May 26, 2013
Last night IBF world champion Carl Froch defeated Mikkel Kessler in an all action slug fest. The WBA champion Kessler was 1 of only 2 men to ever score a victory over Froch and the much anticipated fight lived up to all the hype and expectation.
From the get go Froch was the busier fighter, working well behind his jab and taking the earlier rounds, with the crowded in the packed out O2 arena cheering every punch landed by the Brit. Froch was well incharge of the earlier rounds, dictating the pace and landing with some consistency to Kesslers head and body. During the fifth round Kessler landed a solid right hand to the chin of Froch, this shot appeared to stun Froch, but the Brit grit his teeth and made it through the round, this round was by far Kesslers most impressive round during the bout. During the sixth round Kessler landed another heavy shot in the form of a left hook, but Froch displayed his world class chin once again and walked straight through it and then landed shots of his own to finish the round strong. During round seven both fighters appeared to declare war, with both looking to land big hurtful shots, with Froch always seeming to get the better of the exchanges, this also being the theme for rounds 9 and 10 with action from bell to bell.
Froch vs Kessler II – May 25, 2013
During round 11 Kessler went on the offensive, landing hard shots on Froch, where he again appeared to be hurt, but again with the crowd of the O2 cheering him on, Froch made it through the round. During the 12th and final round both fighters went for the stoppage, with hurtful shots being thrown and landed from both fighters, the drama lasted right until the final bell, with Kessler up against the ropes, seemly just one big punch away from referee Pete Podgorski jumping in and stopping the fight. The judges saw the fight 115-113, 116-112 and 118-110 all in favour of Froch. This was a great fan friendly fight that lived up to all the hype and expectation that preceded this event.
Overall this was a great fight, with two real warriors of the sport going at it toe to toe for 12 rounds. This win for Froch puts in him firmly in contention for a rematch with the only other man to have beaten him, Andre Ward. After the fight Froch called out the American and said “this time let’s do it in the UK!”.
