by James Slater – Not long to go now until WBC super-middleweight champion Carl Froch steps into the ring against Mikkel Kessler in the next phase of the brilliant “Super Six” tournament. Both fighters have weighed-in comfortably under the 168-pound limit, both appear to be in excellent shape and both warriors are talking, as they have been all along, a great fight.
However, one thing the honest Froch did say recently has caused a fair amount of interest – how he admits he will be entering tomorrow’s big fight in Denmark whilst not being injury-free.. Froch, who says he has a history of suffering from “niggling” injuries, told BBC Nottingham that he is used to entering a fight with some sort of injury or another. “The Cobra” is sure, though, that as soon as the warfare begins he will be more than capable of fighting hard and winning the anticipated war with “The Viking Warrior.”
“I’m never ever 100-percent for any fight,” Froch said. “I’ve had all sorts of injuries and knocks and bangs in the past. I’m not going to disclose what injuries I’ve got but I’m never injury-free anyway.
“If you go back to the Jean Pascal world title fight, I had a perforated eardrum and a broken rib – it’s all injuries and hindrances that niggle you until the first bell goes. But as soon as that bell goes and you’re in fight mode, the adrenaline is pumping through your veins and it’s fight time.”
So, has the rib injury resurfaced for Froch, or has he picked up some new injury? It sure would be a much more ideal situation for any fighter going in there with the formidable Kessler to be doing so when in absolutely perfect condition, but Froch says he is used to battling his opponents as much as he is his aches and pains, and there seems to be no cause for alarm. Still, many a fighter would almost certainly not have been so candid when entering what is arguably the biggest and most important fight of their career. Will Kessler take heart from the fact that his rival is carrying some sort of injury, however trivial it may be?
One thing is certain, both guys will pick up some lumps and bumps during the fight tomorrow. Many fans and experts expect a brutal encounter, perhaps one that sees both men hit the floor, and the price of winning may well be the odd cut, the odd bruise and maybe even the odd broken bone!
Both men have predicted a KO win, and one man who has given his support to Froch is former 140-pound champ Ricky Hatton. Hatton says he thinks his countryman can win in what will be a tricky encounter, and that if Froch does so he will actually go on to win the “Super Six” tournament outright.
“Froch is one of the very best world champions out there. If he can beat Kessler in his backyard it will be a hell of an achievement,” Hatton said. “He [Kessler] is the danger man, very big, very strong. This could be [Froch’s] trickiest fight, but I do think he can win. If he comes through this I believe he’ll win the Super Six.”
If Hatton’s predictions come true, Carl Froch will be one happy and celebrated fighter; injuries or not.