Redemption In London

By Stevie Adams @MrStevieAdams

Last night at the o2 Arena in London, Carl Froch got the redemption that he was longing for, by defeating his good friend and old foe, Mikkel Kessler via unanimous decision. Froch is now the IBF and WBA super middleweight champion of the world and he is desperate to avenge the other defeat on his record, a points loss to Andre Ward.

Both men were in tremendous shape for this contest and they both did themselves proud. The respect shown between the two of them before, during and after the fight was a marvelous advert for boxing and they're both a credit to the sport.

Froch was clearly dominant in the first three rounds, as Kessler struggled to find his way past a rapier like jab that constantly speared into its target. But "The Viking Warrior" is a great fighter in his own right and he began to find his range in the fourth stanza. Excellent head movement and quick combinations got him back into things. As the fight heated up they traded heavy artillery, but Froch's punches appeared to stun Kessler.

Kessler lands but doesn't phase Froch. 

"The Cobra" began to pull away again in the second half of the fight, by winning the 7th and 8th rounds. But in typical Kessler fashion, he came back in thrilling style. He landed numerous left hooks and straight rights that would've knocked out the majority of the current super middleweight contenders, but Carl Froch has one of the best chins in the business and he walked straight through them with a devilish smile. Kessler wore a look of amazement as his punches had no effect. In the 11th round though, Kessler piled on the pressure and he rocked the Englishman with a vicious left hook, right hand combination. But he was unable to capitalize and Froch recovered well to finish the fight on the front foot. 

The official decision was announced in the velvet tones of Michael Buffer. The result; a unanimous decision with scores of 118-110, 116-112 and 115-113 for the pride of Nottingham, Carl "The Cobra" Froch! It was a truly remarkable fight between two absolute warriors and the true winner was boxing.

On the undercard, Tony Bellew finally defeated the slippery Isaac Chilemba with a hard fought 12 round unanimous decision. Bellew is now the mandatory challenger for the WBC light heavyweight title. Also on the bill, George Groves knocked out his Uruguayan opponent, Noe Gonzalez in the 5th round after dominating the entire fight.