Sky Sports
Carl Froch suffered the first defeat of his professional career on Saturday night when Mikkel Kessler scored a unanimous points victory to claim the WBC super-middleweight title in Denmark.
The Nottingham fighter overcame a poor start to the latest Super Six clash at Herning's MCH Messecenter to find his range as the fight progressed.
Froch floored Kessler in the fifth, only for the referee to rule it a slip and with Kessler quickly recovering his composure, a brutal scrap developed.
In the event though, it was Kessler who prevailed and by some distance - the judges scoring the fight 117-111, 115-113 and 116-112 in favour of the man from Copenhagen.
Froch was gracious towards the new world champion but still questioned the decision, claiming it was swayed by Kessler's standing as the home favourite.
"I feel terrible that I lost my title, absolutely gutted," he said.
"I don't want to make a mockery of anything but I feel if it was at home in my town, the decision would have gone the other way."
He added: "I took some big punches off a big puncher and I've got to give Kessler the credit he deserves. He stayed in there and is a strong, proud warrior."
Although Kessler (now 43-2,32KOs) lost his last outing against Andre Ward, he came into the contest as favourite over Froch (now 26-1,20KOs), who in turn won his opening Super Six fight with a split decision win over Andre Dirrell.
On the back foot
Having heard the home crowd boo his national anthem, Froch started on the back foot as Kessler, who lost a unanimous points decision to Joe Calzaghe in 2007, moved to the centre of the ring.
Froch was caught going in early in the second as he sought to unload a power shot, with Kessler also catching his opponent with a jab and a left hook.
The fourth saw Froch fight back though and having feinted to the left, he launched a hard right cross. But Kessler then landed two successive left-hand counters.
With his hands held typically low, Froch moved to connect with two power jabs early in the fifth before flooring Kessler with a short right.
However, Canadian referee Michael Griffin ruled it a slip and Kessler recovered to land jabs, hooks and a volley of close-range shots in the sixth.
The crowd was on its feet at the end of the seventh after Kessler connected with a right hand to the back of the champion's head.
Froch's legs then appeared to buckle as a short right uppercut landed - the champion now increasingly in need of the sort of comeback he produced last year against Jermain Taylor.
Relentless
Both men bled from the nose in the fight's latter stages and although Kessler also picked up a small cut over the left eye, two smart left hooks from Froch were not enough to win him round 10.
He did appear to take the next after hurting Kessler with a right over the top before the Dane hit home with a right-left but it was too little, too late.
Both men put it all on the line in the 12th and final round with a number of hard, relentless digs being traded. Froch also cut near the left eye by that stage and the crowd greeted the final bell with roars of appreciation.
Kessler was soon confirmed as the new world champion, with both men now having two points from two Super Six fights.
Source: skysports.com
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