By Scott Gilfoid: IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch’s promoter Eddie Hearn wants to get WBA super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler over to the UK so that Froch can have the hometown advantage against him. The way Hearn is trying to lure Kessler in is by offering him a 50-50 purse split and a promise of a third fight, this one in a neutral venue instead of in the UK like he wants second fight to be.
Hearn said to thisisnottingham.co.uk “I’m still hopeful of making the Kessler fight because he [and Froch] will be taking home £2 million. Even if he [Kessler] losses it will not be the end of his career because we have offered him the chance of a third fight on neutral territory.”
First of all, Hearn, it’s not going to be the end of Kessler’s career if he goes to the UK and possibly gets jobbed big time. Heck, even if Kessler gets beat like the unprepared Lucian Bute did, it won’t be the end of his career. That’s silly and I’m surprised you even said that. Kessler will continue to be a popular fighter no matter what happens in a proposed Froch rematch.
Styles make fights, and loss to Froch wouldn’t mean much other than a loss to Froch. Life goes on for Kessler. But as far as a Kessler fighting first instead of in a neutral venue, nah, I don’t go for that. The neutral comes now, not later. Forget fighting in England because we already saw what happened to Andre Dirrell went there and Kessler is too smart to fall into that trap to where he may have to knock Froch senseless just to get the win. It’s not worth and the money’s not worth it. Maybe if you bumped it up to £4 million for Kessler to fight in the UK, but no way, not for £2 million. Kessler doesn’t want a loss on his resume, and unless you want to do it in a neutral venue, forget it.
That’s what my answer would be to Hearn if I were promoting Kessler and that’s the smart answer. Let the fight be in a neutral venue unless you sweeten the pot considerably to £4 million.
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