WBC Super middleweight champ Carl “The Cobra” Froch will be coming to a TV near you over the next few days following yesterday’s confirmation of his first title defence against Jermain Taylor in the U.S. on April 25th.

Carl will be a guest on Steve Bunce’s Boxing Hour from 2pm tomorrow (Thursday, March 12th) on Setanta Sports News to explain just why he’s willing to buck the trend and lay it all on the line in his first World title defence by travelling Stateside to take on the former World unified Middleweight kingpin.

The Nottingham hero will follow this up by providing the expert analysis for ITV4 (from 7:45pm) on Saturday night with their cameras in Birmingham to provide live coverage of “The Battle of Brum” as Wayne Elcock looks to defend his British Middleweight title against city rival Matthew Macklin. Froch will also cast his eye over the next professional outing of heavyweight sensation, Tyson Fury.

King Arthur ready for Simon / Braekhus vs. Skovgaard heats up / Ambitious Brewster has big plans

The city of Kiel is preparing for a spectacular Sauerland Event fight night which will feature three world title fights plus the return of former WBO heavyweight champion Lamon Brewster. In the main event, undefeated IBF middleweight champion King Arthur Abraham is looking to make a successful ninth defence of his title. “Even though it is my ninth defence, I am still hungry and highly-motivated,” the 29-year-old (28-0, 23 KOs) said at today´s press conference. “Lajuan Simon has no chance to win.” Naturally, the American challenger (21-0, 12 KOs) holds a different view. “I have worked and trained very hard for this fight,” Simon said. “I will beat Abraham to win the title.” He lost the first duel, though, leaving the face-to-face photo shoot after just a few seconds. Nevertheless, Abraham coach Ulli Wegner has warned his star fighter not to underestimate his opponent. “Everybody considers Arthur the favourite, but it will not be easy. Everything can be over really quick,” the coaching legend stated. “I will make sure Arthur will be mentally and physically prepared.” And manager Wilfried Sauerland added: “It was not easy to find an opponent for Arthur. A lot of people are avoiding him. We were left with four opponents and we picked the strongest one.” Asked about a potential unification against Kelly Pavlik, Sauerland stated: “First Arthur needs to get past Simon. Everybody wants to see him fighting Pavlik – the fans, the TV stations and of course everybody at Sauerland Event. Now it´s time for Pavlik´s promoter Top Rank to move.”

In the co-featured main event, First Lady Cecilia Braekhus (Norway) will fight Vinni Skovgaard (Denmark) for the WBA/WBC female welterweight titles. It will be the first-ever female world title fight on a Sauerland card. Fittingly, today spelled the first time the immensely popular First Lady (10-0, 2 KOs) spoke German at the press conference. “I really look forward to the fight,” she said. “I cannot wait for Saturday. I would like to thank my management for giving me a title shot so quickly. I know Vinni from the amateurs where I have beaten her three times in five meetings. I look forward to beating her again on Saturday.” Skovgaard (7-0, 3 KOs) was also confident of success. “This is the fight of the year in Scandinavia and many fans from Denmark will support me in Kiel. I look forward to Saturday.”

On the undercard, Lamon Brewster (34-4, 30 KOs) will make his first fight for Team Sauerland after striking a deal with the Berlin-based promoters earlier this month. The former WBO heavyweight champion comes face-to-face with Britain´s Michael Sprott (31-12, 16 KOs). “This is a new start for me,” he said. “It is an honour to fight for a renowned team such as Sauerland Event. Together we have big plans and look forward to returning to the top.”

Also, Dominik Britsch (12-0, 5 KOs) will make his first-ever title fight as he clashes with Daniel Urbanski (10-4, 3 KOs) for IBF Youth Middleweight Title. “I am in great shape,” Britsch said. “I am even more focused than I am prior to normal fights. Many friends and my family will support me. I am confident of success.”

Luck of the Irish for Danny O’Connor

Fighting Saturday night in Boston

No sooner had the announcement been made that the March 16th “Erin Go Brawl II” show in New York City was canceled, Seminole Warriors Boxing informed its prize light welterweight, Danny O’Connor, of his repositioning on a show this Saturday night in Boston.

The National Guard Armory in Dorchester (70 Liberty Ave.) isn’t a long drive for family, friends and fans from Framingham to watch O’Connor (4-0, 1 KO), 2008 U.S. Olympic first alternate, fight live against Charlie Wade (4-7, 1 KO).

O’Connor is coming off of his impressive national television debut January 30, winning a 4-round decision in the opening bout on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights against light welterweight Jamar Saunders (2-1-1, 1 KO) at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

“I was disappointed when I first heard that the show at Madison Square Garden had been canceled,” O’Connor said. “I think every time I’m supposed to fight in New York something happens. This is the second time but I believe everything happens for a reason and this got me in a card in Boston. I’m so happy. It’s amazing. Now everybody from home can come watch me fight live. They wanted me on ESPN my last fight and now they can see me in person. I can’t imagine how I’ll feel when I walk into the ring with everybody there cheering for me.

“My ESPN fight was huge because a lot of people got to watch me fight for the first time. It helped build my fan-base. It was also a step-up against a tough kid. I’m a pro. This is what I do – fight! I turned in a solid performance but I’m also a perfectionist who thinks I can always do better. It was only my fourth pro fight and was another part of my learning process. I leaned a lot last fight and we’ve bee working to improve some things that I’ll bring into this fight in Boston. I want to stay busy and learn something new every fight.”

The 23-year-old O’Connor won last year’s US Future Stars National Championship, in which, he was named Most Outstanding Boxer, as well as the 2008 National Golden Gloves Tournament. The highlight of Danny’s amateur career was defeating eventual 2008 Olympic Gold medalist Felix Diaz, of the Dominican Republic, last May in a USA-Dominican Republic dual meet.

“We were very happy with Danny’s last fight against a legitimate, young fighter,” O’Connor’s head trainer and co-manager David Keefe remarked. “He used his jab very well and showed excellent speed and good overall boxing skills. We’re very happy to have Danny boxing in Boston. We accepted the opportunity right after we learned about the New York showing being canceled. This was our next best choice and we hope Danny will be fighting at Madison Square Garden in the future. When (co-manager) Rob (Valle) and I were looking for a promoter, we had a game plan for Danny to stay busy. We didn’t want only five fights a year. We believe it’s very important for a young, up-and-comer like Danny to fight a lot. It’s been that way since the first day we met Leon (Margules, Executive Director, Seminole Warriors Boxing).”

For more information about Danny O’Connor go online to www.dannyoconnorboxing.com.