WBA super-middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler insists there will be "death" in his eyes when he fights Carl Froch at The O2 Arena on May 25.

The pair are preparing to go toe-to-toe once again, two years after their famous meeting in Denmark where Kessler ended Froch's unbeaten record as a professional in controversial circumstances.

Many felt the fight was much closer than the judge's scorecards suggested and now Kessler has no qualms taking on the Nottingham-born fighter in his own country.

The Dane, 34, is a big fan of Froch outside the ring, stating he a 'nice' guy, although that will not stop him putting on his game face when the pair meet in May in London.

Kessler, who is working harder than ever to prepare for the bout, has no plans between now and then to resort to trash-talking in order to hype up the event.

"I'm looking forward to the fight with Carl. I really am. That's why I hope a lot of people are coming to watch it. I'm going to be more than prepared," he told Sky Sports.

"I like Carl outside the ring. He's a nice guy. The closer it gets to the fight there will be more distance between each other. We're human, but we're going to hit each other hard. You put up a wall in the last week.

"I don't like the trash talking. The worst kind of fighter is a gentleman until maybe a week before the fight. You can't see what he's thinking about. What is he doing? This guy is saying nice thing, it's the worst kind of fighter.

"Why do you like to hit another person? That's the sport. That's what I've been doing since I was 13. I like it. Carl likes it also. When you look at each other and you stand in the ring. There is going to be death in my eyes."

Earlier this month Froch transformed himself into Kratos, the leading character from PlayStation game God of War, and Kessler joked he looked like a pro wrestler.

"I wrote to him on Twitter asking him if he was going to a wrestling match on May 25," he concluded. "Of course it's okay, it's good. He looked like a warrior."

Tags: Carl Froch , Mikkel Kessler , Froch vs Kessler Rematch , Froch Kessler Rematch