Alfredo Angulo / Photo © Marty Rosengarten / Ringsidephotos.com

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Boxing fans were treated to another fun Saturday night with 3 competitive match-ups involving some of the sport's most exciting fighters.

Showtime kicked things off with a delayed broadcast from Denmark where Mikkel Kessler silenced many of his critics, who called him finished and soft.  He and Great Britain's Carl Froch delivered easily the best fight of the Super Six tournament so far.

Then it was time to switch the channel to HBO. In the opener, a somewhat surprising effort from enigmatic part-time banger Joel Julio made things very interesting for hard man Alfredo Angulo and his backers.  The main-event featured a gutsy Chris Arreola in a tussle with the smaller, but better Tomasz Adamek. The lively crowd in California enhanced what was already the best heavyweight fight in quite some time.

Let's take a look at both shows starting with the battle from Denmark....

Mikkel Kessler vs Carl Froch

There were many questions surrounding Kessler. Fight fans were curious about his mental and physical state after getting beat up last time out. Well, there is no doubt about his fighting heart anymore. The man is a real champion.

The same can be said about Froch, who brought it as he always does. He's a fighter who doesn't come to make friends, and sometimes his verbal boasts can turn off spectators, but even he had to give it up to his opponent on this night.

Going into the fight there were two popular theories. Either Froch would be too rough or Kessler would batter him with counters. Neither really came to pass, as it started out a boxing match and ended with the fighters laying it all on the line in a dramatic late round fire fight.

The first four rounds featured both men working from a distance with jabs, and it seemed like the slightly rangier Froch was getting the better of things. Despite sometimes appearing to have the dexterity of a mummy, he looked surprisingly comfortable during the tactical beginning. Kessler was made to reach much of the time, which took something off the shots he was able to land.

"The Cobra" had his first big time round in the 5th, hurting Kessler with a heavy right hand and following it with some booming shots that cracked his man, but never broke him. Sensing that the fight was not going his way "The Viking Warrior" pressed in the 6th, but I still thought Froch was in control at that point.

The Danish fans were given something to cheer about in the 8th when their guy landed a sweet, straight right hand to the chin. The aggression he had been exhibiting for the previous 7 stanzas was finally starting to pay off.

The 9th and 10th rounds saw both fighters dig their heels in, looking for any kind of advantage, but none could be found. The time for thinking was over. The final rounds were all about who wanted it more.

I thought this fight would be the most action-packed contest of the series, but these ballsy world champions exceeded my expectations. In the 11th and 12th they let loose with everything they had. Froch, being the impossibly rugged man that he is forced Kessler to bite down and fight out of his element. The result was drama for the fans and fistic glory for the fighters.

Even though Kessler was given the unanimous nod that included a reasonable 115-113 and a couple questionably wide tallies of 116-112 and 117-111, there was little to complain about.  I had it 6-5-1 for the Brit, but in my book, there was no loser.

Alfredo Angulo vs Joel Julio - Chris Arreola vs Tomasz Adamek

Alfredo Angulo is what he is. He'll take what you've got, rumble forward and work his heavy hands. He's one of those fighters who doesn't lose, he just runs out of time. Fans love him because you know exactly what you're going to get when the bell rings.

The same can't be said for Joel Julio. Sometimes he's a KO artist, and other times, he's a marathon runner. On this night he was a professional, using his quickness and legs to set up power combinations that snapped Angulo's head around.

Despite putting forth a really solid performance, Julio was down on all cards going into the 11th when a strong right hand to the jaw sent him to the canvas. He looked alright in beating the count, but the referee must have seen something that worried him because he pulled the plug on the young man's effort. A bit of a shame I thought, but his stock arguably rose in the loss. If he continues to get into the kinda shape he was in for this fight, he might still do some damage at 154, especially if he's matched with fighters that can't just run him over like Angulo and Kirkland.

Angulo may the new Margarito, but with a bigger punch. Matched correctly not only can he make for some great fights, but he could be a real world champion. If I were in charge, I'd keep him away from Sergio Martinez, who is a little too tricky, but a date with Paul Williams is a sure war.

The main event...

Tomasz Adamek showed that skills, experience and a champion's grit means more than size in boxing. While the 33 lb disadvantage came with it's own set of challenges, the Polish hero demonstrated once and for all that he is a true pound-for-pound level fighter and a legit heavyweight contender.

Cris Arreola is utterly obese. I could barely watch the slow-motion replays of his flab getting slapped around. In many ways, it's disgrace that he can't get into shape for important opportunities. But I have to tip my hat to him for battling the whole way. Outclassed and obviously in poor condition for a 12 round fight against a champ (again) he did what he could to stay in the fight.

If only the youngster would work as hard in the gym as he does in the ring. He has some skill and loves to fight, but the 25 lb fat suit he wore into the ring CLEARLY affected his perfomance. Again. I never want to hear another word about how hard he's working, and any claims that he'll be anything less than a blob for his next fight have to be met with laughter. You can only swear he'll be in shape so many times before it gets old and embarrassing.

Still, he took the beating like a man. Adamek bounced hundreds of punches off his dome, busted up his face, raked his belly, and he kept on coming. He has my respect for that.

The fight may have looked and sounded more competitive than it was because of the crowd and the fact that Arreola was moving the smaller man around the ring with his big body. I think the fact that the offensive-minded Pole is uncomfortable retreating made it look like he was in more trouble than was actually the case in spots. Truthfully, the fatter... I mean bigger man didn't land too many clean punches, and the ones that did get home didn't change much.

Had Arreola won the 12th, the fight would have been a draw, but the more skillful, better conditioned athlete kept him at bay with jabs, body work and clever movement.  The final scores were 117-111, 115-113 and 114-114.

At the weigh-in Adamek said that he never likes to take the easy path in his life. That was the difference between he and his opponent.

With the win, he should now be in line to get a big fight with a Klitschko or David Haye, while Arreola probably will be seen on HBO again soon because of his personality.

e-mail Lee Payton