Hearn: Froch Could Face Bute or Kessler Next Summer

Promoter Eddie Hearn says beaten Super Six finalist Carl Froch's comeback fight is likely to be against Lucian Bute or Mikkel Kessler. Andre Ward was awarded a unanimous decision in Atlantic City on Saturday night to add Froch's WBC super-middleweight title to the WBA strap he already possessed.

Hearn is already plotting a route back for Nottingham's Froch (28-2, 20KOs), with a 2012 summer date in his home city on the cards. Kessler is the only man other than Ward to have beaten Froch, the Dane claiming a unanimous verdict in April 2010.

"Now we are in control of our own destiny," Hearn told Sky Sports. "We've had meetings already with future opponents. Carl Froch is going to come back and fight for a world title. Hopefully we can do something Britain and he can get the fight, the homecoming he deserves after so many on the road.

"The two fights that stand out are with Lucian Bute or a Kessler rematch. A Kessler rematch at the City Ground in Nottingham in the summer - or something like that - would be a huge event. It's my job to go out and deliver that. We have the chains off our ankles now as we are out of the Super Six tournament, which has been very beneficial for Carl's career - you can never knock that."