by James Slater – Reigning WBC super-middleweight king Carl Froch had a tough enough fight ahead of him simply by way of having to face Denmark’s Mikkel Kessler, period. Now, however, with the April 24th fight taking place in Herning, Denmark, “The Cobra” is sure to face one heullva hostile crowd. Unbeaten Froch is well aware of this, though, and he says he is not overly concerned; so sure is he of victory.
The fight, the next step for both warriors in the fascinating “Super Six” tournament, was originally set for April 17th (the same night Lucian Bute defends his IBF 168-pound title against Edison Miranda, and middleweight king Kelly Pavlik is set to face Sergio Martinez; these two fights taking place in Canada, and the U.S, respectively).. Now, with the new date set, 32-year-old Froch and 30-year-old Kessler are getting ready for a war they both feel they will win.
Speaking to his local website, thisisnottingham.co.uk, Froch made it clear he and those fans of his who are in attendance in Herning will have a great night.
“There will be 10,000 in Herning and I know it will be a hostile place, but I have to make sure that I take a lot of my supporters with me,” Froch said recently. “I just hope that not too many people have arranged to travel to the wrong place at the wrong time and I apologise for the confusion.
“I can guarantee that ever British fan that makes the journey will get value, because this will be a great fight and a great British victory.”
Will it, though? Yes, Froch, as he proved when dramatically halting former “Super Six” entrant Jermain Taylor in the final round back in April of last year, can block out a hostile crowd when he has to – but Kessler is a different fighter to Taylor, and Herning, Denmark is a different place to Mashantucket, Connecticut.
Froch, 26-0(20) concedes how “The Viking Warrior” holds all the advantages, yet he still feels he will come home with a win – his belt and position in “Super Six” intact.
“He has all the advantages,” Froch said. “He’s at home, the crowd will be on his side and he knows defeat means the end of his Super Six dream. But I’ve proved I can go overseas to a fighter’s backyard and pull off a big win.”
Go back a few months ago, to November, and most fans and experts would have told you Kessler, 42-2(32) should enter the fight with Froch as a big favourite. But then, Andre Ward shocked the Dane, beating him by technical decision on Nov. 21st. Suddenly, seeing how battered he was in that fight, Kessler’s chances against Froch were not as clear cut as they perhaps were before. But has the home advantage the former WBA, WBC 168-pound ruler gained evened out any advantage Froch may have picked up due to his rival’s defeat?
To my mind, this hugely intriguing fight is a bang on 50-50 match-up. Froch doesn’t know how to lose, and Kessler knows he cannot afford to. Add it all up, and the war both fighters are expecting is sure to take place in mid-ring. Who, aside from the two warriors themselves, is brave enough to make a prediction on this fight?!