411 Boxing Special 11.24.09: The Andre Ward Experience

Posted by Matt Knowles on 11.24.2009

411maniac Matt Knowles takes a look back at some of the memorable moments that took place this Saturday night at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif.


Photos by Laura De La Torre

This past Saturday night, I had the honor and privilege of attending the WBA super middleweight title bout in Oakland, California between defending champ Mikkel Kessler and hometown hero Andre Ward. Here's a recap of some of the occurrences that jumped-out during my fight night experience:


- During my roughly 2-hour trip from Sacramento to Oakland, I made sure to get into what I call an "Oakland frame-of-mind." Before splitting town, I went into the old CD case and busted-out some of the mid-90's hip-hop discs that I acquired in high school. I lead off with Too Short's "Get in Where U Fit in", followed by Richie Rich's "Seasoned Veteran." After going coast-to-coast through my 3rd CD of choice, may I please say: Book 1 of Tupac's "All Eyez on Me" is still the greatest hip-hop album in the history of music (and Book 2 ain't so bad either).


- Any time I've attended a sporting event in OakTown, the attire of many of the fans has been quite the eye-opener. Right when I pulled in to the lot at Oracle Arena and parked the MDX, and older gentleman wearing a crayon-red pimp suit (with matching top-hat) and a diamond-encrusted medallion walked by me to the left - with two barely-clothed beauties on each side of him. Across the lot was another man wearing a similar suit, but he went with the lime-green ensemble. Needless to say, I immediately regretted not wearing my purple 3-piece.


- In the background was a group of about 25 middle-aged men from all races and backgrounds, having a pretty big tailgate party. Most of the guys were wearing Oakland Raiders hoodies/parkas and smashing 40-ouncers of Brass Monkey (Old English mixed with OJ). As frightening-of-a-group as this may have been in my younger years, I've learned thru living with three Raider fanatics in college that these are usually the coolest cats at the party. I threw my Oakland A's hat on, headed-on over to talk "football and fights" for a few minutes, then proceeded to the arena.


- After grabbing my press-cred, I remembered that the Chili Cheese Fritos I brought were still sitting on my passenger seat. when I doubled-back to the car, I ran into fellow 411-maniacs Ramon and Laura, as well as Bay Area hip-hop artists Celly Cel and B-Legit. If ever there were a potential heir to the Klitschko throne, it's my man B-Legeezy; he's easily 6 ft. 6" 300+ lbs, and looking more fit than in previous years. Get that man a set of gloves!


- Once I entered the arena and took my place in press row, I immediately spotted Super Six tournament contestant Andre Dirrell seated about 5 rows back from ringside. He received quite a bit of love from the local Oakland crowd, with numerous photo-op and autograph requests. Who knows: maybe Ward vs. Dirrell will headline the tournament finale.


- For those who haven't been to a Showtime telecast, the light grid that they use above the ring is a pretty amazing piece of equipment. When you walk by the ring, it feels about 5-10 degrees warmer than the other areas of the arena. I would assume only Vince McMahon's WWE unit would compare to its capabilities.


- The highlight of the undercard was local prospect Karim "Hard Hitta" Mayfield destroying Francisco Santana in a rematch of their controversial previous bout (won by Mayfield by SpD). This time around, the judges played no part, as Mayfield pummeled Santana to the canvas on two occasions in round 5, prompting a referee's stoppage. Mayfield, who had engaged in numerous sparring sessions with Shane Mosley and Ricky Hatton over the past few years, moved his record to 11-0-1 with 17 KO's.


- Before the main event, ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr. pumped-up the crowd by reminding everyone that this event was Oakland's 1st world title fight in over 42 long years. The raucous Bay Area crowd followed the announcement with a bone-chilling, high-volume cheer. I've been to plenty of loud events at loud venues (Arco Arena, MGM, Mandalay, etc) but the buzz within Oracle Arena on Saturday night was a thing of beauty, especially considering the town's lack of fight-night history.


- The volume didn't let-up during Andre Ward's ring entrance, as his hometown followers gave him a beyond-warm welcome. To the surprise of many, including myself, Mikkel Kessler had a good number of Danish fans in the audience, who chanted their soccer fight songs and waved their red and white flags. Still, I'd say the arena was a solid 95+% in favor of the challenger.


- From round 1 on, in the eyes of this viewer, it looked as if Mikkel Kessler's feet were "stuck in the mud." He didn't have the bounce in his step that he had shown in previous big bouts, and Ward took advantage of this factor from the get-go. The challenger known as S.O.G. (Son of God) boxed beautifully, landing shots from up the middle and from awkward angles. His money-combo was a sweeping right to the body followed by a left hook to the head, which he landed numerous times throughout the bout.


- - To Kessler's credit, he is quite the "ring general" in the squared-circle. Even when Ward was landing at a rate of about 5-to-1, Kessler was always plodding forward and applying pressure, which forced Ward to be on his A-game for every second of every round.


- As the bout progressed, Kessler's face looked worse and worse with each passing round. The talk amongst press row was that the swelling and bleeding would ultimately factor into the result of the bout.


- When the referee stopped the bout in round 11, most of the crowd assumed it was a TKO victory for Andre. The facial damage to Kessler, however, began with an accidental head-butt, so the outcome lay in the hands of the judges. Even so, Andre Ward was victorious, as he took the WBA super middleweight title by technical decision (scores of 97-93, and 98-92 x2).


- As I headed back to the post-fight press conference, I spotted Oakland Raiders newly-demoted-back-up quarterback JaMarcus Russell hanging out next to the Showtime announcing crew. I gotta be honest (and no, it's not just because I'm a Niner fan and not a Raider fan)….the guy doesn't even look like a pro athlete; between his cheese-ball haircut and frumpy clothes, let's just say he looked more like Turtle than Vinnie Chase (from HBO's Entourage). Let's hope that J.R. is more capable of picking up Gradkowski's dry cleaning than he is of completing a 5-yard pass. BURN!

- At the post-fight press conference, lead promoter Dan Goossen rained praise upon his client, new WBA champ Andre Ward. There are a lot of athletes out there that speak religiously, and then proceed to lead their life in a negative manner; Goossen reminded us that Andre is the real deal, as he has used his popularity and success in boxing to promote the Word of the Lord. May I be the 1st (and not the last) to say to Andre: "God Bless you too!"

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- Now, it's 12:40pm on Monday afternoon, and I'm "back to reality" at the office, where I sit and reminisce about the awesome event I was able to witness. For those of you who haven't yet attended a big title fight, save your pennies and go ASAP, as they are easily one of the most electric experiences in all of sports, no matter where your local heroes may do battle!


SEE YA AT THE FIGHTS!!!