Boxing is a sport in which the combatants will often use their words before resorting to their fists.
There is an element of civility to all that, although it is regarded simply as a veneer and one which is usually left in disrepair once the gloves come on. It is intriguing, then, that tonight's bout between England's Carl Froch and Mikkel Kessler of Denmark has been punctuated by talk of "legacy" rather than thumping right hooks.
At 35, Froch intends to use this fight to secure his place as one of Britain's all-time great boxers; the Nottingham-born fighter having been defeated just twice in his career. That one of those came at the hands of Kessler will allow Froch to exorcise that result, while also defending his IBF super-middleweight title. His Danish opponent holds the WBA title.
Their last meeting three years ago in Denmark is regarded as a thrilling war, once in which the home fighter edged a unanimous decision after 12 brutal rounds. Since then Froch has embarked a superb run of form against elite opposition, becoming a three time world champion by beating the likes of Arthur Abraham and Lucian Bute. His reputation has grown with every opponent who has fallen, with tonight's fight bringing him the chance to stand tall within the pantheon of British fighters.
"It's definitely about securing my legacy," said Froch, whose record is 30-2, 22KOs. "We talk about legacy but he's one of the only two fighters to win a decision against me and it was in a close fight that could have gone either way. If that fight had been in England then there is a big argument to be made that I would have won the fight.
"But instead it took place on foreign soil and I didn't get the nod. So it would be nice to rectify that loss and redeem myself, if you like, and set the record straight. It's the biggest night of my life so far because it's going to bring my whole career to a pinnacle.
"It's a rematch against the man who inflicted my first career defeat and it means so much to me. To lose to Kessler again then I don't know what I'd do. I'd be totally devastated. This is a fight I need to rectify. Kessler beat me three years ago and I need to win this to redeem myself and secure my legacy as one of the best fighters in the world.
"It is a legacy-securing fight in that sense because a win now cancels out the loss on my record and I can focus on avenging the only other defeat on my record which is the very tricky, horrible, awkward one in Andre Ward. To lose a close decision to the No.2 pound-for-pound fighter in the world [Ward] is no big hardship. I'll be focusing on getting that rematch after this fight and speaking to my promoter Eddie Hearn to see what we can do about securing a fight with him."
Kessler this week spoke of his desire to prove his original win over Froch was no accident. The Dane had retired due to a serious eye injury shortly after beating Froch but with time the problem healed and Kessler is just grateful to be back in the ring.
"I thought I was finished but I fought back," he said. "I went to what seemed like 6000 eye doctors who said 'we'll have to see, we may have to operate and it will be all over'. I shouldn't be here. But I am."
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