MIKKEL KESSLER vs CARL FROCH

When a fighter suffers a serious, even shocking setback, it can be the beginning of the end or a new beginning. Mikkel Kessler suffered a one-sided and demoralising loss to Andre Ward last November and now he has to put it behind him and try to come again when he meets Carl Froch in Denmark on Saturday in their second-stage bout in the World Boxing Classic, with Froch’s WBC super middleweight title at stake.

Kessler was favoured to win the tournament but he fell apart in a startling way against Ward. It is normally considered advisable for a fighter to get in a confidence-builder type of fight after a loss such as this, but in the tournament format Kessler finds himself in another big fight against an unbeaten opponent.

If there are shadows of doubt lurking in Kessler’s mind, Froch is the wrong type of opponent for him. Froch is big, tough, powerful and full of confidence. He is going to be coming at Kessler and looking to put him under pressure.

Kessler, though, might have been able to rationalise the Ward fight as a bad night against an opponent with a style that was all wrong for him. He suffered cuts from head clashes and he might believe that he didn’t have a fair chance and wasn’t able to perform at his best.

Against Ward, Kessler was on his opponent’s home ground in Oakland, CA. This time he is boxing in front of his own supporters in Denmark, which could make a big difference.

The big question, for me, is whether it is sensible to write off Kessler due to one nightmarishly bad night.

Froch is a formidable opponent to be sure, and the British boxer showed he can perform in a big fight away from home when he overpowered Jermain Taylor in the last round after being behind on points.

It was a bit disturbing, though, to see Froch getting hit so hard and so easily by Taylor, and of course he suffered the first knockdown of his career.

In his last fight, Froch was rocked in the 10th round by Andre Dirrell and only just won against an opponent who looked intimidated in the early rounds.

Froch’s best performance was his unanimous decision win over Jean Pascal, when he showed he can box with skill — Froch’s use of the jab turned the fight in his favour after early exchanges of big punches. It could be that Froch will be able to match jabs with Kessler and perhaps box evenly with a fighter considered his superior technically. I think back, though, to Kessler’s performances before the loss to Ward, when he dominated some capable fighters. He went into his bout against Joe Calzaghe suffering from an injury to his right hand and at one point looked like winning. I find it hard to accept that Kessler has been destroyed mentally by one fight.

I respect Froch’s mental and physical toughness and his refuse-to-lose mentality, but I see Kessler as slightly the more complete fighter, with a better defence. Froch, with his hands low and his supreme confidence in his chin, can sometimes be an inviting target. Kessler is steady and accurate, a very good all-around boxer who hits with authority. He has promoted veteran American trainer Jimmy Montoya from assistant to the position of head trainer and chief second, a subtle change but one that could make a difference because it reinforces Kessler's belief that he is putting right things that went wrong.

Kessler’s career is at stake and I believe he can come back and show the boxing world that he is far from finished. I lean towards Kessler winning by decision after an outstanding fight.