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Although few fighters if any can match the quality of opponent that Carl Froch has faced since his introduction to the big time in his 2008 fight with Jean Pascal, make no mistake about it, his legacy is on the line. Not only legacy but a fight with the legend of longevity Bernard Hopkins, is waiting in the wings in what would be a hall of fame sealer for Carl “The Cobra” Froch. There is only one problem. The Viking Warrior is standing in his way and Mikkel Kessler has plenty of skill along with grit to make his “Warrior Call” be heard to the roof tops of the O2 Arena in London. Another week, another 50-50 fight and win-win for boxing fans across the world.

According to the some betting lines Carl Froch ranges from an almost 2-1 favorite, all the way up to an astronomical 4-1 or 5-1 on a betting website in the U.K. Carl Froch has been the more active fighter since their fight in 2010, as well as facing the better opposition. Meanwhile, Mikkel Kessler was forced to take two separate breaks, one over a year and one almost a year, to heal his eye injuries that nearly forced him to retire from the sport. What if anything is different besides location from the first fight and will this fight play out in similar fashion?

When Carl ‘The Cobra’ Froch (30-2, 22 KOs) squares off against ‘Viking Warrior’ Mikkel Kessler (46-2, 35 KOs) for the second time this Saturday, it will have been more than three years since their first grueling encounter in Group Stage 2 of the Super Six Boxing Classic. That contest unquestionably represented the most compelling and entertaining match-up in the entire super middleweight tournament, and there is good reason to believe the rematch will be an equally competitive battle that rivals, or perhaps even surpasses, the original. Froch and Kessler are still both universally recognized as two of the very best 168 pound boxers in the world, just as they were on April 24, 2010 when Kessler was awarded a hard fought unanimous decision on his home turf in Denmark. What can we expect this time from these two proven warriors? Will ‘The Cobra’ strike the Dane with a lethal bite, or will ‘The Viking’ savagely slay the serpent?

Carl Froch has fought five times since he faced Kessler, going 4-1 during that stretch, while Mikkel has won all three of his bouts. Of course the lone loss suffered by Froch was at the hands of Andre Ward, who is widely viewed as an elite pound-for-pound talent on par with Floyd Mayweather Junior. No shame there. Kessler himself was soundly beaten by Ward previously. The fact that Froch bounced back from the loss with an impressive brutal knockout against Lucian Bute holds far greater importance when searching for clues to explore that might give us some indication of what to expect on Saturday.