It’s been a long year away from the squared circle for former WBC Champion Mikkel Kessler, with the popular Danish fighter forced out of Showtime’s Super Six Boxing Classic and possibly boxing itself by a severe eye injury. On Saturday Kessler proved the doubters wrong by making his return to action against ‘top ten’ European circuit fighter Mehdi Bouadia in his comeback fight at the Parken Stadium, Copenhagen in the Viking Warrior’s native Denmark.
Kessler proved too much for the Frenchman in an impressive display that dispelled any lingering concerns about the Dane’s health. From the start the gulf in quality was clear, with Kessler confidently taking the center of the ring and working well behind the jab. Bouadia was game but just couldn’t get inside to inflict any damage on the one-time Super Six favorite who was fighting at a thunderous pace and showing tremendous shot selection.
Kessler dropped Bouadia for the first time in the third, with a short right hand catching the Frenchman as he was coming in. Although it wasn’t called by the referee, a straight right hand would similarly drop Bouadia in the fifth round. But it would be home fighter’s punishing work to the body that would see the fight end quickly.
Shots to the body would bring Kessler yet another knockdown at the very end of the fourth round and going into the sixth round Inside Fights had the crowd favorite up by nine points. In the sixth round Kessler would finally rob Bouadia of his remaining will to fight. After being sent to the canvass with a crunching right hand to the ribs, Bouadia’s body language betrayed the fact that he was a beaten man. Kessler would pounce quickly on his stricken opponent, once again going back to the body, unloading several hard shots to both sides of the mid-section and forcing the stoppage at 2minutes 25seconds of the sixth round when Bouadia dropped to one knee.
A dominant performance from a fighter many expect to challenge for either the IBF or WBO title before the end of the year in a bid to setup a blockbuster unification bout with whoever emerges from the Super Six holding the WBA and WBC belts he once proudly held. On the evidence of his comeback fight Mikkel Kessler will prove a stern test for whomever he steps in the ring against next.
