Carl Froch v Mikkel Kessler II

When we get a rematch of an excellent bout they rarely live up to the original though for Carl Froch (31-2, 22) his rematch with Mikkel Kessler (46-3, 35) will have been sweeter than the original.

When the two men first met back in 2010 it was Kessler who came out on top in an enthralling brawl for the WBC Super Middleweight title. That loss was Froch's first as a professional and one that he seemed to genuinely resent having against his name. The rematch was his chance to avenge the loss and unify both the WBA and IBF titles and claim himself as one of the sports genuine stand out fighters.

The fight started as "round 1" as opposed to the expected round 13 and it was a slow paced affair with both men looking to use their jabs and straights. Through the round it was Froch who seemed more at ease with the style of the bout though there was little to separate them as they had a feeling out round.

After the slow opening round the bout did start to warm up with both men unloading more as the fight started to catch light. Kessler seemed, throughout the fight, to be the more cautious fighter throwing significantly less through he was also the most effective landing at a notably higher connect rate, despite this he couldn't keep Froch away as the English men was relentless.

Although Froch was much more active Kessler was doing enough to take a number of the rounds and keep the bout competitive, especially through the middle and later rounds though in round 12 Froch had a huge round and appeared to hurt the Dane with a flurry just before the bell that could have forced a stoppage had it come earlier in the fight.

Despite the fact the fighters are now 1-1 against each other I'd really doubt we'd be seeing a rubber bout between the two as Kessler has faded, notably, since their first bout whilst Froch has become a more confident and much better fighter. A third bout between the two would likely see Froch come out a clearer winner than he did here where the scorecards, although all in his favour, were close (especially the 115-113 card of Jean-Francois Toupin).

Brian Magee v Mikkel Kessler

Sang in by Danish rock band Volbeat, Mikkel Kessler (46-2, 35) successfully claimed the WBA Middleweight title as he stopped the brave but thoroughly outclassed Brian Magee (36-5-1, 25) thanks to sickening body shots that took the fight from Magee.

The opening round was relatively even with with neither man landing too much serious though Kessler did seem to just nick it with some solid shots late on. Although it was close Kessler was looking for Magee's body from the off often touching him with the jab and seemed to be working Magee out from the off.

The early jabs to the body turned into hurtful straights in the second round as Kessler settled against a somewhat nervous looking Magee, who did land a left hand early in the round. The straights to the body were effective as soon as they landed and Magee went down early in the round with a genuinely nasty shot. Magee did manage to get back up from the first knockdown though Kessler continued to attack the body and hurt Magee numerous times in the round with shots to the same area. It was another body shot at the end of the round that again saw Magee hurt with the Northern Irish man turning his back on the Dane and then going down.

Kessler wasn't wanting to waste time and inside 20 seconds of the third round he again dropped Magee with a body shot before the referee called a halt to the proceedings with Magee still on the canvas.

Although Magee did get up from the first two, it was clear that he never really recovered from the first body shot and although he showed guts (literally) to continue he was never able to give Kessler any questions at all to answer.

It's likely that this will be the end for Magee who has had a very under-rated career, though for Kessler we're hoping the future includes a rematch with Carl Froch in what could easily be one of the stand out fights of 2013 and a WBA-IBF unification bout.