This upcoming Saturday night will bring boxing fans what could be one of the biggest fights of the year. One thing is for sure it will be the biggest fight of the year in Europe. Undefeated super middleweight champions clash as Joe Calzaghe meets Mikkel Kessler. Both have been champions for a long time, especially Calzaghe, and both have really exploded onto the scene over the past two years. Somebody's 0 will disappear on Saturday night in front of a raucous crowd in Cardiff, Wales.

     While Joe Calzaghe has been a world champ for a long time, he never really received a lot of respect until he destroyed American phenom Jeff Lacy nearly two years ago; then the long overdue accolades came in for Joe. He's been quiet since, winning two uneventful, fairly easy fights against Sakio Bika and Peter Manfredo Jr.

     Calzaghe is getting older now, and at age 35 he has been looking for big fights. He's had trouble getting big fights against American fighters, because of his unwillingness to fight in the U.S. But, truth be told, he doesn't need to. He sells out soccer arenas in Wales with 50,000 plus people. Joe Calzaghe doesn't need Las Vegas or Atlantic City.

     Calzaghe is taking a fight that boxing purists are glad to see him take, but thought he wouldn't take. Mikkel Kessler is a good fighter, but not a huge name, and Calzaghe was looking for a big name. Many thought Calzaghe would avoid Kessler to take a fight with the likes of Bernard Hopkins, or another American fighter. The fight with Hopkins almost happened, but fell through, and in a sense Kessler was a last resort for Calzaghe. What a last resort! For the purists this is the fight we want to see; we want to see unifications, champions fighting champions. This Saturday, that's what we will get a super middleweight unification fight, and after this weekend there will be one super middleweight champion. Thank you Calzaghe, Kessler and even Bernard Hopkins.

     Mikkel Kessler has been hunting for this fight for a long time. Kessler has never been a big name outside of Germany. Most American boxing fans had never seen him in action  until he stopped Librado Andrade in his last outing. But, he has stacked up a who's who list of top  fighters, guys like Anthony Mundine, Manny Siaca, and Markus Beyer, who he beat in a unifying battle. Kessler got the attention of the boxing world when he destroyed Beyer to add the WBA title to  his WBC strap. From that moment on boxing fans and Kessler himself cried out for a fight against Calzaghe; it didn't look like it would happen, but wouldn't you know it, we got it.

     If various internet reports are false and Kessler is not fighting with a broken hand on Saturday, then the unification clash should be a beauty. It will have an atmosphere unlike any seen in boxing in years. It will be the biggest fight in Europe since Hatton-Tszyu. The fight is set to take place in Cardiff, Wales, and over 50,000 people are expected to attend. The crowd is expected to be a loud, raucous soccer type crowd, which should make this fight even more exciting. Both fighters have similar styles, they're more Boxer-punchers, and they both have power. If you look at their most recent fights, they were carbon copies of each other. Calzaghe picked apart Manfredo with his speed and power, and Kessler did the same against Andrade. Some might say that Kessler appears a little easier to hit then Calzaghe, but both can punch.

     Saturday's fight will be something the super middleweight division needs, and something Boxing needs. What's that need you may be asking? Unification, champs fighting champs, or at least good  fighters fighting good fighters. The stage couldn't be set any better. You have two great fighters in a unification bout in front of a huge sold out raucous crowd. Oh, did I mention it's free also, well at least it's free if you have HBO. You can't beat this.