WBC champ Froch to face Kessler on April 24 in second round of Super Six boxing tournament

Froch to face Kessler on April 24 in Denmark

NEW YORK — Carl Froch will defend his WBC super middleweight title against Mikkel Kessler on April 24 in the second round of the Super Six World Boxing Classic.

The fight will be held at the MCH Messecentre in Herning, Denmark. It was originally scheduled for April 17 as part of a split-site doubleheader, with Andre Ward facing Allan Green in another second-round bout. The date and location for that fight has not been announced.

“The atmosphere at MCH Herning is incredible. I only have the best of memories of the venue,” said Kessler, who knocked out Gusymr Perdomo in the same arena in September. “After a bad start, I am now out for a knockout and the first three points.”

Kessler will be back in the ring after getting stopped by Ward in his opening match of the modified round-robin tournament, where three points are awarded for a knockout, two for a decision victory and one for a draw. Of the six fighters, the four with the most points after three bouts advance to seeded semifinals with the champion to be crowned next year.

Froch (26-0, 20 KOs) is coming off a decision victory over Andre Dirrell in his first-round match, but will be defending his title in a hostile environment.

Kessler (42-2, 32 KOs) was born in nearby Copenhagen, and more than 90 percent of tickets were sold in the first 3 hours the last time he fought in Herning. His promoter Kalle Sauerland said the MCH is configuring the arena to hold more people for this fight.

“I am upset for my fans with the change of date, but this has been unpreventable due to scheduling issues,” Froch said. “I just hope that my fans will understand this change and will still come in their thousands to support me in Herning.”

Moving the fight back means it won’t conflict with a proposed doubleheader on the same day featuring Kelly Pavlik against Sergio Martinez and Lucian Bute against Edison Miranda.

It also puts even more time between the other second-round bout, between Dirrell and Arthur Abraham. They’re scheduled to fight March 6 in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

“We all know styles make fights and this has the potential to be very explosive and the fight of the year,” Froch’s promoter Mick Hennessy said. “Carl Froch is the best super middleweight on the planet and will prove that once again in this fight.”