WBA Super Middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler (46-2, 35 KO) has proven to be a man of his word. After he defeated Carl Froch (30-2, 22 KOs) in one of 2010's best fights, he vowed to give the Cobra a rematch.
On Tuesday, he made good on his promise.
Per Dan Rafael of ESPN, the two super middleweight champions will rematch in an as yet determined location, on a date to be announced. Though the exact venue and date hasn't officially been released, the fight is expected to take place in Froch's home country of England.
BoxRec.com already has the venue listed as the O2 Arena in Greenwich, London, United Kingdom, with a date of May 25. Things could change, but that certainly seems like a feasible date and location.
In some ways, Froch-Kessler II seems a little overdue, but it's better late than never.
Kessler discussed his reasons for agreeing to the rematch, and offered respect for his past and future opponent:
I promised Carl we would meet again and here we are, getting ready to leave it all in the ring for a second time. I have the utmost of respect for Carl. I feel we are very much alike. He is a great champion, a true warrior that has fought the best opponents all over the world in some of the most hostile places, just like me.
The first fight took place in Kessler's home country of Denmark, so it is only fair that the rematch take place in England. It'll be the first time since 2009 that Kessler has fought outside of his home country.
In their first fight, Froch and Kessler battled for 12 action-packed rounds. The man they call the Viking Warrior out-boxed Froch in the crucial rounds en route to a unanimous-decision victory that featured a thrilling final round.
Check out the exciting highlights here:
Since the first meeting, Kessler is 3-0 with three wins coming by way of stoppage. Froch is 4-1 with his only defeat coming against Andre Ward in the final of the Super Six tournament in December 2011.
Ward is the last man to defeat both Froch and Kessler, having beat Kessler in November 2009 by technical decision.
Since Froch lost to Ward, he has stopped Lucian Bute to capture the IBF Super Middleweight title, and Yusaf Mack in his first defense.
Froch now holds the IBF title, so the rematch could take on even more significance. This could be a unification bout because Kessler is the reigning WBA champion.
Per Rafael, Froch still has to gain the IBF's approval to forego a fight with mandatory challenger Adonis Stevenson, but that isn't expected to be an issue.
This has all the makings of another war.
Could a Froch victory automatically lead to a third fight? That may be jumping the gun a bit, but it speaks to the excitement surrounding a fight with two true champions.
Hopefully Froch and Kessler can deliver a show that rivals the action they produced in their first meeting.
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