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Froch vs Kessler II: Fight time, TV schedule, undercard, more

2013-05-25T06:06:58Z

Carl Froch and Mikkel Kessler meet in a highly-anticipated rematch today from the O2 Arena in London, headlining a Matchroom Boxing bill that will be televised on HBO in the U.S. and Sky Box Office in the United Kingdom.

BLH will be here with full coverage of the entire televised show from Sky Box Office, starting at 3 pm EDT. The HBO broadcast goes live at 6 pm EDT with just the main event, and they'll also have a 10 pm EDT replay later tonight.

Fight time: 3:00 pm EDT (UK) / 6:00 pm EDT (US, 10 pm EDT replay)

TV channel: Sky Box Office (UK) / HBO (US)

Venue: O2 Arena - London, England

Undercard: Tony Bellew vs Isaac Chilemba (rematch), George Groves vs Noe Gonzalez.

If you are for some reason hoping to avoid "spoilers," keep in mind that won't be possible on the site. We're going to run the results live as they come in, and again, we'll be here with full card live coverage. Join us!

Froch vs Kessler II: Picks and predictions from the BLH staff

2013-05-24T23:10:10Z

Ryan Bivins

Carl Froch and Mikkel Kessler last fought over 3 years ago. It was a thrilling 12 round affair that could have gone either way. Kessler might not have got it in the UK, and I don't suspect he'll get it there now, but I agreed with the result the first time around.

This time I doubt Kessler is going for a decision.

Based on his words leading up to this fight and his recent performances, Kessler is more of a puncher these days. And if Froch has the same defensive deficiencies he had in the 1st fight, he's going to get knocked out. Kessler might visit the canvas himself along the way, ala the Alan Green fight, but I think he gets up to return the favor even more emphatically. Froch's awkard style is a difficult puzzle to solve the first time you've ever experienced it. His glaring weaknesses just aren't so easy to capitalize upon. But this is going to be the first time a Froch opponent has had the benefit of being in the ring with him before. Experience helps. How else do you explain a diminished Marco Antonio Barrera doing better against an improved Manny Pacquiao in their 2007 rematch?

But forget all that. I can rationalize any prediction using history as my aid. Just about every kind of scenario has happened before. This is just a gut feeling I have. If the fight goes into the late rounds I think each boxer will be too fatigued to stop the other. They're both in their mid-30s and they've had tough careers. As stated before I will favor Froch to win a decision (even if I don' think he deserves it). But my first pick is for Kessler to win by mid rounds KO/TKO. I suspect the overhand right will be Froch's undoing. Kessler by KO7.

Scott Christ

The one red flag that I see for Carl Froch in this fight is Mikkel Kessler's injury issues, which seem to me to have made him into a much more aggressive fighter than he used to be. Kessler has aged some, but he still packs a hell of a punch, as Bouadla, Green, and Magee can all attest. Froch has an iron chin, but even the toughest guys can be stopped if they get hit hard enough, and Kessler hits hard enough.

That said, unless Froch gets caught in the first half, maybe eight rounds of the fight, I don't see Kessler being quite enough to overcome (1) Froch's improvements, (2) Froch's hometown advantage, and (3) his own inactivity over the last three years. Kessler, if he wins, will stop Froch. Froch can win a number of ways, and I think he has the likely edge on the scorecards even now. Smart money is on Froch to win over 12 in another very good fight, sealing it down the stretch against a tired Kessler. Froch by decision.

Tom Craze

I scored the first fight wider for Kessler than most - while obviously not an easy win, for me it was the very definition of the old 'close, but clear'-type decision. Without going as far as to question the judges, needless to say he'll find it harder to put rounds in the bank here, on the road and in front of a five-figure, red-hot partisan UK crowd.

Much has been said of Froch's hot streak - that lopsided loss to Andre Ward not withstanding - but it's worth remembering that an inevitable early blowout win against an overmatched and fragile Yusaf Mack holds, for me, considerably less merit than a stoppage over a fringe world contender like Brian Magee, and was roughly equivalent to a similarly early stoppage over Allan Green. The way in which Green got to Kessler early has many rightly questioning whether we'll see Bute Part II here.

As closely matched as the two are in physical terms - and, to a large extent, on paper - it seems both difficult and blindingly obvious to see how Kessler wins this return leg: in short, he needs a knockout. Unfortunately for him, Froch has one of the best chins in the game and is as tough as anyone currently fighting. Simply, he doesn't look like a guy who's about to be stopped by anyone soon.

The Dane's best option would appear to be to utilise the body attack that served him so well against Magee, but blazing through the solid, but limited, Irishman, and whatever was left (or indeed, ever there) of Green is a different sort of ask to this altogether. Froch is as fired up for this bout as I can remember a fighter being in recent months, and providing he approaches it with enough discipline as to not throw the gameplan out of the window early, it's hard to see him not grinding this out in a fight that might just rival the first for excitement. Froch by UD.

Dave Oakes

I can see this being a chess match, a very technical contest with neither man throwing many punches, which will make it quite boring for the fans. Only kidding, they're going to thump lumps out of each other for twelve rounds or until one of them drops. The fans definitely won't be going home disappointed.

The fight should be very similar to the first, both might try to box a bit more early on but eventually they will stand toe-to-toe and start whacking each other senseless. The biggest difference between the first fight and this one is that I believe Froch has improved slightly and Kessler has deteriorated a little. Don't get me wrong, Kessler is still a top class fighter and still possesses the power to hurt Froch, it's just that he's had injury problems and hasn't been the most active fighter in the past three years. Nor has he been in with a top class fighter since his first meeting with Froch.

Froch looks to be in the best form of his career. He's turned in a number of impressive performances recently, dominating fights against Abraham, Johnson, Bute and Mack. He lost to Andre Ward but there's no disgrace in that, Ward's movement and speed will always give fighters like Froch problems.

In fact, Kessler's own fight with Ward says a lot about the similarities between himself and Froch. Both struggle with speedy opponents but both have solid chins, big punch power, plenty of heart and are willing to have a war. When two boxers of similar ability meet, it can often come down to who's the fresher and who wants it the most. Whilst both men want to win desperately, it's Froch who is the fresher of the two, and that makes me lean towards him in what is a 50-50 fight. Froch on points in a thriller.

Final Tally: Carl Froch 3, Mikkel Kessler 1.

Friday Night Fights - Rodriguez vs Hernandez: Live results and discussion

2013-05-24T23:08:35Z

Tonight at 10 pm EDT on ESPN2, Friday Night Fights is back with a 10-round main event in the junior middleweight division. Former world title challenger Delvin Rodriguez makes another appearance on FNF, facing former welterweight title challenger Freddy Hernandez.

Rodriguez (27-6-3, 15 KO) is coming off of a totally one-sided beatdown of George Tahdooahnippah in February, months after he was outclassed against then-WBA junior middleweight titlist Austin Trout on Showtime. The 33-year-old Rodriguez is hoping to muscle his way back into contention, and stays busy tonight against Hernandez (30-4, 20 KO), a rail-thin Mexican who has lost two straight to Erislandy Lara and Demetrius Andrade, and three of his last four going back to a TKO-1 loss to Andre Berto in 2010.

In the 10-round junior welterweight co-feature, Issouf Kinda (16-0, 6 KO) will face Chris Howard (15-2-1, 7 KO). Kinda, born in Burkina Faso and now fighting out of the Bronx, is a 25-year-old prospect whose most notable win came over Mike Arnaoutis. Howard, 24, lost a pair of fights in 2012, but beat Bayan Jargal in February.

Carl Froch 'firing on all cylinders' for Kessler rematch

2013-05-24T20:32:57Z

Carl Froch is highly confident ahead of tomorrow's rematch with Mikkel Kessler, where the British star will look to get a measure of revenge for his 2010 loss in Denmark:

"I am sure Mikkel Kessler knows what he has to do, but I am turning up in the best possible shape I could be in. ... He's in for a shock and a lot of people are going to be in for a shock because I've done the weight and the way sparring has gone, everything has gone well. I am firing on all cylinders. I am sparking."

Froch (30-2, 22 KO) says he's in top shape this time, as opposed to their first fight, where he had the flu or a volcano landed on him or whatever the "I'm not making any excuses, but..." excuse was, I forget exactly. If he wasn't at his best that night, though, and not just because Kessler was difficult for him, then it's hard to see Kessler not being in trouble tomorrow. Froch went 50-50 with Mikkel already, and if they've gone opposite directions since then, Froch has to be considered the solid favorite.

We'll have more on Froch-Kessler this evening, as well as full card coverage tomorrow.

Mikkel Kessler: I have a new, better style for Carl Froch

2013-05-24T20:21:46Z

Mikkel Kessler dismisses the idea that he's not the same fighter he was three years ago, and says that he's got a better style now to deal with tomorrow's opponent, Carl Froch:

"He said he was better than the last time. I said I'm 10 times better this time than I was the last time. ... I feel like I've been working on my technical boxing skills very much for the last two years and that's why I have stopped my opponents so fast and I feel good this way. I feel I have a new style but better. I think it's better for Carl now."

Kessler (46-2, 35 KO) is the slight underdog for this fight, despite his win over Froch in 2010. The feeling is that Froch has perhaps improved since then, while Kessler has been largely inactive and hasn't faced any top opponents, beating Mehdi Bouadla, Allan Green, and Brian Magee since he fought Froch, followed by his withdrawal from the Super Six World Boxing Classic, where Froch eventually finished as runner-up to Andre Ward.

Maidana vs Lopez: Showtime Extreme bouts confirmed for June 8

2013-05-24T20:13:20Z

Unbeaten welterweight prospect Yoshihiro Kamegai will meet former WBA interim junior welterweight titlist Johan Perez in the main bout of the June 8 Showtime Extreme broadcast, which will precede the Maidana vs Lopez card on Showtime.

Kamegai (22-0-1, 19 KO) is a 30-year-old banger who stole some attention last October with a great fight against Jorge Silva, who would go on to lose to Alfredo Angulo in December. As a prospect, he's a bit long in the tooth, but he takes a good shot and gives one, and he's definitely worth tuning in to see.

Perez (16-1-1, 12 KO) signed with Golden Boy last year and immediately lost to Pablo Cesar Cano in July, then took a 10-round majority decision over faded veteran Steve Forbes in January of this year.

Also televised will be 31-year-old heavyweight Gerald Washington (7-0, 5 KO), who takes a step up in competition against veteran Sherman "Tank" Williams (35-12-2, 19 KO). Williams, 40, is short at 5'11", but went 12 with Robert Helenius in November, his last fight. You may also recall Williams from a 2011 no-contest against Evander Holyfield, a fight in which Williams was doing reasonably well. He also has losses to Manuel Charr, Ruslan Chagaev, Tye Fields, and others.

If time permits, we'll also see 2012 U.S. Olympian Joseph Diaz Jr (4-0, 2 KO) in action.

Devon Alexander: Amir Khan is no threat

2013-05-24T16:55:30Z

Devon Alexander says he'd love to face Amir Khan late this year, which has been the most-mentioned possibility for his next fight, and also believes that Khan is "no threat" to him, in terms of skills.

From BoxingScene.com:

"I don't think he's a threat at all. Well let me take that back. Like I said with Purdy, anyone who puts on gloves is a threat to me. He's trying to hurt you and take what you have so that's a threat alone but as far as me versus Khan, skill versus skill, he isn't a threat to me at all. He hasn't fought too many guys with skills like mine in his career and I think that will be a factor in this fight," Alexander told BoxingScene Radio.

Alexander (25-1, 14 KO) is coming off of a stoppage win over Lee Purdy on May 18, but also injured his left hand during the fight. Khan (28-3, 19 KO) scraped past Julio Diaz on April 27 in Sheffield, in a 143-pound catchweight bout. Khan sounds more and more like he intends to move up to welterweight, rather than stay at 140.

Both fighters, too, are potential Floyd Mayweather opponents in the near future. If they don't face Floyd in September -- and right now, there is cautious optimism that we'll see Floyd vs Canelo Alvarez -- then a December fight between Alexander and Khan could set up Mayweather's first opponent of 2014 with a quality win.

Who would you pick in this one, Khan or Alexander? Is it too close to call? Does Alexander have the style to exploit Khan's known weaknesses, or is Devon made for Amir?

Froch vs Kessler II weights: Froch 168, Kessler 167

2013-05-24T16:24:55Z

Carl Froch and Mikkel Kessler made weight for tomorrow's big rematch in London.