Photo: Team Sauerland
With three days to go until the Nordic Fight Night at Jyske Bank BOXEN in Herning, Mikkel Kessler (45-2, 34 KOs) and WBA Super-Middleweight Champion Brian Magee (36-4-1, 25 KOs) held a crowded final press conference at the venue to talk about Saturday’s showdown. Here is what the two camps had to say.
Mikkel Kessler: “It’s great to be fighting in Herning again. I got two great wins here, against Perdomo and against Froch. The atmosphere is going to be fantastic and I will beat Magee on Saturday. He has knocked out Markussen and Larsen, I have briefly spoken to both of them, but there is not much to say because I know what I have to do. My team has prepared a good plan and we will get the title on Saturday.”
Brian Magee: “It’s good to be in Denmark and I look forward to Saturday. I have a lot of respect for Mikkel, he is a great fighter, but I am here to defend my belt. I am as ready as I have ever been and can’t wait to get it on.”
Kalle Sauerland (Promoter Kessler): “The stakes have never been higher for Mikkel, he really needs to win this one. For Denmark and for himself. Whoever has his arm raised on Saturday will have a lot of great options but there is only one person that can emerge victorious on Saturday and I am convinced it will be Mikkel. The stage is set, we expect a fantastic crowd of more than 10.000 fans who will all scream the Viking Warrior to another huge win in Herning.”
Pat Magee (Manager Magee): “Brian is at the very top of his game, he has just been promoted to world champion after 14 years of working his way up, so he will leave it all in the ring and give everything to defend his title. We respect Kessler, but we are here to clinch another victory on Danish soil. Brian has knocked out Mads Larsen and Rudy Markussen and now wants to add Kessler to his list of knock-outs. They call him the Dane-Killer for a reason.”
Jimmy Montoya (Kessler coach): “Brian Magee will not be called the Dane-Killer after Mikkel has been in the ring with him. Magee will need painkillers after the fight, he will go all the way from Dane-Killer to Pain-Killer! He is a good fighter and deserves to be champion, but Mikkel is in a different league and Magee will find out on Saturday.”
Bernado Checa (Magee coach): “It’s good to hear that Mikkel is ready and in his best ever shape. So there will be no excuses when Brian has beaten him.”
