Kessler-Froch II may be close

The Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet is reporting that a rematch between three-time super middleweight titlewinners Mikkel Kessler and Carl Froch, the latter of whom lost by unanimous decision to Kessler in April of 2010, being considered for Froch's native England, could offer $2 million for each fighter, and is close to fruition for April, May or June.

Kessler (46-2, 35 knockotus), of Denmark, scored his fifth straight win and his third consecutive stoppage victory in the third round on Dec. 8 over Ireland's Brian Magee, against whom Kessler won the WBA's 168-pound interim belt in Herning, Denmark.

Kessler, 33, returned to Herning for the first time since dethroning Froch as WBC beltholder in a bloody, all-out battle that was part of Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Classic.

Kessler's triumph over Froch helped him to rebound from losing his WBA belt by a one-sided, 11-round technical-decision loss to Andre Ward in the first round of the Super Six in November of 2009.

Ward's victory ended a streak of three straight stoppage wins by Kessler, whose previous setback had been at the hands of southpaw Joe Calzaghe by unanimous decision in November of 2007.

In August of 2010, Kessler had to pull out of the Super Six with an eye injury, canceling a September bout with Alan Green.

The current IBF titleholder, Froch (30-2-1, 22 KOs ) is coming off last month's third-round stoppage of Philadelphia's Yusaf Mack before his hometown fans at Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, England. In facing Mack, Froch returned to the venue where he dethroned previously unbeaten Lucian Bute by fifth-round knockout in May.

The winy over Bute helped Froch to bounce back from a unanimous decision loss to Ward in December for the RING, WBA and WBC belts.

Froch won the WBC's vacant belt by decisioning Jean Pascal in December of 2008, lost it to Kessler, and regained it by dominating ex-middleweight beltholder Arthur Abraham in November of the same year.

Froch faced Bute in Nottingham for the first time since October of 2009, when he split-decisioned Andre Dirrell in the first round of the Super Six tournament, during which he also routed ex-beltholder Glen Johnson by unanimous decision in June of last year before losing in to Ward.

Froch's 12th-round stoppage of former undisputed middleweight titleholder Jermain Taylor in April of 2009, one bout before facing Dirrell, was the first defense of the crown he won from Pascal.

Froch also owns an 11th-round knockout victory over Magee from May of 2006, while Kessler has fought only five times outside his home country, including the losses to Calzaghe and Ward, and is 43-0 when fighting in Denmark.

Photo by Alexis Cuarezma, Fightwireimages.com

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Lem Satterfield can be reached at lemuel.satterfield@gmail.com