beauty of the Super Six tournament is that he’ll have a chance to redeem himself against another elite opponent, Carl Froch, in a few months. He’ll probably beat the limited, but tough Briton and then is scheduled to face Jermain Taylor. How he bounces back will say a lot about him.

LEAST GRACIOUS

Mikkel Kessler: OK, Kessler doesn’t believe that California referee Jack Reiss did enough to prevent Ward from holding and using his head. We’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. That said, though, this was a beat down of epic proportions and Kessler knows it. Nothing short of a radical change in strategy would’ve prevented Ward from dominating that fight. Kessler has the right to complain about any perceived injustices, particularly in Ward’s home state, but he seemed to be making excuses in the post-fight interviews. I was surprised and disappointed. He had struck me as the type who would accept defeat, give his opponent his due and promise to be better the next time.

MOST-INTERESTED OBSERVER

Jermain Taylor: The guess here is that Taylor will remain in the tournament even after watching Ward’s impressive performance. I think the former middleweight champ will have decided that Ward, his next scheduled opponent, isn’t a tremendous puncher and that he might be able to outbox him. I don’t think Taylor would win but, as long as he hasn’t developed a glass jaw, he could give Ward more trouble than you might think and almost certainly would give him a better fight than Kessler did. At the same time, I’ll understand if Taylor decides to pull out of the tournament in light of his recent setbacks. I know that’s what many of those close to him want.

BEST NEWS FOR SUPER SIX

Ward’s victory: The tournament was beginning to look like a demonstration of utter European superiority over the U.S. in the 168-pound division. Had Kessler won and given the Euros a sweep of the opening fights, it might’ve alienated American fans to some degree. Now, in light of Ward’s spectacular victory and emergence as a tournament favorite, the competition has a new, even more-exciting feel to it. Now it really seems as if anything can happen, which is one thing that makes boxing so much fun to follow. Anyone who has watched the initial first-round fights will be dying to see what happens when the super middleweights get back into the ring for their second fights.

LEAST-DIFFICULT TO PREDICT

Second set of first-round fights: It’s not difficult to predict the winners of the next three fights. Ward will beat Taylor, Kessler will beat Froch and Abraham will beat Dirrell. However, I could make a case for at least two of the underdogs to score an upset. I can’t imagine Taylor beating Ward; the only advantage he would have is his experience and we saw what that meant on Saturday in Oakland. I’m not a huge of fan of Froch, who I think is a crude, very limited boxer. However, I can see the extremely durable Briton surviving the early rounds and wearing the Dane down to make it close or score a late knockout. And don’t count out Dirrell. He undoubtedly learned a great deal against Froch. He has the boxing skills to give anyone trouble.

BIGGEST INJUSTICE

Accusing Pacquiao of taking steroids: Some people at a loss to explain Manny Pacquiao’s amazing run are suggesting that he might’ve used performance enhancing drugs. That’s not fair. One bit of “evidence” cited is the manner in which he has handled bigger men, both in terms of his power and ability to take a punch. However, other great fighters – Henry Armstrong and Roberto Duran, for example - moved up in weight and were able to handle the opposition even when the talent pool was much deeper. More important, Pacquiao has never failed a drug test as far as I know. And consider this: Pacquiao lives for God and the pride he brings to the Filipino people. I just don’t believe he would risk the shame he would bring to him and his country if he were to get caught cheating.

BIGGEST BUY RATE

Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto: The Pacquiao-Cotto fight generated 1.25 million pay-per-view buys, giving the suddenly hot sport back-to-back million-buy fights. Floyd Mayweather-Juan Manuel Marquez did 1.05 million. It also seems to prove that Pacquiao, a Filipino, is at least Mayweather’s equal on American soil. Mayweather obviously has built a formidable following, whether the fans are for or against him. However, Pacquiao, with his string of knockouts and charming ways, seems to have an appeal rivaled only by Oscar De La Hoya in recent years. And that’s a good thing going into a possible Mayweather-Pacquiao matchup. Their combined appeal could produce a record-breaking buy rate, perhaps more than 3 million.

BEST QUOTE

Mikkel Kessler, as quoted by the Associated Press: “I think this will make the tournament more exciting. I don’t want to be the favorite.”


Michael Rosenthal can be reached at RingTVeditor@yahoo.com