A former rival of Carl Froch has confirmed his comeback, ending a 13-year layoff to return to action at 47 years old.
The man in question is Mikkel Kessler, who has not fought since his rematch with Froch, which resulted in a unanimous decision defeat after their first encounter, in 2010, saw him defeat Froch by the same verdict.
Elsewhere in his distinguished career, Kessler became the WBC world super-middleweight champion by dethroning Markus Beyer with a third-round finish in 2006.
He would then make a successful defence before losing to all-time great Joe Calzaghe, who unanimously outpointed the visitor at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
Kessler’s only other defeat came against Andre Ward, another Hall of Famer and legend of the sport, who claimed an 11th-round technical decision victory in their 2009 contest.
After hanging up his gloves in 2015, the former multi-time world champion then attempted to make his comeback around four years later, only for plans to be scuppered after he contracted Lyme disease.
Since then, Kessler has spent much of his time training Oliver Zaren, an unbeaten super-middleweight contender who will face IBF world champion Osleys Iglesias on October 8.
After that, though, Kessler plans to enter his own fight against Bernard Joseph, a club-level American who has agreed to collide in Copenhagen on November 28.
The Viking Warrior returns ⚔️
Mikkel Kessler returns to the ring, after 13 years to face Bernard Joseph on Nov 28th in Copenhagen, Denmark 🇩🇰 pic.twitter.com/p1r3gQSpMZ
— Kalle & Nisse Sauerland (@SauerlandBros) October 1, 2026
Promoting the event will be Kalle and Nisse Sauerland of Misfits and Misfits Pro, who represented Kessler during many of the key moments in his career.
At the age of 47, however, it remains to be seen whether the Dane can rediscover any of his old magic, or if he will even progress beyond this fight with Joseph.
