Froch vs. Kessler 2: Legacy and a date with the Legend of Longevity are on the line

_SJ20017Although 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?

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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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Cotto undecided on September 28th date

cotto34Miguel Cotto (37-4, 30 KO’s) is still trying to decide whether he’ll be fighting on September 28th or another date this year for his next fight, according to RingTV. Golden Boy Promotions booked the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York for September 28th, hoping that Cotto will choose to fight on that date, but he’s still undecided.

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer said to RingTV “Miguel hasn’t decided I he is going to fight on that date [September 28th] or before or after. We’re working on that option.”

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Carl Froch: Let the gloves do the talking

The past few months have been exceptionally exciting for fight fans across the globe. Match ups such as, Rios v Alvardo, Floyd v Guerrero, Donaire v Rigondeaux have once again given the die- hards an opportunity to grab ‘a cold one’ and cancel all their weekend night time engagements. Super fights are now being made more often which in turn has woken up the sport that many critics claimed was dying a slow death.

This weekend will be no exception as IBF Super-Middleweight Champion Carl Froch takes on Denmarks WBA Champion Mikkel Kessler. This will be the second time the pair meet, and Froch is eager for revenge after losing a close affair on points back in 2010.

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Kessler looking to beat Froch in front of his own fans

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WBA super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler (46-2, 35 KO’s) beat IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch (30-2, 22 KO’s) soundly three years ago in Herning, Denmark in front of Kessler’s Danish fans and a small spatter of Froch’s British fans. This time when Kessler faces Froch on Saturday night at the O2 Arena in London, England, Kessler will be looking to whip Froch in front of a huge crowd of Froch’s British fans.

Kessler wants to show that his win last time wasn’t because he was fighting at home in Denmark. It was because he was the more talented fighter than the upright, easy to hit Froch.

Kessler said “I want to show Carl and all of his boxing fans that I’m better than him.”

Well, if the fight follows the pattern of their last fight, Froch will come out aggressive; taste some of Kessler’s power and back off immediately. Last time, Froch fought in spurts where he would come at Kessler for some exchanges and then back away after Kessler got the better of him. The fight followed this pattern until late in the fight when it clear that Froch was well behind in the fight and needed to sweep the championship rounds in order to have a chance to win.

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They Fight for the Money!

From 140lbs to 154lbs all the top guys are jockeying for position; promoters, advisers and managers are trying to secure the best fights for their charges. The best fights being the ones with the biggest payout with the least chance of losing. They ALL do it, it’s just a fact of professional fighting.

In June 2013, Paulie Malignaggi will face off against Adrien Broner for Malignaggi’s 147lb strap. Both men are reportedly getting near $1M for their efforts.

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GBP setting aside September 28th at Barclays for Cotto

cotto8Golden Boy Promotions is setting aside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on September 28th for a possible Miguel Cotto fight, according to Steve Kim. This is potentially bad news for WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez because Cotto is the backup plan for him if Golden Boy can’t negotiate a fight between him and Floyd Mayweather Jr. for September 14th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

If Golden Boy strikes out with Mayweather, then they won’t eve have Cotto for Canelo. With Mayweather and Cotto out for Canelo, he’d then likely be matched up with the Golden Boy promoted Alfredo Angulo or Erislandy Lara.

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Bellew plans on overwhelming Chilemba with punches on Saturday

bellew64#1 WBO light heavyweight contender Tony Bellew (19-1-1, 12 KO’s) will be trying to erase the controversy of his previous fight when he faces #3 WBC Isaac Chilemba (20-1-2, 9 KO’s) in a rematch this Saturday night at the O2 Arena in London, UK.

The fight is buried on the Carl Froch vs. Mikkel Kessler card, and you have to wonder if this was an intentional move by Bellew’s promoter Eddie Hearn in case Bellew gets boxed silly again by Chilemba and it ends up as a huge buzz kill for all the Brits at ringside and watching on television.

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