By Scott Gilfoid: Well, it looks like IBF/WBA super middleweight Carl Froch (31-2, 22 KO’s) isn’t too keen on getting back in the ring with the talented WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (26-0, 14 KO’s) and taking the risk of getting a second schooling from the American.
Froch is saying that a third fight with Mikkel Kessler takes priority over a rematch with Ward. Froch just beat Kessler last month by a 12 round unanimous decision by the scores 116-112, 115-113 and 118-110 in London, UK.
Froch said to Jenna Jay at Otrboxingradio.com “I’ll leave it to my promoter to decide which route we’ll go but a rematch with Mikkel Kessler…until he’s back we’re not going to know exactly what he wants to do but that will take priority over a rematch with Andre Ward as far as we’re concerned because Andre Ward doesn’t bring much to the table in terms of revenue.”
I really like how Froch uses the old ‘I’m leaving it up to my promoter’ bit. When you see a fighter doing that one, it’s often a sign that they’re looking for the promoter to take the heat for them not wanting to take a dangerous fight that they might not win. In the case of Ward, I see that as a guaranteed loss for Froch.
How does Froch know what Ward brings to the table in the revenue department? It’s not as if Froch fought Ward in the UK before. Their fight took place in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and there’s no way of telling how well it would do if it were staged in the UK. I do know that the 2009 fight between Froch and Andre Dirrell was a sellout in Nottingham, UK.
If Dirrell was able to pack the fans in Nottingham, then I can see Ward doing the same thing if Froch wanted to stage the fight in an outdoor stadium in Nottingham. I think it would bring a huge mess of fans and Froch could get his chance to try and avenge his loss to Ward.
I think Froch and his promoter Eddie Hearn are really overestimating the interest in a 3rd fight between him and Kessler. If Hearn makes that a pay per view fight like he did the last one, I can see it bringing in really dreadful numbers because Kessler looked disinterested in the fight and it really wasn’t that great of a fight.
Froch looked slow, clumsy and beatable, but Kessler just didn’t look mentally engaged into the fight. A motivated Kessler would likely schooled Froch and beat him worse than he did the first time they fought.
I can see Froch and Kessler fighting each other over and over again until either Kessler says no more or the British boxing public stops purchasing the fight on PPV. Also, at some point, the WBA and IBF are going to step in and order Froch to start defending these titles against the mandatory challenger because he can’t lock the titles up while he fights Kessler over and over. There’s got to be some title defenses in there otherwise it makes it look like there’s no one in charge of monitoring the champions fights.
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