Mikkel Kessler KOs Allan Green

Mikkel Kessler proved that he still has some pop, but he had to shrug off a scare from Allan Green while taking the vacant WBC silver light heavyweight crown in Copenhagen, Denmark on Saturday. The 33 year-old Dane, who rose to 45-2, was sent to the mat in round one by Green, off a right hand and a flurry follow, but did the loser one better when he closed the show with a hellacious left hook which zombified the fighter from Oklahoma in the fourth.

The 32 year-old Green dropped to 31-4 when he was dropped by the ex longtime super middleweight titlist, off the left hook. The finishing blow came when Green was starting his own left hook, but he never finished his.

As for Green, he has lost every step up bout he has taken, except for a win over Tarvis Simms in 2009. He's dropped bouts to Edison Miranda, Andre Ward, Glen Johnson, and now Kessler. This opportunity, I believe, only came about because manager Greg Leon worked his tail off to get this scrap for the vet. If he wants to continue, sad to say, it will likely be as nothing but a steppingstone. Leon probably won't be able to get his guy another title crack, though we can never say never with some of those soft Euros who always manage to find the softest of the soft touches for their title defenses.

So, where does this leave the Dane? He dropped a Nov. 2009 bout to Andre Ward, came back to hand Carl Froch his first loss in April 2010, and then needed to take time off because of a left eye injury present before his fight with Ward. He was supposed to meet Green back in 2010, in the third stage of the Super Six tourney, but had to exit the tournament because of the eye. We can see him providing a solid test for, say, WBA light heavyweight champ Beibut Shumenov, who should get the better of Enrique Ornelas in a June 2 title defense. Readers, what say you?

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