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Carl Froch Eyeing Rematches With Mikkel Kessler and Lucian Bute

Mikkel Kessler and Carl Froch appear headed for a rematch later this year. (Photo by John Gichigi/Getty Images)
Mikkel Kessler and Carl Froch appear headed for a rematch later this year. (Photo by John Gichigi/Getty Images)
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Carl Froch is on cloud nine right now following his May 26 rampage over Lucian Bute, and promoter Eddie Hearn is hard at work trying to put together a rematch between Froch and the first man to beat him in the pro ranks, Mikkel Kessler.

From Phil D. Jay:

''I spoke with Kalle [Sauerland] yesterday and it's pretty clear everyone wants the fight," Hearn told World Boxing News.

"Carl wants to avenge that defeat and what a huge fight that would be. His profile has risen to another level and Froch-Kessler II is a mouth-watering prospect."

Froch (29-2, 21 KO) and Kessler (45-2, 34 KO) both scored wins in May, with Kessler knocking out Allan Green on May 19. The Kessler-Green fight was sort of at light heavyweight, but the Danish star weighed just one pound over the super middleweight limit of 168 pounds for the fight, and reports after were that it was actually a catchweight of 172 pounds. In other words, Kessler is not firmly at 168 or 175, and it seems he's going where the best offer is.

That appears to be a Froch rematch for now.

Kessler defeated Froch in April 2010, in the only true standout fight of the entire Super Six tournament. It was a razor-thin decision in Herning, Denmark, and Froch said he felt then that had the fight taken place in the United Kingdom, he would have probably gotten a close win.

The rematch is being negotiated for Nottingham, where Froch drew about 10,000 for his destruction of Bute.

If Froch were to beat Kessler, he and Matchroom Boxing are not overlooking Lucian Bute's right to a rematch, but they don't expect that it will happen in the next four to six months, which is the contract stipulation. Hearn says that they could do that next spring, with Froch fighting Kessler first, and Bute taking an interim fight. The Bute-Froch rematch would be in Montreal, which was the contract stipulation.

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