Froch talks about Kessler withdrawal
In the wake of Mikkel Kessler’s shocking withdrawal from Showtime’s Super Six Boxing Classic Tournament, fighters are showing him the empathy and respect his decision commands. Carl Froch, who lost to Kessler on points in a bout back in April, spoke up today about the loss.
"I was hoping to have gotten the rematch with Kessler through the format of the Super Six. But health must come first and having eye problems in the past, I can only sympathise with Kessler's current situation and wish him well."
Froch continued: “"Kessler is a gent and will be missed by the fighters and the fans of the Super Six tournament. But I'm sure somewhere down the line, hopefully our paths will cross again as our last fight really captured the public's imagination. But in the meantime I hope he gets his health back to 100 per cent and back on track.”
Kessler announced yesterday he will be bowing out of the elimination tournament, in which the WBA and WBC super middleweight titles are on the line. He cited an eye injury that was confirmed by doctors, and said that in training for an upcoming bout with Allan Green, the problem had become unbearable. Many respect Kessler for his decision, and almost no one has accused him of cowardice or the like. There is no reason to doubt the legitimacy of the issue as Kessler stood to make career-high paydays in prospective fights in the tournament. Boxing Examiner’s Michael Marley went as far as to suggest that the injury would be a career-ender.
Carl Froch also spoke about what will now happen with the WBC title Kessler won from him back in April. "There is talk of my fight now being for the vacant WBC title. Whilst I appreciate being afforded the opportunity to regain the prestigious belt, I wanted to win it back from Mikkel himself. In an ideal world, he hangs onto it and we rumble again when he's good and ready."
Froch will face Arthur Abraham on October 2, in a match guaranteed to be a hard-hitting slugfest.
Froch has gained a little bit of extra attention in the past few days because of Jean Pascal's recent upset victory over Chad Dawson to cement Pascal's status as the top light-heavyweight in the world. Froch is on record as being the only man to ever beat Pascal, adding a little bit of lustre to his record.
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