BOXING ISN'T dead and it isn't dying anytime soon. Signs of life were revealed as recently as last weekend, in the 1.25 million pay-per-view buys for the Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto fight.

It's just that the sport, like many businesses in the United States, has been largely outsourced. Most elite boxers reside in another part of the world.

Andre Ward has an opportunity to change that.

When the Oakland super middleweight steps into the ring tonight at Oracle Arena, he'll have 12 rounds to lift the World Boxing Association championship from Denmark's Mikkel Kessler (42-1, 32 KOs), widely considered the favorite in this World Boxing Classic Super Six tournament to unify the

If Ward (20-0, 13 KOs) loses badly, he'll have to rebuild his psyche, starting anew knowing it will be tougher than ever to convince the skeptics that he is more than a polished amateur masquerading as a professional.

If he loses narrowly, goes out on his feet, his manhood affirmed, he keeps his current fans and adds some new believers.

If he wins, no matter how, he will soar into rarefied air, gaining universal respect and credibility among boxing insiders.

If he wins impressively, if he dominates, Ward, 25, becomes a global star.

And a young star is something American boxing does not have, something from which the entire sport would benefit. Boxing is better off when its biggest fights are held

As the crowd disbursed after the public weigh-in for Ward and Kessler on Friday at the Oakland Airport Hilton, I asked Showtime boxing analyst Al Bernstein, who has forgotten more about the sport than I'll ever know, if he could identify any star-quality American boxers under age 30.

"Umm, let me think," Bernstein said, pausing for a few seconds. "Chad Dawson would be one, but he's not universally known. Kelly Pavlik might be another, if he's still under 30 (he's 27). Hmm, yeah, I guess it's fair to say there's a bit of a vacuum."

Though there are quality boxers of all stripes, all of them can stroll unrecognized down the streets outside their hometowns.

There are regional stars, such as Pavlik in Ohio, Dawson in the Northeast and Cory Spinks in St. Louis. There are young champions, such as Andre Berto and Devon Alexander and Gilroy's Robert Guerrero. There are fading marquee veterans, such as Sugar Shane Mosley and Winky Wright. There are those who should retire, such as Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins.

There is the one superstar, Floyd Mayweather Jr., who talks of retiring, and the two, Oscar De La Hoya and Mike Tyson, who actually have retired.

What's needed is a young boxer capable of moving into the void created when Tyson crashed, Jones lost his zest for fighting and De La Hoya finally walked away for good. Hopkins is waging a furious battle with Papa Age, but he'll be 45 in January.

There is plenty of room for new blood — and Ward's camp is confident he's ready to seize the moment.

"He understands what's at stake," trainer Virgil Hunter said. "His legacy is on the line.

"We hear about how Andre has had only 20 fights and Kessler has had twice as many, that Kessler has more knockouts than Andre has had fights. But I don't think (those in the Kessler camp) really understand what Andre does in there because it looks like finesse."

Both fighters were under the limit, Kessler, 30, at 167 pounds and Ward at 1661/2. Both appear to be in fantastic condition. There were, as they posed for the obligatory staredown, a few whispers exchanged.

"The nice thing for Ward, if he does beat Kessler, is that most people recognize Kessler as No. 1 or No. 2 in the division," Bernstein said. "So I think a win would have a pretty good ripple effect.

"The broader question is, 'Will Andre Ward be a star? A superstar?' If he were to win this fight, it would put him in a great position in this tournament and would go a long way toward doing that. I don't know that it would have monstrous implications for the overall sport. But it could be the first step toward that, because he could be an American star at a time when the numbers have diminished."

Though Ward is the underdog, boxing writers around the globe are divided in their predictions. They are unanimous, however, in the belief that a Ward victory is good for the business of boxing, in America and beyond.

Contact Monte Poole at mpoole@bayareanewsgroup.com.