Mikkel Kessler is the new World Boxing Council (WBC) super-middleweight champion after out-pointing Briton Carl Froch in a bruising encounter in his native Denmark on Saturday night.

Despite being previously unbeaten after 26 fights, the 32-year-old Froch never looked comfortable against his durable opponent, who was given the decision on all three of the judges scorecards after 12 brutal rounds in front of a partisan and passionate crowd at the MCH Messecenter in Herning.

Froch had Kessler on the canvas in the fifth round, but the referee ruled that the Dane had slipped, and the challenger eventually wore the champion down with a combination of hooks and jabs to take the belt by a margin of 117-111, 115-113 and 116-112, CNN reported.

Meanwhile, Arthur Abraham leads the Super Six World Boxing Classic with 3 points against Froch, Kessler, Ward and Dirrell, who have 2 points each.