Michael Collins

Fury chooses not to face Pulev in IBF eliminator; Haye fight now likely

fury2Unbeaten British heavyweight Tyson Fury (21-0, 15 KO’s) will likely be facing former WBA heavyweight champion David Haye next after the purse bid for the Fury vs. Kubrat Pulev (17-0, 9 KO’s) IBF eliminator bout was cancelled when Fury’s management opted not to take part in it.

The winner of the Fury-Pulev fight would have become the IBF mandatory challenger for IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko. Fury and his promoter had talked about wanting to take that course for a title shot against Wladimir, but it looks like they had a change of mind.

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Froch: I know how to beat Andre Ward now

ward445If IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch chooses to face Andre Ward in his next fight, he believes he now holds the knowledge of how to beat him this time. Froch’s plan involves him coming on late in the fight when Ward tends to tire out a bit and win by outworking him.

Froch said to the guaradian.co.uk “If we fight again, I know what to do. Late on, he tires. At super middle, he struggles…he’s got to come here.”

Well, Froch won’t ever get to test his theory if he never faces Ward again and right now the rematch between them will likely not happen. Froch’s promoter Eddie Hearn appears more interested in putting Froch back in with Mikkel Kessler again for a third fight.

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Froch: Ward is ready to be beaten; let him come to the UK to fight me

froch302It looks like if WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (26-0, 14 KO’s) wants a rematch with IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch (31-2, 22 KO’s), then it’s going to have to be in the UK because Froch is making a big production about wanting the fight to take place there because Froch fought Ward in the United States two years ago in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Froch feels that this was a home fight for Ward, even though he comes from Oakland, California, which is 3000 miles away.

After tonight’s 12 round unanimous decision victory for Froch over WBA super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler in London, UK, Froch said to Sky Sports “He [Ward] is there to be beaten, but not over in America. Let’s get him over here. I went over to America and now let’s get him over to England.”

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Froch decisions Kessler

froch2000IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch (31-2, 22 KO’s) labored to a 12 round unanimous decision on Saturday night over WBA super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler (46-3, 35 KO’s) at the O2 Arena in London, UK. The judges scored the fight 118-110, 116-112 and 115-113. The last score was the more accurate score compared to the other two.

Froch barely beat Kessler. Had Kessler won the 12th round, I would have scored it a draw. It was pretty sad scoring of the fight. Neither looked good. You can’t say Froch looked good because he spent the entire night missing punches and throwing a limp jab that would have been easily countered by a good fighter like Andre Ward.

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Atlas picks Froch to beat Kessler

froch1000ESPN analyst Teddy Atlas is picking IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch (30-2, 22 KO’s) to defeat WBA super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler (46-2, 35 KO’s) in their fight tonight at the O2 Arena in London, UK.

Atlas’ reasons for going with Froch echo a lot of the same reasons others are picking Froch. He feels that Froch has improved considerably in the three years since he last fought Kessler in 2010, and sees him as a more confident fighter at this stage in his career despite being a year older than Kessler.

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Kessler’s promoter: Froch is starting to crack from the pressure

_SJ19921Kalle Sauerland, the promoter for WBA super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler (46-2, 35 KO’s), thinks IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch (30-2, 22 KO’s) is showing the hallmarks of a fighter that is mentally crumbling under the pressure of his big-fight rematch with Kessler this Saturday night in London, England.

Earlier this week, Froch talked of potentially killing Kessler in the ring this Saturday, and Sauerland sees that as a sign that Froch is going to pieces.

Sauerland said this about Froch as quoted by the Dailystar.co.uk “We think this type of talk shows that Carl is cracking up under the pressure. This is the biggest fight that Carl has ever been involved in…he’s the favorite and his fans expect him to win, so maybe he’s feeling the pressure.”

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Chilemba expects to KO Bellew on Saturday night

bellew5#3 WBC light heavyweight contender Isaac Chilemba (20-1-2, 9 KO’s) wants to take the judges out of the equation this Saturday night in his rematch against #1 WBC Tony Bellew (19-1-1, 12 KO’s) at the O2 Arena in London, UK.

Chilemba fought well enough to deserve a victory last March when he fought Bellew in Liverpool, England, but the judges saw it differently and scored it a 12 round draw. This time Chilemba will be looking to knock Bellew out.

Chilemba said to Sky Sports “I’m not a guy who looks for a knockout. The way I feel this time, I would be very surprised if he goes 12 rounds…this time I’m going to take every round.”

What’s not known by many boxing fans is that Chilemba went into his fight with Bellew last March with a chest cold, and he barely breath. He didn’t want to cancel the fight and toughed it out, giving away many of the rounds in the first half of the fight.

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Froch goes overboard with comments about Kessler

froch966There’s a right way and a wrong way to try and hype a fight, and IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch (30-2, 22 KO’s) showed a prime example of the wrong by talking about possibly killing his opponent WBA super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler (46-2, 35 KO’s) in their unification fight this Saturday night in London, UK.

Froch said this to Telegraph.co.uk “If I have to I will kill this f***** [Kessler]. I will kill him. It sounds brutal, it sounds horrible, but that is what it means to me…when I smash his face in, I am going for the kill.”

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