Mikkel Kessler retained his WBA super-middleweight title with a third-round KO victory over Danilo Haussler. The “Viking Warrior”, who had controlled the first two rounds with his strong jab, landed a crushing left to the head to send the German challenger down and out. “I wanted to be more active in the third round but he punished me immediately for a small mistake,” Haussler stated. “He is a great champion and a very good boxer.”

Kessler was pleased with his performance. “I have watched Danilo on tape and he really is a tough fighter who does not enter the ring to lose. But everything we have trained for worked tonight. I am very happy about the victory.” Wilfried Sauerland believes the 29-year-old Dane is the best super-middleweight in the world. “I still cannot believe he lost to Calzaghe, Mikkel is such a strong fighter,” the manager said. “Both Danilo and Markus Beyer have told me that they have never been up against someone with a harder punch – even through the gloves.”

In the co-featured main event, Marco “Captain” Huck made a successful first defence of his European cruiserweight title by stopping Fabio Tuiach early. The Italian challenger found himself on the canvas after a series of punches in the second round. Huck then followed it up with another barrage, and when Tuiach was caught in the ropes, the referee stepped in. “I wanted to win and I believe the result speaks for itself,” Huck said, while coach Ulli Wegner lauded the finishing skills of his fighter. “When he sniffs the KO there is nothing that can stop him,” he said. “He is one of the most explosive fighters I have ever coached. There is still a lot to learn, though. It is a learning process.”

On the undercard, Alexander Abraham, the younger brother of IBF middleweight champion Arthur Abraham, clinched his first title by stopping Roman Dzuman in the sixth round. The newly-crowned EE-EU light middleweight champion knocked his opponent down in the fifth with a hard right and then pelted him with a series of power shots in the sixth for the referee to step in. Also on Saturday, the First Lady Cecilia Braekhus won her 10th fight by clearly beating Borislava Goranova, who was on the canvas in the second and seventh round.

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