Former super middleweight great Joe Calzaghe is siding with Carl Froch to defeat Mikkel Kessler on May 25th. Calzaghe is one of two boxers to defeat Kessler as a pro. Since losing to Calzaghe, only Andre Ward has been able to beat Kessler in the ring. Kessler won a twelve round decision over Froch, giving the Nottingham boxer his first career loss, three years ago in the Super Six tournament.
“I remember fighting in front of 50,000 in my home town of Cardiff – Kessler was undefeated at the time – it was one of my top three victories and he was one of the top couple of fighters I ever faced,” said Calzaghe to Newsletter. “But Mikkel was a better fighter when I beat him. He had a 39-0 record.
“I remember him punching hard and moving very well. He caught me with some good shots, a couple of humdingers, in the fourth round. But I adapted my style and he couldn’t cope. At first, I was pressuring him and falling into his hands slightly, allowing him to counter-punch me. But in the fifth round I started to move around and use my jab a lot more and won pretty much every round after that. He admitted afterwards that I was just too fast and too busy for him.”
“Where I fancy Froch is that he has aged a bit better than Kessler. Kessler isn’t as mobile as he used to be, he’s a lot easier to hit and I’ve noticed he doesn’t move his head like he used to. He’s a bit flat-footed. That suits Froch because Froch doesn’t like movers; he struggles against them. He likes people right in front of him so he can unload his punches. Fighting at home is a massive advantage for Froch as well. He is improving with age and in his last couple of fights he has looked impressive."
