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Carl Froch reached the final of the Super Six tournament and defended his WBC super-middleweight title with a majority decision over Glen Johnson.

Froch was not at his best and was caught by Johnson's right hand several times but a professional display was enough to convince two judges.

The third judge surprisingly gave it as a draw, and Froch was not impressed.

"I thought I won the fight easily. I don't know what that other judge was thinking," said the Briton.

"Johnson was very tough, very strong. He was like an oak tree.

"I started off slow, but towards the end I was throwing more punches."

Froch, who will face American Andre Ward in the final of the Super Six tournament, was on the front foot for much of the fight with a heavy work rate against his 42-year-old opponent.

But Johnson did land several big rights that tested Froch's resilience.

"Johnson hit me with a couple of right hands but they didn't bother me," insisted Froch.

"They caught me off balance, to be fair. You feel it, but I'm known for having a strong chin."

Judges John Stewart (117-111) and Mark Green (116-112) clearly favoured Froch's work over the whole fight, but Nobuaki Yuratani had it even at 114-114.

And even Johnson admitted he had no real complaints with Froch getting the majority verdict.

"I feel like that was the kind of fight that fans want to see," said Johnson.

"It was a close fight, but I can't argue with the decision. I got a little bit greedy and started to take myself out of the fight. I just wanted to land bigger punches instead of boxing."

Elsewhere former world super-middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler, the only man to beat Froch, made a winning return to action after over a year out with an eye injury.

The Dane stopped Mehdi Bouadla in Copenhagen after flooring him twice in the sixth round to inflict the fourth defeat of the Frenchman's career - the first by knockout.