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Froch wants Kessler, not Groves

Mikkel Kessler ended Carl Froch's unbeaten record as a professional © Getty Images

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WBC super-middleweight champion Carl Froch is desperate to avenge his defeat against Mikkel Kessler before hanging up his gloves in the next couple of years.

Froch suffered the first, and only, defeat of his career to date against Kessler last April, coming off worse on the judges scorecards' in Kessler's back yard. He has subsequently complained that he was the victim of a dodgy decision, going so far as to claim that he still feels his unbeaten record is intact.

Now, even with a fight against Glen Johnson looming on June 4, Froch is finding it hard to banish the bad memories from his mind. "I would have rather fought Mikkel Kessler [than Johnson] just purely for the revenge," Froch said.

"I'm a warrior myself. It's a big thing for me to have lost that fight against Mikkel Kessler because I'm serious about this business and that blemish on my record, I'd love to get that corrected before I retire. Someday after I hang them up I want to be able to say I lost that decision to Kessler but I won it back."

If Froch beats Johnson on June 4, he will book a Super Six final later this year against Andre Ward, the WBA champion. But while Froch is likely to enter any fight as the underdog, he is yet to be convinced of Ward's quality as a power puncher.

"[Ward has] got some skills," Froch said. "He's obviously won some great fights and he beat Mikkel Kessler, which is a fighter I was close to, so he's got that. But other than that, if you look at his record, I haven't been too impressed with him as far as who he's fought or how he's won. Ward's definitely a threat and someone I have to take seriously, but I know I can beat Ward. One thing he's lacking is punching power and that's a big factor in the professional ring."

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