Froch: I'm primed for Saturday's Abraham vs. Dirrell showdown

Hennessy Sports26th March, 2010

ENGLAND (March 26th 2010) Nottingham's WBC Super middleweight champion Carl 'the cobra' Froch will be tuning into Primetime PPV Sky Channel 480 this Saturday with interest, as a former victim goes head to head with his next scheduled opponent in the Showtime Super Six World Boxing Classic Tournament.

"I've got the fight booked and like the rest of the boxing public out there, I'll be intrigued as to how the fight will pan out." said Froch from his Sheffield training base alongside Robert McCracken and the British Olympic team.

"We all know what both men bring to the table in this fight. On one hand we have the slippery Dirrell who will look to get his shots off and is supremely quick and naturally talented - and then we have the popular Mr. Abraham in the opposite corner, a compact man with a tight guard and bricks in his gloves."

Froch himself knows what it's like to fight Andre Dirrell, having outpointed the American visitor back in November 2009 during the first round of the tournament, which was aired in the UK on Sky channel 480 - and now with Virgin Media added to the platform, Froch vs. Kessler on the 24th April  will be available to even more fight fans.

Froch won the fight on a split decision; With the Mexican judge giving it to Dirrell by a point, whilst the remaining judges gave it to Froch by two points.  

"We knew nothing of him really before I fought him, but Dirrell has a lot of natural talent, with good range and athleticism. He is a difficult operator to pin down. Abraham is certainly going to have his work cut out for him." said Froch

The fight was originally to be held in Palm Springs at the beginning of the month, but a back injury to Dirrell saw a postponement and venue relocation to within 60 miles of his hometown. Froch saw this as potentially more pressure for Dirrell which may drive him on.

"Fighting at home brings more pressure to perform. I don't think Dirrell has had a high profile local fight so far in his career. Dirrell will reflect on his tactics not working in our fight and will hopefully look to let his hands go more. To let his fists do the talking."

The city of Detroit has seen many a legend pass through it's infamous Kronk Gym over the years. With the likes of their first world champion Hilmer Kenty and more famously, Thomas 'Hitman' Hearns.

"The fantastic boxing fans of Detroit have had the likes of Hitman Hearns entertaining them over the years. Dirrell will have some big boots to fill and the experience of surviving twelve rounds in a world title fight with me will give him added confidence. He will certainly need that confidence when facing the powerful package that Arthur Abraham brings to the table." said Froch.

Froch believes Abraham's chances all boil down to ring generalship to be successful against 'The Matrix'.

"Dirrell's got Mayweather-like speed and reflexes. But the difference is, rather than make you miss and punish you; he'd rather make you miss and move. Therefore Abraham needs to take command of the fight and dictate it. Whereas the fighter in me likes to get straight into the thick of the action, Abraham is more patient. Dirrell has declared he is going to let his fists fly this time and he really does need to keep his Super Six dream alive - because he is drinking in last chance saloon now and Abraham is about to turf him out before he finishes his drink." laughed Froch. 

"It's got the hall marks of potentially being a very great fight, now that Dirrell has no more chances left, with fighting at home and with a serious puncher like Abraham in the corner it could really be explosive. That's the great thing about this match up - nobody can forecast what is going to happen."

Abraham V Dirrell will be shown on Primetime channel 480 on Sky on Saturday night 20th March from 02:30 GMT (3:30 BST) at the reduced price of only £5.95. Sky customers need to call 0871 200 4444 to register. If you've registered with Primetime before you can just press select on your remote control.

Carl Froch vs. Mikkel Kessler will commence at approximately 9 - 9.15pm GMT and will be broadcast live in the UK on Primetime Sky Channel 480 and Virgin On Demand.

Primetime - is the UK's newest pay per view sporting and entertainment channel. Primetime brings you exclusive access to the hottest live events from the UK and abroad.  Get the top ticket in town zapped straight into your living room through your Sky box for a night of sporting, music, and 'Golden Ticket' events.

Viewers must register before the event via the website www.primetimelive.co.uk or sales line 0871 200 4444 and press select on Sky Channel 480 when they want to watch, If you've registered with Primetime before you can just press select on your remote control.  

Virgin customers can buy through On Demand > Live Events. See channel 0 for more details. 

Also streamed live on www.primetimelive.co.uk. See website for more details. 

For further information, interviews and images please contact: Claire Wigington - Claire.Wigington@portlandtv.co.uk 020 7308 5271

Tickets for the WBC & Super Six Group Stage 2 fight between two great warriors in Froch and Kessler are on sale in the UK via Ticketline.co.uk, for tickets call the box office on 0844 888 4402 or these can be purchased via www.ticketline.co.uk or www.hennessysports.com.

Alternatively UK Boxing fans can purchase tickets from the BILLETnet.dk website at www.billetnet.dk or by calling the box office on +45 7033 1333.

For further information on this great night of boxing please visit the following websites:

Showtime Sports. www.sports.sho.com/world-boxing-classic.html

MCH Messecenter, Herning.  http://www.mch.dk/

Hennessy Sports www.hennessysports.com/frochvkessler.htm

Sauerland Events www.boxen.com

Primetime PPV www.primetimelive.co.uk

SUPER SIX WORLD BOXING CLASSIC SCOREBOARD

Record           Fighter                           Points

 1-0                  Arthur Abraham                  3

 1-0                  Carl Froch                          2

 1-0                  Andre Ward                        2

 0-1                  Andre Dirrell                       0

 0-1                  Mikkel Kessler                    0

 0-0                  Allan Green                        0

For information on all SHOWTIME Sports telecasts, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries from its events and complete information on the Super Six World Boxing Classic, please visit the website at http://www.sports.sho.com

ABOUT SUPER SIX WORLD BOXING CLASSIC

The inaugural Super Six World Boxing Classic is a ground-breaking, six-fighter tournament from SHOWTIME Sports® featuring the class of the super middleweight (168-pound) division from around the world. All bouts in the Super Six tournament will be contested under the Unified Rules of Boxing. Each boxer fights three bouts against different opponents in the field in the points-based Group Stage of competition (Win - 2 pts with a 1-pt bonus for KO/TKO; Loss - 0 pts; Draw - 1 pt.). After the Group Stage, the four fighters with the highest point totals will advance to the single-elimination Semi-Finals. The winners of the Semi-Final bouts will advance to the Finals and fight for the inaugural Super Six World Boxing Classic trophy.

About Showtime Networks Inc.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNELâ„¢ and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2â„¢, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNELâ„¢ XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD®, THE MOVIE CHANNELâ„¢ HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNELâ„¢ ON DEMAND. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.

Press Contacts:

Showtime Networks Inc.

Chris DeBlasio                     (212) 708-1633          Chris.DeBlasio@Showtime.net  

Annie Van Tornhout             (212) 708-1663          Annie.VanTornhout@Showtime.net

Brener Zwikel & Associates, Inc.

John Beyrooty                     (562) 233-7477          Johnnybey@aol.com

Steve Pratt                           (818) 462-5602          Stevep@bzapr.com

Goossen Tutor Promotions

Marylyn Aceves                   (818) 817-8001          marylyn@goossentutor.com

Hennessy Sports

Lee Squirrell                         +44 1959 535 860     Lee@hennessysports.com

Sauerland Events

  Johannes Berendt                +49 (170) 896 1549   SauerlandPR@aol.com