Nottingham, England (My Sportsbook) - Carl Froch edged Andre Dirrell in a 12-round split decision to retain his WBC super middleweight title.

Froch (26-0), who moved to 13-0 in bouts in his home city, won 115-112 on two of the scorecards. Dirrell (18-1), who was the bronze medalist at the 2004 Olympics, had a 114-113 edge from the third judge.

Referee Hector Afu deducted one point from Dirrell in 10th round due to excessive holding in the fight that didn't start until after 2 a.m. due to it being shown on live television in the United States.

Froch was making the second defense of his title. He won the title with a unanimous decision over Jean Pascal in December last year and was coming off a 12th-round TKO win over Jermain Taylor in April. That victory over Taylor came despite Froch being knocked down in the third round.

The fight was part of the Super Six World Boxing Classic round-robin six boxer tournament. Also Saturday, Arthur Abraham knocked out Taylor in the 12th round. The other fighters involved in the super middleweight tournament are Andre Ward and Mikkel Kessler.

Fighters who win by KO or TKO are given three points, by decision two and they get a point for a draw. Losses don't accumulate points. The four fighters with the highest point total after the group stage will meet in the semifinals with the winners advancing to the title bout.