24.10.08 – by James Slater – The super-middleweight division is pretty hot at the moment, with three intriguing match-ups taking place in the coming weeks, in Kessler-Haussler, Taylor-Lacy and Froch-Pascal. And the division could get even more exciting next year according to Mike Marley, Kessler’s agent..
Speaking with Setanta Sports today, Marley said that if Kessler and Froch win their upcoming bouts, the two could well meet in a WBA/WBC 168-pound unification bout – and he and his fighter would have no qualms in coming over to England for the fight.
“I haven’t watched many of Carl’s fights, I’ve seen a few clips,” Marley told Setanta. “He’s undoubtedly a big banger, but he’s got a tough assignment coming up with Jean Pascal. If he wins that fight anything is possible. Kessler went to Wales to fight the great, and I do mean great, Joe Calzaghe. Would Kessler come over to the U.K to fight Froch? Absolutely. As the greatest fighter of our era says: if it makes dollars (or Euros) it makes sense.
“Froch is not known in the U.S and I knew (Jermain Taylor’s manager) Lou DiBella threw some jabs at him, but I have some sympathy for their position. HBO and ShowTime say they don’t know you in America. I had the same with Kessler. But then he represented himself very well against Joe over 12 rounds. It was a very competitive fight.”
A Froch-Kessler match-up would be a very interesting fight. Not too long ago, in a written article in his local newspaper, the unbeaten Froch said he is hoping the WBA champion beats Haussler when the two men meet (this coming Saturday, of course) because he wants to take the Dane’s belt. Well, should “The Cobra” get past the likewise undefeated Pascal he may get the fight he wants some time in 2009. Beating the talented Canadian will not be in any way easy, however, and it must be said – no disrespect to Haussler or Kessler – that Carl has the tougher fight of the two.
Kessler should take care of Haussler, but Froch-Pascal is a genuine 50-50 affair that could go either way. As such, it’s perhaps best not to look too far into the future.
Marley reminisced on the Calzaghe-Kessler fight, very proud as he is of his fighter’s gutsy showing – especially as it was given with an injured hand.
“The broken right hand wasn’t a rumour, though we didn’t bring it up before or straight afterwards,” Marley said. “You can’t at that level with the money Joe and Mikkel earned. We were not going to disappoint HBO or 50,000 punters at Millennium Stadium.”
It’s unlikely A Kessler-Froch clash would attract quite as many fans as 50,000, but a big fight it would be nonetheless.