Boxing

June 8 fight undercards set

Ryan Bivins Carl Froch and Mikkel Kessler last fought over 3 years ago. It was a thrilling 12 round affair that could have gone either way. Kessler might not have got it in the UK, and I don't suspect he'll get it there now, but I agreed with the result the first time around. This time I doubt Kessler is going for a decision. Based on his words leading up to this fight and his recent performances, Kessler is more of a puncher these days. And if Froch has the same defensive deficiencies he had in the 1st fight, he's going to get knocked out. Kessler might visit the canvas himself along the way, ala the Alan Green fight, but I think he gets up to return the favor even more emphatically. Froch's awkard style is a difficult puzzle to solve the first time you've ever experienced it. His glaring weaknesses just aren't so easy to capitalize upon. But this is going to be the first time a Froch opponent has had the benefit of being in the ring with him before. Experience helps. How else do you explain a diminished Marco Antonio Barrera doing better against an improved Manny Pacquiao in their 2007 rematch? But forget all that. I can rationalize any prediction using history as my aid. Just about every kind of scenario has happened before. This is just a gut feeling I have. If the fight goes into the late rounds I think each boxer will be too fatigued to stop the other. They're both in their mid-30s and they've had tough careers. As stated before I will favor Froch to win a decision (even if I don' think he deserves it). But my first pick is for Kessler to win by mid rounds KO/TKO. I suspect the overhand right will be Froch's undoing. Kessler by KO7. Scott Christ The one red flag that I see for Carl Froch in this fight is Mikkel Kessler's injury issues, which seem to me to have made him into a much more aggressive fighter than he used to be. Kessler has aged some, but he still packs a hell of a punch, as Bouadla, Green, and Magee can all attest. Froch has an iron chin, but even the toughest guys can be stopped if they get hit hard enough, and Kessler hits hard enough. That said, unless Froch gets caught in the first half, maybe eight rounds of the fight, I don't see Kessler being quite enough to overcome (1) Froch's improvements, (2) Froch's hometown advantage, and (3) his own inactivity over the last three years. Kessler, if he wins, will stop Froch. Froch can win a number of ways, and I think he has the likely edge on the scorecards even now. Smart money is on Froch to win over 12 in another very good fight, sealing it down the stretch against a tired Kessler. Froch by decision. Tom Craze I scored the first fight wider for Kessler than most - while obviously not an easy win, for me it was the very definition of the old 'close, but clear'-type decision. Without going as far as to question the judges, needless to say he'll find it harder to put rounds in the bank here, on the road and in front of a five-figure, red-hot partisan UK crowd. Much has been said of Froch's hot streak - that lopsided loss to Andre Ward not withstanding - but it's worth remembering that an inevitable early blowout win against an overmatched and fragile Yusaf Mack holds, for me, considerably less merit than a stoppage over a fringe world contender like Brian Magee, and was roughly equivalent to a similarly early stoppage over Allan Green. The way in which Green got to Kessler early has many rightly questioning whether we'll see Bute Part II here. As closely matched as the two are in physical terms - and, to a large extent, on paper - it seems both difficult and blindingly obvious to see how Kessler wins this return leg: in short, he needs a knockout. Unfortunately for him, Froch has one of the best chins in the game and is as tough as anyone currently fighting. Simply, he doesn't look like a guy who's about to be stopped by anyone soon. The Dane's best option would appear to be to utilise the body attack that served him so well agains

Tonight at 10 pm EDT on ESPN2, Friday Night Fights is back with a 10-round main event in the junior middleweight division. Former world title challenger Delvin Rodriguez makes another appearance on FNF, facing former welterweight title challenger Freddy Hernandez. Rodriguez (27-6-3, 15 KO) is coming off of a totally one-sided beatdown of George Tahdooahnippah in February, months after he was outclassed against then-WBA junior middleweight titlist Austin Trout on Showtime. The 33-year-old Rodriguez is hoping to muscle his way back into contention, and stays busy tonight against Hernandez (30-4, 20 KO), a rail-thin Mexican who has lost two straight to Erislandy Lara and Demetrius Andrade, and three of his last four going back to a TKO-1 loss to Andre Berto in 2010. In the 10-round junior welterweight co-feature, Issouf Kinda (16-0, 6 KO) will face Chris Howard (15-2-1, 7 KO). Kinda, born in Burkina Faso and now fighting out of the Bronx, is a 25-year-old prospect whose most notable win came over Mike Arnaoutis. Howard, 24, lost a pair of fights in 2012, but beat Bayan Jargal in February.

By Jaime C. Feal The UFC traditionally delivers a big card on Memorial Day weekend, and tomorrow night is no exception. A massive card features the UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez defending his belt against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, and another …

The most news in one spot.

A full undercard of action is expected on Saturday, June 8 when a roster of top local talent and international contenders step into the ring at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. to lead up to the highly anticipated SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING®tripleheader

Carl Froch is highly confident ahead of tomorrow's rematch with Mikkel Kessler, where the British star will look to get a measure of revenge for his 2010 loss in Denmark: "I am sure Mikkel Kessler knows what he has to do, but I am turning up in the best possible shape I could be in. ... He's in for a shock and a lot of people are going to be in for a shock because I've done the weight and the way sparring has gone, everything has gone well. I am firing on all cylinders. I am sparking." Froch (30-2, 22 KO) says he's in top shape this time, as opposed to their first fight, where he had the flu or a volcano landed on him or whatever the "I'm not making any excuses, but..." excuse was, I forget exactly. If he wasn't at his best that night, though, and not just because Kessler was difficult for him, then it's hard to see Kessler not being in trouble tomorrow. Froch went 50-50 with Mikkel already, and if they've gone opposite directions since then, Froch has to be considered the solid favorite. We'll have more on Froch-Kessler this evening, as well as full card coverage tomorrow.

Mikkel Kessler dismisses the idea that he's not the same fighter he was three years ago, and says that he's got a better style now to deal with tomorrow's opponent, Carl Froch: "He said he was better than the last time. I said I'm 10 times better this time than I was the last time. ... I feel like I've been working on my technical boxing skills very much for the last two years and that's why I have stopped my opponents so fast and I feel good this way. I feel I have a new style but better. I think it's better for Carl now." Kessler (46-2, 35 KO) is the slight underdog for this fight, despite his win over Froch in 2010. The feeling is that Froch has perhaps improved since then, while Kessler has been largely inactive and hasn't faced any top opponents, beating Mehdi Bouadla, Allan Green, and Brian Magee since he fought Froch, followed by his withdrawal from the Super Six World Boxing Classic, where Froch eventually finished as runner-up to Andre Ward.

Unbeaten welterweight prospect Yoshihiro Kamegai will meet former WBA interim junior welterweight titlist Johan Perez in the main bout of the June 8 Showtime Extreme broadcast, which will precede the Maidana vs Lopez card on Showtime. Kamegai (22-0-1, 19 KO) is a 30-year-old banger who stole some attention last October with a great fight against Jorge Silva, who would go on to lose to Alfredo Angulo in December. As a prospect, he's a bit long in the tooth, but he takes a good shot and gives one, and he's definitely worth tuning in to see. Perez (16-1-1, 12 KO) signed with Golden Boy last year and immediately lost to Pablo Cesar Cano in July, then took a 10-round majority decision over faded veteran Steve Forbes in January of this year. Also televised will be 31-year-old heavyweight Gerald Washington (7-0, 5 KO), who takes a step up in competition against veteran Sherman "Tank" Williams (35-12-2, 19 KO). Williams, 40, is short at 5'11", but went 12 with Robert Helenius in November, his last fight. You may also recall Williams from a 2011 no-contest against Evander Holyfield, a fight in which Williams was doing reasonably well. He also has losses to Manuel Charr, Ruslan Chagaev, Tye Fields, and others. If time permits, we'll also see 2012 U.S. Olympian Joseph Diaz Jr (4-0, 2 KO) in action.

As the holiday weekend gets underway in the United States, there will be no rest for the warriors stepping into the ring at Domo De La Feria in Leon, Mexico, when Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions present a championship doubleheader featuring two