Who Was The Greater Fighter: Carl Froch Or Mikkel Kessler

Carl Froch and Mikkel Kessler: British pride Vs. Danish pride. Two men who had so much mutual respec, going at it in a search of supremacy.

The first fight between these two super, super-middleweights took place 16 years ago today. Kessler was 31 years old, and he was 42-2(32). Froch was a year older, and he was unbeaten at 26-0. “The Cobra” was the reigning and defending WBC champ at 168 pounds.

The two warriors gave us a great one, a special one. A modern day classic of a fight. Froch, as he had done in previous fights against other fighters, faced Kessler in his homeland. What came was a superb fight, one that was full of ebbs and flows. In the end, Kessler edged Froch on the cards, this by surprisingly, and not at all accurate, scores of 117-111 (this a disgrace of a card), 116-112 (not much better), and 115-113.

The fight was so exciting, and controversial enough, for the rematch to be demanded. And so it came, in May of 2013 – this time in London.

Dubbed “Warrior’s Call,” the sequel proved to be an even better fight in the opinion of some (Froch fans understandably). By now, Froch was 30-2(22), while “The Viking Warrior” was 46-2(35). These two men, who knew each other so well, and also knew that they were so well matched, again gave their all in an effort at supremacy. And again, the fight went all the way.

This time the two warriors were contesting two world titles: the IBF and the WBA 168 pound belts. Froch won the early rounds, Kessler commanded the middle sessions, and then Froch roared back to take the late rounds. It was another great battle. And this time, it was Froch who won via a unanimous decision; one that nobody could really argue with, the scores being 118-110 (okay, this was too wide, admittedly), 116-112, and 115-113.

The rubber-match never came, even though there was much talk of it perhaps happening at the time. Instead, these two great, respectful, and – to repeat – so evenly matched modern greats left it at one win each And in some ways, this makes the rivalry that Froch and Kessler engaged in all the more special.

Now, dare we ask the question – which of these two was the overall greater fighter? Both men compiled quite the impressive CV, with both men also living to Andre Ward. Unlike Froch, Kessler fought the awesome Joe Calzaghe, with Calzaghe putting on one of his finest displays to decision Kessler. Froch always wanted to get it on with Joe, but it never happened.

Froch and Kessler, two superb warriors who were always willing to fight the best. I don’t know about you, but I can’t split these two in terms of who was the greatest overall…

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