Date given for Kessler rematch and Dirrell fight suggests Froch should win

Mikkel Kessler’s home advantage was one of the factors blamed by Carl Froch when suffering his first career defeat in Denmark in 2010, but there can be no such excuses this time with the rematch rearranged in England.

Froch v Kessler II has been scheduled for May 25th at the London’s O2 Arena, with both fighters putting belts on the line.

And it is Froch that is favourite at 4/7 to add the WBA belt to his IBF super-middleweight title, with Kessler 11/8 to have his arm raised again.

The first battle between the pair was a belter in terms of both fighters constantly stepping forward and not conceding an inch, with Kessler taking victory by unanimous decision.

However, Froch felt that the fight was much closer than the scoring suggested and the fact that it was in Denmark tilted the scoring in Kessler’s favour.

Furthermore, his preparation was also impacted by the volcanic dust cloud and a burst eardrum that occurred in training.

This time he will have no such restraints and if his 2009 victory over Andre Dirrell is anything to go by, Froch will be exceedingly tough to out-point at home.

Dirrell dominated a large proportion of that fight, but still went down via split decision and this suggests that Kessler will have to achieve multiple knock downs or secure a stoppage if he is to be successful.

The fight is certainly a big one for Froch, as a victory will almost certainly result in him securing another sought-after rematch, with undefeated super-middleweight top dog Andre Ward.

But a defeat will leave him without a belt and an unrealistic chance of an 11th successive title fight in the weight class.

All odds and markets accurate as of publication’s time and date