Carl Froch’s promoter Mick Hennessy has moved to set the record straight regarding comments on Steve Bunce’s Boxing hour yesterday which appeared to suggest that Setanta had made an offer for the rights to screen Froch’s upcoming World title showdown with Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor. The “Cobra” makes the first defence of his WBC World Super Middleweight title at the MGM Grand in Connecticut on April 25th against former undisputed middleweight champ Taylor and the fight will be available live and exclusive on frochvtaylor.com after Britain’s broadcasters turned down the opportunity to screen the clash..
However Hennessy explained that all other avenues were exhausted before he made the decision to make the fight available via an online pay per view. “Since Steve Bunce’s show yesterday people have been asking me why didn’t I accept Setanta’s offer but the fact is there never was an offer from Setanta,” said Hennessy.
“To be honest a fight of this magnitude shouldn’t need selling to a broadcaster but I have worked very hard to try and get a TV deal for this fight. On last weeks show Steve Bunce said that Setanta were in the running to show the fight but they had already said by that stage that they didn’t want the fight.
“I’ve spent an awful lot of time talking to Setanta about this fight. They market themselves as ‘The home of Boxing’, so I find it baffling that they didn’t even make an offer to screen Britain’s only World Champion in one of the biggest fights for British boxing in years.
“Carl is putting his money where his mouth is by travelling to the U.S. and laying it all on the line against one of the biggest names in World boxing. That tells you everything you need to know about Carl’s ambitions in the sport.
“It’s unfortunate because we have a situation in boxing where a lot of champions out there are only too happy to defend bogus titles against unworthy challengers. Carl is breaking the mould here by going to the U.S. in his first defence to take on a star name like Taylor but his bravery hasn’t been encouraged or rewarded by the U.K. broadcasters stance on this fight. “
Hennessy believes that fight fans watching the action via online Pay Per View at frochvtaylor.com will be rewarded with one of the fights of the year.
“It’s an absolutely massive fight and we’re delighted to be working with Omnisport.tv and Perform who are industry leaders in providing high quality internet streaming and I think boxing fans will be very pleased with the results on frochvtaylor.com.
“Carl is fresh from one of the fights of 2008 when he won the title against Jean Pascal and I truly believe he’ll actually better that performance against Taylor. It promises to be a great fight and I think Carl is going to deliver an historic performance to really establish himself on the world stage.”
Froch V Taylor Super Fight Live on High Quality Internet Pay Per View
Hennessy Sports have teamed up with Omnisport.tv, the home of live official sports on the internet to bring British and Irish Fight fans the opportunity to see the Carl “The Cobra” Froch – Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor Super fight live and exclusive online via pay per view at frochvtaylor.com.
The “Continents Collide” clash between Britain’s only reigning World Champion and former undisputed Middleweight kingpin, Taylor takes place at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods Resort Casino in the U.S. on Saturday, April 25th with fight fans on this side of the Atlantic able to watch the broadcast live online from 2am on Sunday morning.
The pay per view costs £9.95 (or €11.00 for Irish viewers) and will give fight fans the opportunity to see one of the most eagerly awaited World title fights of the year. The stream will be available in both 750kb/s and 1mb/s to give fight fans a true quality streaming experience.
Froch’s promoter, Mick Hennessy said, “It’s an massive fight and we’re delighted to be working with Omnisport.tv and Perform who are industry leaders in providing high quality internet streaming and I think boxing fans will be very pleased with the results.
“Carl is fresh from one of the fights of 2008 when he won the title against Jean Pascal and I truly believe he’ll actually better that performance against Taylor. It promises to be a great fight and I think Carl is going to deliver an historic performance to really establish himself on the world stage.”
Oliver Slipper, Joint-CEO, Perform commented, “We’re very excited to be streaming this huge fight in the UK and Ireland live and exclusively on www.Omnisport.tv.
“Watching live sports online is fast becoming the norm and it’s great that Hennessy Sports are embracing this medium which is now capable of delivering pictures at the speed and quality of TV.
“Here at Perform we have built over 225 web, mobile and video broadband sites for major sports associations all over the world and www.Omnisport.tv combines all our experience to enable the delivery of over 4,500 live sports a year from major sports such as World Cup Qualifiers and European Club football, ATP and WTA Tennis, PDC Darts and many other leading sports properties.”
The action gets underway from 2am GMT in the early hours of Sunday morning (April 26) with the chief support fight a battle of super middleweight contenders between World ranked super middleweight prospects Allan Green and Carlos De Leon, Jr.
That should whet the appetitive for the main event and Froch is promising to deliver the best performance of his career. “I’m delighted that my fans back home are going to get the opportunity to see me beating Taylor in style,” said the undefeated Froch. “He says he’s going to teach me how to lose but I have a few lessons of my own in mind for him. It’s a huge fight for me and a chance to prove beyond doubt that I’m the best super middleweight on the planet.”
Drugs charges against Saunders dropped
Olympic light welterweight boxer Bradley Saunders will not face charges relating to possession of a Class A drug after the Crown Prosecution Service today dropped all the charges against him.
Saunders was arrested in November 2008 after £12,000 worth of cocaine was found in the garden of his home in Sedgefield, County Durham.
In an interview on Setanta Sports News Saunders expressed his relief at the Crown Prosecution Service’s decision.
He said: “It’s unbelievable news. To have had it hanging over my head for so long, I’ve not really been able to focus on anything, not even my boxing.
“Since I’ve come back from the Olympics it’s been difficult. Over there, the pressure got to me. I didn’t perform, I didn’t medal and I came back to a bit of bad press. And then all of a sudden this happens. There’s nothing worse.”
Saunders is keen to put the past 12 months behind him and focus on what he does best – boxing.
He added: “When I came back [from Beijing] my head was all over the place. I wasn’t a successful boxer. I’m saying I’m not successful because I should have brought home a medal from Beijing.
“Now this is over and done with I’ll get my head down and focus on winning medals. I’ve got the World Championships coming up; I’m going to Croatia in four weeks.
“I’m going to make an impact.”