By Keith Idec

Carl Froch wanted a second shot at Mikkel Kessler the second Kessler was announced as the winner of their April 2010 super middleweight title fight in Herning, Denmark.

Froch understands, however, why Lucian Bute basically has steered clear from facing him again, despite that the IBF super middleweight champion contractually owes Bute a rematch.

“I think Bute knows he can’t beat me,” Froch said while discussing his rematch against Kessler on Saturday in London. “I think he knows I’m too strong, too tough for him and a rematch will only end in the same way.”

Froch battered Bute in shockingly easy fashion last May 26 in Froch’s native Nottingham, England. Bute could’ve forced Froch into an immediate rematch, but instead took a tune-up after absorbing a brutal beating in their first fight.

Bute (31-1, 24 KOs), whom Froch stopped in the fifth round, wasn’t impressive in his 12-round, unanimous-decision defeat of Russia’s Denis Grachev (13-1-1, 8 KOs) on Nov. 3 in Montreal and again avoided a Froch rematch. He was scheduled to fight another popular, Quebec-based boxer on Saturday night in Montreal, but Bute’s hand injury and subsequent surgery postponed his showdown with Jean Pascal until Dec. 7.

Even if Bute beats Pascal (27-2-1, 16 KOs), Froch doesn’t expect them to share a ring again.

“I know that he can’t hurt me with his punches,” Froch said, “and I know that my punches hurt him a lot, so I think the rematch would probably be an easier fight for me, especially now that, mentally, he’s a broken man.

“So I think he needs to go up to light heavyweight and do what he’s trying to do now, maybe fight someone like Pascal. I know he’s injured, which is unfortunate. But he needs to stay well clear of me and I think that’s the reason the fight didn’t happen, because he didn’t want it to happen.”

The 12-round bout between Froch (30-2, 22 KOs) and Denmark’s Kessler (46-2, 35 KOs) will be broadcast live by HBO at 6 p.m. ET from a sold-out O2 Arena. A replay of the Froch-Kessler rematch was supposed to precede the live telecast of the Bute-Pascal fight, but now will be air again Saturday on its own at 10 p.m. ET.

Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.