Froch beaten by Kessler
Brave Carl Froch suffered the first defeat of his professional career as home favourite Mikkel Kessler snatched his WBC super-middleweight title with a thrilling unanimous decision win in Denmark.
The Nottingham man struggled early on in the Super Six clash at the MCH Messecenter in Herning but found his range impressively in the fifth, flooring Kessler only for the referee to rule it a slip.
Kessler, who lost to Joe Calzaghe in 2007, regained his composure quickly though as the fight descended into a brutal scrap in the later rounds. And it was the Copenhagen man whose tough night's work was rewarded with a wide decision via scores of 117-111, 115-113 and 116-112.
After hearing his national anthem booed by the fervent Danish support, Froch began largely on the back foot as Kessler held ring centre in the opening round. Froch looked uncomfortable and was caught going in early in the second as he sought to unload a power shot.
Kessler was countering well and caught Froch nicely with a jab before enjoying similar success with a left hook moments later. The fourth saw Froch land the shot of the fight so far, feinting the left and firing off a hard right cross before Kessler hammered home a left-hand counter and used the same tool to good effect late in the round.
Two power jabs early in the fifth gave Kessler something to think about. Froch, sniffing and blinking and with hands held typically low, then floored his man with a short right only for Canadian referee Michael Griffin to rule it a slip.
Kessler recovered though, as jabs and hooks continued to work for him in the sixth and a volley of shots landed at close range. The crowd went wild at the end of a good seventh round for Kessler, the highlight of which was a right hand to the back of the champion's head.
Froch's legs seemed to buckle momentarily as a cute short right uppercut landed sweetly in what was another round for the challenger. The Englishman now seemed to need the knockout he was clearly seeking anyway.
While both men bled from the nose, Kessler had a small cut over the left eye and two smart left hooks were not enough to win Froch round 10 as Kessler continued racking up the points. A Froch right over the top hurt Kessler in the 11th and he grinned with menace. Seconds later it was he who was hurt, though, as his opponent hit home with a right-left at range.
A thrilling battle ended with a 12th-round war as both men put it all on the line to go at it with hard, relentless digs and Froch also cut near the left eye before the crowd greeted the final bell with roars of appreciation. Both men now have two points from two Super Six fights.
Date published :
24 Apr 2010 - 23:58:26
