By Scott Gilfoid: It looks like Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn is at the point where he’s going to have to make a quick decision for his fighter IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch about what he wants to do. Hearn and Froch want to fight WBA super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler and Hearn has set this week as the deadline for when Froch and he will have to make a decision.
The IBF expects Froch to make a deal with his mandatory challenger Adonis Stevenson by January 15th or else they’ll strip Froch of his IBF strap. Froch is good with being stripped of the belt if he can get the Kessler fight, but obviously he’s not so eager to have it stripped if the Kessler fight can’t be made.
Hearn said on his twitter “Carl Froch vs. Kessler. We are in nonstop talks with Sauerland. If it’s going to get made it will get made this week.”
It looks like Kessler isn’t so excited about the deal being offered to him because if he was he would have jumped at it quickly like he did with the Brian Magee fight. I can’t say I blame him. They’re offering Kessler only 2 million pounds for him to have to fight in the UK in front of a hostile crowd with the chance of him possibly getting jobbed if the fight goes to a decision. I’m sure the WBA strap isn’t all that important but getting a loss on his resume obviously is because a lot of boxing fans look at losses and don’t bother to find out the particulars of a fight.
It’s not worth it if Kessler is going to be in a situation where he may find himself losing a controversial decision. 2 million pounds is nothing. Kessler probably gets about half of that facing fodder opposition in Denmark, so should he waste his time getting tiny bit more and face the chance of maybe finding himself on the short end of a controversial decision in the UK?
I wouldn’t do it. If Hearn and Froch don’t want to fight in a neutral venue then they can forget it, and besides that, the 2 million pound offer isn’t enough. Kessler should demand four million and if he doesn’t it then he should walk. The money isn’t good enough and the venue is going to be bad.
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