LONDON — Carl Froch won a unanimous decision over Mikkel Kessler in a super middleweight title unification bout Saturday night, avenging his first career defeat and adding the WBA championship to his IBF belt. Fighting in front of a partisan crowd at the sold-out O2 Arena, Froch (47-2, 35 KOs) started quickly and survived several spots of trouble to hold off Kessler (30-3), who beat the Englishman in a thrilling decision in April 2010. The rematch also was highly entertaining, with Froch appearing to hurt Kessler with a series of right hands in the eighth round. The Danish fighter stormed back in the 11th round with several rocking shots, but Froch replied with a punishing 12th-round performance, getting close to stopping Kessler. All three judges favored the 35-year-old Froch, scoring it 115-113, 116-112 and 118-110. “(Kessler) is a good counterpuncher,” Froch said. “The main difference was, in the first fight, I was backing up. I was letting him dictate the pace. I was letting him push me back. “I was meeting him as he came (in the rematch), and I was being aggressive with the jab. I was looking him in the eye, and letting him know. When he was going to come forward, I was going to meet him with punches. I was discouraging him and putting him on his back foot.” The 34-year-old Kessler had won four straight fights, including his victory over Froch for the WBC 168-pound belt. He has won just once outside Denmark since June 2005, going 1-3. Froch has won three straight bouts since losing to Ward in December 2011, also beating Lucian Bute and Yusaf Mack in his native Nottingham. — AP
