Carl Froch vs. Mikkel Kessler

Last updated
Carl Froch vs. Mikkel Kessler
Carl Froch vs. Mikkel Kessler.jpg
Date24 April 2010
Venue MCH Arena, Herning, Mid-Jutland, Denmark
Title(s) on the line WBC super middleweight championship
Tale of the tape
Boxer Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Carl Froch Flag of Denmark.svg Mikkel Kessler
Nickname "The Cobra" "Viking Warrior"
Hometown Nottingham, East Midlands, UK Copenhagen, Capital Region, Denmark
Pre-fight record 26–0 (20 KO) 42–2 (32 KO)
Age 32 years, 9 months 31 years, 1 month
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight167+34 lb (76 kg) 167 lb (76 kg)
Style Orthodox Orthodox
Recognition WBC
Super Middleweight Champion
The Ring
No. 3 Ranked Super Middleweight
WBC
No. 3 Ranked Super Middleweight
The Ring
No. 4 Ranked Super Middleweight
Result
Kessler defeated Froch via unanimous decision

Carl Froch vs. Mikkel Kessler was a professional boxing match contested on 24 April 2010, for the WBC super middleweight championship. [1] The bout was the second match in the second group stage of the Super Six World Boxing Classic.

Contents

Background

Froch defeated Andre Dirrell by split decision in his third WBC super-middleweight title defense which was a very controversial win with many believing Dirrell had won. Nevertheless, Froch got the win and the 2 points for his victory. [2] Meanwhile, WBA Champion Kessler was upset in his first Super Six match against Andre Ward who won via an 11th round technical decision.

In the buildup to the fight there were concerns that the Icelandic volcanic ash eruptions would cause the fight to be disrupted, but it went head as planned . [3]

The fight

In a closely fought contest where both men had great moments throughout the fight, Kessler took Froch's title and inflicted Froch's first professional defeat via unanimous decision, the judges scoring the contest by margins of 116–112, 115–113 and 117–111. The scoring was somewhat controversial, as some boxing announcers had scored the fight much closer, with some awarding Froch the win and others scoring it a draw. [4] [5] [6] Froch later stated that the fight was close and that he believes the decision would have gone his way if the event had been held in Nottingham. [7] [8] The fight was a contender for the 2010 Fight of the Year.

Aftermath

In August, Kessler announced he was withdrawing from the Super Six tournament due to the worsening of the eye injury he suffered during his earlier fight against Andre Ward, vacating the WBC belt in the progress. WBC, after initially announcing that it would grant the belt to the winner of the upcoming Group Stage 3 match between its number one contender Andre Dirrell and the WBA champion Ward, it was confirmed that the WBC would grant its championship to the winner of the scheduled match between Froch and Arthur Abraham, which Froch won to retain title. [9]

Froch and Kessler would fight a rematch in 2013, with Froch winning by unanimous decision in London. [10]

Broadcasting

CountryBroadcaster
Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary Sport 1
Flag of Poland.svg Poland Polsat
Flag of Romania.svg Romania Sport.RO
Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine Sport 1
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom Primetime
Flag of the United States.svg United States Showtime

Undercard

Confirmed bouts: [11]

WinnerLoserWeight division/title belt(s) disputedResult
Non-TV bouts
Flag of Iraq.svg Koko Murat Flag of Germany.svg Nick KlappertSuper Welterweight (8 rounds)Majority Decision.
Flag of Germany.svg Edmund Gerber Flag of Serbia.svg Samir KurtagicHeavyweight (8 rounds)Unanimous Decision.
Flag of Denmark.svg Vinni Skovgaard Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Diane SchwachhoferWelterweight (6 rounds)Unanimous Decision.
Flag of Germany.svg Thomas Troelenberg Flag of Italy.svg Elio CotenaMiddleweight (6 rounds)Split Decision.
Flag of Poland.svg Lukas Schulz Flag of Hungary.svg Viktor SzalaiCruiserweight (6 rounds)3rd-round KO.
Flag of Denmark.svg Patrick Nielsen Flag of Hungary.svg Norbert SzekeresMiddleweight (4 rounds)4th-round KO.

References

  1. "Carl Froch vs. Mikkel Kessler (1st meeting) - BoxRec".
  2. Davies, Gareth (2009-10-18). "Carl Froch defeats Andre Dirrell and claims next contest with Mikkel Kessler will be a war". Telegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2009-10-21. Retrieved 2011-05-24.
  3. Dirs, Ben. "Carl Froch's bout with Mikkel Kessler to defy ash cloud". BBC.
  4. Boxing News: Arthur Abraham vs Carl Froch Odds Archived 2012-06-17 at the Wayback Machine . OnlineSportsHandicapping.com (2010-09-27). Retrieved on 2013-03-01.
  5. Carl Froch Getting Anxious To Get Ward in The Ring – Boxing News. Boxingscene.com (2011-11-17). Retrieved on 2013-03-01.
  6. Iole, Kevin. (2011-12-13) Mailbag: Ranking the Super Six bouts – Boxing – Yahoo! Sports. Sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved on 2013-03-01.
  7. Vester, Mark (2010-04-24) Froch: If I Was Back Home, I Would Have Beaten Kessler – Boxing News. Boxingscene.com. Retrieved on 2013-03-01.
  8. Davies, Gareth A. "Carl Froch loses belt to Mikkel Kessler".
  9. "Carl Froch v Abraham confirmed as WBC title contes". BBC.
  10. "Carl Froch gains revenge on Mikkel Kessler in gripping title fight". The Guardian.
  11. "BoxRec - event".
Preceded by Carl Froch's bouts
24 April 2010
Succeeded by
Preceded by Mikkel Kessler's bouts
24 April 2010
Succeeded by