Quote Originally Posted by Rantcatrat View Post
Quote Originally Posted by Kirkland Laing View Post
Quote Originally Posted by Rantcatrat View Post

Answer: when the live opponent had a bigger reputation and brought more money to the table than the american world champion and the american world champion was untested and unheard of outside of his home base.

With that said, credit to Froch for taking a tough fight as his first defense. At that weight, Kessler surely didn't.
I'm really interested to know if any American has fought abroad for his first defence. Froch could just as easily stayed at home and made easy money filling out his 10000 seater arena in Nottingham but he isn't.

I don't like Froch at all but you've got to give him credit for doing this.
In this economic climate, could he really have filled a 10000 person arena fighting an irrelevant boxer? If Froch wins this fight, he gains a ton of notoriety, increased leverage in negotiations, and a broader fanbase. It was smart in either way really because if he loses to a former undisputed middleweight champion with a recognizable name, he still will gain notoriety and a fan base. If Taylor waxes him, well then, that's a different story.
In this economic climate will they fill a casino function room even with $200 ringside seats? Even though I think he'll lose you've got to admit that voluntarily making the first defence of your world title away from home against somebody everybody expects to beat you isn't something that happens every day. On the night I'll be cheering for Froch even though I think he'll lose.