Boxing Preview: Carl Froch vs. Mikkel Kessler

© Showtime Boxing

On the 24th April, 2010 the second round of the super middleweight tournament continues with Carl Froch defending his WBC title against Mikkel Kessler. The fight is taking place in Herning, Denmark and it will see Froch defending his title for the third time, the second time on foreign soil.

Ever since Joe Calzaghe retired from boxing the position of who is the best fighter at 168 pounds has been very wide open. Many people would have given the position outright to Kessler as he put on a strong performance against Calzaghe back in November 2007.

Kessler, after the Calzaghe fight, was largely inactive and although he won three straight fights there looked like there was a bit of ring rust and the performances in my opinion where not worthy of being called the best fighter at 168 pounds.

The fighters that he came across where not highly ranked and it certainly showed that if Kessler was putting in the performances he was showing, then the 168 weight class was very wide open.

2008 saw the rise of a great contender in the 168 pound class; Carl Froch.Froch won the world title by beating Jean Pascal in a very tough fight against an opponent who wasn’t coming to England for nothing.

He pushed Froch to his maximum potential and it was in my opinion the most memorable British fight of 2008. Froch was forced to change his game plan in order to win a very close fight, but he did prevail.

2009 was the time where Froch was really ready to launch himself as the best in the weight class and he started this with a first defence against former undisputed middleweight champion Jermain Taylor. In another memorable fight, Froch came from behind the scorecards to knock out Taylor in the last round with fourteen seconds to go.

It showed that Froch was really ready to fight the best at 168 and he wanted to set himself out amongst the likes of Kessler, who was seen as the best at the weight.

Showtime announced that they were launching a six man tournament, called “Super Six”, which included the best from the 168 pound class. Froch, Kessler, Taylor, Andre Dirrell, Andre Ward and Arthur Abraham were the fighters included in the tournament and it showed that the super middle division was ready to once again have a fighter who could call himself the best.

Froch was matched up against Dirrell in the first round and the fight would take place in Nottingham, England, Froch’s home town. Dirrell, who was rather untested against higher calibre fighters, came to Nottingham with an impressive record of 18-0.

Dirrell, a 2004 Olympic Bronze Medalist, was ready for his shot of the WBC crown against Froch. The fight had a lot on the table for both fighters, who held an undefeated record and the chance to progress to the next round of the tournament with all of the points on offer.

The fight itself was very ugly and highly disappointing in my opinion. Froch found it very difficult to engage with Dirrell, who wanted to run for most of the fight. Dirrell was keen to stay on the back foot and try and counter what Froch had to offer, Froch mainly missed Dirrell because he was always running away and it made the fight in my opinion very difficult to score.

Froch was clearly the aggressor for the fight, but Dirrell however did have success in his counter punching and foot movement. Boxing has a history of home-town decisions especially if the fight is very close.

Although you could put an argument for both fighter winning, a lot of people thought Dirrell was robbed in the fight but it’s hard for a fighter to come to the home fighter’s backyard and run for most of the fight and take the title. The fight however ended in a split decision victory for Froch and it meant that he has taken one point with him into the next round of the tournament against Kessler

I feel that although the fight was not attractive it certainly showed that Froch does have flaws in his game, which a fighter with speed and good footwork can manipulate. Froch has always had a problem with his defence, but this has always been backed up with an iron chin and a great determination to win. This is what has made Froch such an exciting fighter over the years and will certainly give any fighter a tough fight.

Froch always comes to win and I believe that Dirrell didn’t want to come and win the title in style, he wanted the easy way out and this is why Froch in my opinion won’t be disheartened from a fight that he could have easily lost.

Kessler’s first round fight was against the highly talented 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist Ward. Ward came into the fight as an underdog, but still undefeated with a big chance to prove himself. Many people including myself didn’t think he had the experience to be able to handle Kessler.

Kessler, who still at this point was regarding as the favourite to win the tournament, didn’t show up in the fight and he was beaten in style by Ward. Ward’s speed was the factor in the fight as he didn’t let Kessler get into any form of rhythm right from the start. Kessler didn’t look like he had a B plan to his game and it showed in a fairly one dimensional performance.

The fight was stopped due to cuts in the 11th round, although it was by a accidental headbutt it shouldn’t disguise the fact that Kessler was well and truly beaten by a very hungry fighter in Ward. For the boxing world it showed that Kessler is more than beatable and he isn’t best fighter in the super middleweight division.

The next round of the tournament now sees Froch and Kessler fighting for the WBC title. I have waited for this match up for many years and I am very excited that both of them now have the chance to meet each other. From their styles we can see that both fighters like to get involved in a fight and this is what will make it interesting.

Both Froch and Kessler don’t like to take a backwards step and are constantly piling the pressure on their opponents. Both fighters have had plenty of experience when it comes to tear up and with each having a lot of power, we know that we are going to see a fight filled with drama and a lot of promise for what may turn out to be the fight of the year.

I think this fight for Froch is by far the biggest in his career to date. Ever since Calzaghe beat Kessler, too many people regarded Kessler as the best, especially the British audience who saw Kessler put on a very tough fight for Calzaghe. I think for Froch this is important that he can prove to the British audience that he does have what it takes to beat Kessler by going after Kessler straight from the opening bell.

I believe that Froch will be able to take Kessler’s power and will be able to use his pressure to keep Kessler occupied in the fight. If this is not working for Froch, as we have seen in the past he does have the ability to change his game plan, which we have seen in the Pascal and Taylor fights. He does have more than one game plan and for a champion especially at this level this is very important for Froch to have.

For Kessler, he has to see that Froch does have flaws in his defence which the Dane has to use in his favour. To beat Froch, Kessler must see that his weaknesses are taking punches and at times he can telegraph a lot of his shots. If Kessler wants to beat Froch, he’s going to have to use combinations of punches, which Kessler is good at doing and try and use speed to win rounds. We have seen in past Kessler fights that he does have a lot of power which also will factor into the fight and make it exciting for the audience to watch.

Kessler has a lot of work to do after losing to Ward and I’m hoping that him losing another massive fight has not got to him. Ever since his loss to Calzaghe, I personally think that he hasn’t been the same fearless fighter. I believe his confidence has taken a big blow and with him losing again it shows how wide open this fight really is going to be.

Froch knows that if he wins this one he really has proven that he is the man to beat in the super middleweight division. Froch has gained a lot of experience recently, especially coming from behind against Taylor to win the fight.

These are the prime years for Froch and he’s proving that he wants to go on and win this tournament. Unlike the Dirrell fight, I know for a fact we are going to see Froch be able to fight someone who isn’t going to run away and this will mean we will be able to see the true Froch and what he is capable of.

I think the fight could really go either way, but I do know that it will bring a lot of excitement. As a boxing fan not a lot of fights come as big as Froch vs. Kessler and this is why I think it will go either way.

Froch is capable of hurting Kessler and keeping him off his gameplan with effective punching and constant pressure. Kessler however is more than likely to win rounds with combination punching and breaking Froch down. Froch does have an iron chin and he has shown this in his fights by taking a lot of punches and still going forward.

Both fighters bring a lot to the table in terms of their talent and different attributes they have. This is why the match up is going to be very close and I think it’s a case of who wants it most.

For Froch, I can see that this is another opportunity for him to carry on what he has achieved in boxing and defend his title and go to the next round with more points in the tournament.

Kessler needs to bounce back again after his second loss and try and rally a strong performance against Froch. He needs to get his confidence back and I feel that this is going to be a very tough come back fight for him.

Let’s hope that this fight is everything which I expect it to be and another memorable one for the boxing fans.