Kessler and Ward to make Bay Area History on Saturday Night
Posted by Matt Knowles on 11.18.2009
Despite having three major sports franchises and a rich athletic culture, this will be OakTown's 1st world title bout in over 40 years
The town of Oakland has had their fair-share of world champions. From John Madden's conquests with the Raiders, to the "Swingin' A's" winning multiple world series crowns, San Francisco's not-so-friendly neighbor from across the Bay Bridge has been known as a hot-bed for athletic competition for decades. That being said, it is surprising to learn that this Saturday's tussle for the WBA super middleweight title between hometown hero Andre Ward and reigning champ Mikkel Kessler will be Oakland's 1st championship boxing contest in over 40 years. We must go all the way back to October 10th, 1967, when unified welterweight champion Curtis Cokes destroyed Oakland native Charlie Shipes in the 8th round at Oakland Arena (now Oracle Arena) to retain the title.
"Oakland has a pretty storied history of boxing, mostly in the pre- to post-war era," says Monte Poole, a longtime columnist for the Oakland Tribune who has covered boxing in Oakland for 25 years. "I would venture to say you would find dozens of world title fights between the 1920s and the 1960s. We have had some good fighters come out of Oakland, but I have to say Andre Ward has got to be considered the best."
If Ward is successful in his venture to become super middleweight champ on Saturday night (or, if he at least puts forth a stirring, entertaining effort), you can bet your bottom dollar that there won't be another 40-plus-year-gap between world title contests this time around!
