by Andrew Fruman

Most viewers that watched Saturday night's Super-Six showdown between Mikkel Kessler and Carl Froch were in agreement that they'd seen a very close fight... and a tough one to score. As did the writers at ringside polled by Showtime, with Michael Enggaard scoring the bout for Kessler by 3 points, and Niall Hickman and Arne Leyenberg having Froch in front by 1 and 2 points respectively. Al Bernstein had Froch by a point, while Antonio Tarver had Kessler winning (although didn't say by what margin).

The Boxing Bulletin's Lee Payton and Bad Left Hook's Scott Christ also had cards reflecting the close nature of the contest, with Lee having Froch up by 1 point (The Boxing Bulletin's recap) and Kessler edging it by 2 on Scott's card (Bad Left Hook's Round by Round coverage) .

The official judges had the fight a little more clear cut, with Kessler winning a fairly comfortable unanimous decision by scores of 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113.

I didn't score the fight live, but as I do for most close fights, I sat down after it was all over and had a second look.  Let's get to my card...

Round 1

The action to open was intense but cagey, with both fighters active with their jab, but neither committing with any real conviction. I had Kessler with a slight lead after two minutes, but starting with a right hand to the body with about 45 seconds left in the round, Froch had enough of an edge to even it up. Very close round – that obviously needed another viewing.

After a second look:

I’m still calling it even. I imagine some readers are saying, "You can’t score even rounds, you must choose a winner." Sorry, but this modern obsession with forcing judges to pick a winner in every round - no matter how little happens - is utterly absurd. It promotes guess work, and forcing judges to guess is no way to fairly determine a winner. If you missed the opening 3 minutes of a basketball game that's tied 6-6, and you asked someone who was winning,they wouldn't tell you they've got the Lakers ahead on effective aggression.  They'd tell you it was all even.  Well this opening round between Froch and Kessler was all even (and my apologies for the mini-rant!)

10-10 after 1

Round 2

Another cagey one in which not many clean shots were landed, but a little easier to score as Kessler’s aggression and solid body work – he landed a nice right to the body in the opening 30 seconds, and a nice left towards the end - gave him an edge.

10-9 Kessler

Could this round have gone to Froch?

I think that would be a stretch. Froch landed a couple nice jabs, and I noted a glancing hook as well, but that’s not enough.

20-19 Kessler After 2

Round 3

This was a good round for Froch, as he asserted himself more. It was pretty even over the first sixty seconds, but Froch pulled away over the final couple of minutes, not only winning the jabbing contest, but mixing in some nice right hands to the body as well.

10-9 Froch

Could it have been a Kessler round?

I don’t think so. It wasn’t a one sided round, and Kessler was coming forward, especially over the early part of the round, but he simply didn’t land cleanly enough and Froch took the play away over the final two minutes.

29-29 after 3

Round 4

After a very even first half of the round, Froch landed the best punch of the fight so far by either man, a hard right hand to the side of Kessler’s jaw. Aside from that shot, Froch had a little bit of edge over the remainder of the round, getting the better of an exchange with a glancing uppercut, and landing a nice right to the body as well.

10-9 Froch

Could this round have been scored another way?

No. Though the opening half of the round was even, Froch’s margin over the second half was decisive. This was probably the easiest round of the fight to score so far.

39-38 after 4 for Froch

Round 5

This was a good Froch round, although not as one sided as the Showtime crew called it since Kessler had some good moments over the opening minute. The best punches though were easily landed by Froch, specifically a lunging left hook early and big right hand that looked like it might have hurt Kessler with about 20 seconds to go.

10-9 Froch

Could this have gone to Kessler.

No. He landed some shots early, but did nothing over the last couple minutes and was clearly outfought.

49-47 for Froch

Round 6

This was Kessler’s round on the basis of the opening 90 seconds, during which he landed the cleanest punches of the session, including a really nice long right hand. Froch did jump in to land a short right hand just past the half-way mark, but for the most part, his shots missed the mark.

10-9 Kessler

Could this have gone to Froch?

No, I don’t think so. This was a fairly close round in which neither man landed too many clean shots, but Kessler landed more and forced the pace of the round.

58-57 Froch

Comments at the half-way point…

I’m confident in my score for rounds 2 through 6 – but that’s with the opportunity of not just watching the rounds a second time, but slowing the action down to get a precise look at moments where I wasn’t sure if a punch landed or not. Obviously the judges, and fans scoring the bout live don’t have this luxury… so while I’ve stated that I don’t think these rounds could have been scored another way, to a viewer watching live, they certainly could have been.

Round 7

Kessler forced the issue and had the better moments. He landed a couple decent rights and some cuffing left hooks, while Froch did relatively nothing in response.

10-9 Kessler

Could it have gone to Froch?

No.

After 7, it’s all even at 67-67

Round 8

Already with an edge in the round, Kessler punctuated his advantage with a flush right hand counter with about a minute to go and clearly held his edge until the bell. A very big round for the Dane.

10-9 Kessler

Easy round to score.

77-76 for Kessler

Round 9

Froch had his moments during the round, and finished strong with a good burst of action over the final ten seconds, but it wasn’t quite enough to make up for the better work Kessler had done to that point.

10-9 Kessler

Could this have gone the other way?

Yes. I thought it was close enough to warrant another viewing, and I still had Kessler slightly in front, but you could make an argument that Froch’s late push evened it up, or even nicked the round.

87-85 for Kessler after 9

Round 10

This was close through the first 90 seconds or so, but all the good work over the second half was done by Froch. He had his jab working, caught Kessler with some power shots, including a nice left hook. Kessler showed energy and initiative, but his work was frequently sloppy and Froch managed to slip just about all of it.

10-9 Froch

Could the round have gone the other way? No.

96-95 for Kessler

Round 11

I had Kessler winning on the strength of an impressive opening couple of minutes, bit this was a tough round to score, as there were some wild exchanges, and sloppy/tired flurries. Froch did have some good moments, landing a really nice right hand in the middle of the round, and a hard combination with about 48 seconds left. It wasn’t enough though to overcome Kessler’s steadier work.

10-9 Kessler

Could it have gone to Froch?

Yes, it was close enough that I needed to watch it one more time. I wouldn’t disagree with a 10-10 round, and while I think Froch was out-hustled, an argument can be made for him.

106-104 for Kessler

Round 12

Froch broke open a real close round – that I had Kessler slightly winning - with a big finish. He drove Kessler into the ropes with a hard right hand just over 30 seconds to go, and gave the tired and bloody hometown man a bit of a pounding until the final bell – although to his credit Kessler kept firing back. Great finish to a really exciting 12 rounds.

10-9 Froch

Could it have gone the other way?

Maybe, it was close. Kessler threw a lot of punches, and did have some good moments. The cleaner heavier work though appeared to belong to Froch.

Final Score

115-114 for Mikkel Kessler

I had Kessler and Froch each winning 4 clear rounds - 2, 6, 7 and 8 for Kessler, and 3, 4, 5 and 10 for Froch.

Of the very close ones, I had Kessler winning rounds 9 and 11, Froch winning round 12, and of course had the opening round all square.

Closing thoughts...

Yes, there were a lot of close rounds.  Even the rounds I've put in the "clear" category weren't necessarily open and shut when I watched the fight for the first time.  So yes, I can see a 117-111 card.  But I don't agree with it.  I'm not insinuating an intentional bias towards the hometown fighter, but I think after watching the action really carefully, it's my opinion that Kessler got a little too much credit for simply forcing the issue and letting his hands go.

Froch's performance...

Froch fought a very good fight, and could easily have won.  It's hard to find too much fault with his effort, but to echo what he said in the post-fight interview, he could have been more aggressive at times.  He commented on not following up after hurting Kessler, and I imagine he was thinking of that moment late in the fifth round when he appeared to do real damage with a right hand.  But instead of jumping all over Kessler, he stood and admired his work.  There were also moments during the middle rounds where he was too passive.  Perhaps he sensed Kessler tiring, and believed there was no hurry, but a little more aggression in those rounds may have softened Kessler up for the taking late.

Kessler's performance...

Despite his output, he struggled to lands clean shots and his form seemed to fall apart at times, especially late, but this was a really gutsy effort from Kessler.  I think most that picked him to win, thought he'd be the sharper looking fighter... but he wasn't.  If anything, Froch was the better boxer.  But Kessler kept forcing the issue, and that persistent hustle scored points.  His body work was also a big factor in the win.  He often had a tough time landing clean to the head, as Froch did some real nifty work on the defensive end, and if he hadn't incorporated the shots downstairs into his attack, he would not have won the fight (at least on my card).  For a veteran fighter, notorious as a head-hunter, this was an impressive new wrinkle.

Agree with my scorecard?  Disagree?  How did you have it?

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