Kessler Wins Title From Froch, Punches Super Six Into Near Dead Heat

Herning, Denmark (AHN) – Mikkel Kessler won the WBC Super Middleweight title and brought the Super Six Boxing Championship to a near-dead heat with a unanimous decision over Carl Froch Saturday night in Herning, Denmark.

If the second round of the Super Six is any indication, Andre Ward should find a reason to scratch his June 19 bout with Allan Green which will close out the round.

Thus far, every first-round winner has lost their second round bout, while every first-round loser has posted a victory in round two.

Arthur Abraham is the only fighter to post a knockout, and the bonus point from the stoppage puts him atop the rankings with three points.

Four of the other five fighters are now tied with two points each. If Green, who was named an injury replacement for Jermain Taylor after the first round does defeat Ward, all six fighters will be separated by a point.

Kessler’s victory also means that hometown fighters are 5-0 in the tournament.

The bout provided the best action of the Super Six tournament thus far. Kessler established his jab in the early rounds and was the fighter moving forward.

Froch wasn’t quite as active with his jab, but he was more willing to take chances with power shots early, though he was not able to land many damaging blows.

The fifth round was also back and forth, with both fighters just missing on the opportunity to inflict damage. Froch missed wildly with a power shot, but Kessler’s counter right also missed the mark.

A few seconds later, Kessler went down, when he dropped straight back and Froch hit him with a right hand. However referee Michael Griffin ruled it a slip.

Froch dominated the end of the fifth, and bloodied Kessler’s nose.

Kessler responded in the next few rounds, however, going back to the formula that built him a lead earlier in the fight.

He controlled the action with the jab and walked down Froch. After turning the momentum in his favor, he opened up with power shots, catching Froch with several in the eighth round.

The momentum turned again in the late rounds, courtesy of a cut over Kessler’s left eye. By the10th, it was bleeding significantly and causing vision problems for the hometown challenger.

The final two frames were, like the fifth, candidates for round of the year with furious back and forth action.

The judges scorecards were 115-113, 116-112, and 117-111, all in Kessler’s favor. The unofficial AHN scorecard had it 115-113 for Kessler.

Froch suffered his first career fight, dropping to 26-1. He also lost the WBC Super Middleweight title he won in December, 2008, failing in his attempt to defend the title for a third time.

Kessler moved to 43-2. He regained the WBC Super Middleweight title that he held from October, 2006 until November, 2007.

Kessler bounced back from a loss to Andre Ward in the Super Six opening round by technical decision in which he lost his WBA title.

The fight was stopped in the 11th due to a cut over Kessler’s right eye that was caused by an unintentional clash of heads. Ward, fighting in his home town of Oakland, won easily on all three cards.

The previously undefeated Froch was coming off a split decision win over Andre Dirrell in the Super Six opening round. The bout was held in Froch’s home town of Nottingham, England.

In the final round of pool competition, Kessler will fight Allan Green and Froch will take on current tournament leader Arthur Abraham. The top four in the standings at the end of pool competition will move on to the semifinals.

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