Since Mikkel Kessler claimed the WBA super middleweight title from Northern Irishman Brian Magee on Saturday night in Denmark all talk has been of a potential rematch with Carl Froch next year.
ThaBoxingVoice caught up with Froch’s promoter Eddie Hearn to get an update on the negotiations.
“I just got off the phone to Kalle (Sauerland, Kessler’s promoter) actually. I’m hopeful of getting a deal done this year, for a fight next year, possibly May. Looking at Nottingham but also the 02 Arena and the M.E.N. Obviously he’s coming over here, perhaps he’ll want somewhere that feels like a neutral venue. We have to remember this isn’t just a fight for Nottingham, this is a fight for Britain and whilst I’d love to do this in Nottigham and so would Carl (Froch) but sometimes that’s not possible because if we do it in May we can’t do it outside and we need a huge stadium”
Potential stumbling blocks that need to be overcome first are a rematch clause with Lucian Bute who Froch defeated in May of this year. Also, the IBF ordered fight with mandatory challenger Adonis Stevenson; however Hearn doesn’t foresee any complications in resolving these issues.
“We’ll come to some sort of an agreement with Lucian, he can have a pop after that fight or something like that. It would give him a chance to have another fight in the meantime.”
“If it’s a unification fight you generally get an exception so I reckon the IBF will grant an exception for a two belt fight. I think they would be not to be involved in a fight of that magnitude,” said Hearn regarding the Stevenson situation.