Carl Froch
Carl Froch | ||||||||||||
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Born | Carl Froch 2 July 1977 | |||||||||||
Nationality | British | |||||||||||
Other names | The Cobra The Sheriff of Nottingham Nottingham Terror | |||||||||||
Statistics | ||||||||||||
Weight(s) | Super-middleweight | |||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | |||||||||||
Reach | 74½″ / 189cm | |||||||||||
Stance | Orthodox | |||||||||||
Boxing record | ||||||||||||
Total fights | 33 | |||||||||||
Wins | 31 | |||||||||||
Wins by KO | 22 | |||||||||||
Losses | 2 | |||||||||||
Draws | 0 | |||||||||||
No contests | 0 | |||||||||||
Medal record
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Carl Froch (born on 2 July 1977) is an English, four-time world champion professional boxer, and is the unified IBF and WBA super-middleweight champion, and former two-time WBC super-middleweight champion. He has also held the British, Commonwealth, and English titles at super-middleweight. As of 1st January 2013, he is the best British pound for pound boxer, according to the BBC.[1] He was also voted WBN (World Boxing News) fighter of the year 2012[2] and fighter of year 2012 by BoxRec.[3]
Froch is ranked number 8 pound for pound by Boxrec.com and number 10 by ESPN.
Amateur career
Froch began boxing at his home in Meadows, Nottingham at 9 years old. He later joined the Phoenix ABC in Gedling, Nottingham. As an amateur, he won two ABA Middleweight titles in 1999 and 2001 and a bronze medal at the 2001 World Amateur Boxing Championships before turning pro and having his first pro fight in March 2002. As an amateur, Froch lost to American Peter Manfredo Jr. in a 4th round technical knock out.[4]
During his amateur career, he lost a fight to Denis Inkin, who he was scheduled to fight in a title eliminator in 2008, but Inkin pulled out on three occasions.[citation needed] Interestingly, he also boxed Jason Booth when a teenager on more than one occasion. Booth went on to fight as a professional at Flyweight to Super bantamweight.
Professional career
Froch is trained by Robert McCracken and managed by Eddie Hearn. In 2004, he won the vacant British and Commonwealth championships. He has defended both against Brian Magee, Tony Dodson, Matthew Barney and Damon Hague, and the Commonwealth belt alone against Ruben Groenewald and Dale Westerman.
Following a victory over the Russian Sergey Tatevosyan, on the 9 November 2007 at Trent FM Arena in Nottingham he stopped veteran ex-world champion Robin Reid, after saw Reid retire from the sport for four years.[5]
On 10 May 2008, at the Trent FM Arena in Nottingham Carl Froch stopped unbeaten Polish Albert Rybacki in the 4th round of a scheduled 12. Rybacki was drafted in as a last-minute replacement after initial opponent Denis Inkin pulled out on two occasions and no Top 30 fighter was willing to take the fight at two weeks' notice.[citation needed]
Froch vs Pascal
On 6 December 2008, Froch fought Canadian Jean Pascal for the vacant WBC super middleweight title and won after a hard-fought 12-round brawl.[6] Both combatants showed enormous grit and determination, landing and taking huge shots from one another without even flinching. After the fight, it was revealed that Froch had sustained a perforated eardrum and a cracked rib in his final sparring session before the fight. Froch's promoter Mick Hennessy gave Froch the opportunity to withdraw from the fight, but Froch refused.[7] Since the fight, Froch and Pascal (who has since become a light-heavyweight champion) have become friends on a personal level and have made a promise to face each other again in the future.[citation needed]
Froch vs Taylor
On 25 April 2009, Froch fought Jermain Taylor in his first defence of his WBC super middleweight title, at the Foxwoods Resort in Foxwoods, Connecticut. Froch survived a third-round knockdown – the first of his entire career, amateur and professional – and, behind on two of the three judges' cards coming into the final round, he managed to stop his opponent with 14 seconds remaining in the 12th round to retain his WBC super-middleweight title.
After the fight, Froch was quick to send out a verbal challenge to unbeaten Welsh boxer Joe Calzaghe and was also quoted as saying "Kessler, Pavlik, Hopkins, I want them all to feel the force."[8][9]
Super Six World Boxing Classic
On 13 July, Froch agreed to take part in the Super Six World Boxing Classic super middleweight tournament devised by American giant Showtime. The tournament features 6 boxers including Andre Dirrell, Mikkel Kessler, Arthur Abraham, Jermain Taylor, Andre Ward and Froch himself. Froch's first opponent in the Super Six was Andre Dirrell.
Andre Dirrell
The bout took place in Nottingham on 17th October and Froch's WBC title was on the line. Froch won the fight and retained his title with a split decision victory over the previously undefeated Andre Dirrell.[10][11] Two of the judges scored the bout 115–112 in favour of Froch, with the other scoring the bout 114–113 in favour of Dirrell.[12] There is widespread discussion in the boxing community about the fairness of this result.[citation needed]
Mikkel Kessler
Froch's next fight was against Mikkel Kessler, who lost the WBA super-middleweight title to Andre Ward.[13] Froch's WBC title was again on the line. In a closely fought contest in Kessler's home country of Denmark where both men had great moments throughout the fight, Kessler took Froch's title and inflicted Froch's first professional defeat via unanimous decision, the judges scoring the contest by margins of 116–112, 115–113 and 117–111. The scoring was some what controversial, as some boxing announcers had scored the fight much closer, with some awarding Froch the win and others scoring it a draw.[14][15][16][17] Froch later stated that the fight was close and that he believes the decision would have gone his way if the event had been held in Nottingham.[18] The Fight was a contender for the 2010 Fight of the Year.
Arthur Abraham
Froch faced former IBF middleweight champion Hard hitting King Arthur Abraham in the third stage in Helsinki Finland at the Hartwall Finland fearing that if he fought in Abraham's adoptive home country he might get mugged. However, since an eye injury forced Mikkel Kessler to relinquish his WBC title and resign from the tournament, Froch-Abraham was for the vacant WBC super middleweight title. Both Froch and Abraham came off of a loss in stage two of the Super Six. Abraham lost after a disqualification against former Froch victim Andre Dirrell.
Froch regained the WBC super middleweight title by gaining a unanimous points victory over Arthur Abraham in Helsinki. Many [who?] doubted Froch would last the distance against the more powerful Abraham and that made Abraham the bookies' favouite, Abraham would knock him out. Pundits [who?] also felt that Froch's awkward and unorthodox hands by his waist style would be no match for Abraham's power. Froch won the fight against Abraham in a dominant manner, with the scores given by the judges of 119–109, 120–108 and 120–108, reflecting the one-sided nature of the bout.[19]
Glen Johnson
Off the heels of his victory over Abraham, Froch entered the semifinal stage of the tournament. His semifinal opponent on 4 June 2011 in Atlantic City, New Jersey was Glen Johnson. Froch retained his title with a majority decision victory, with the scores given by the judges of 116–112, 117–111, and 114–114.[20] After the fight Froch criticised the Japanese judge Nobuaki Uratani in an interview on Sky's Ringside show remarking that he "must have fallen asleep after round 3."[This quote needs a citation]
Andre Ward
Carl Froch lost in the final of the Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament in a dramatic bout against WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward. The vacant The Ring super middleweight title would be on the line in the fight, as well as Froch and Ward's super middleweight titles. In the first 7 rounds, Ward outboxed Froch, successfully using his jab to neutralize Froch and beating Froch to the punch from a distance and at close range. In the later rounds, Ward seemed to take his foot off the gas, leaving Froch to win a couple rounds near the end of the fight, though they were close and fairly competitive rounds. The judges scorecards were 115–113, 115–113 and 118–110, all in favor of Ward. Ward won the vacant The Ring super middleweight title.
Bute vs Froch
The IBF officially enforced Carl Froch as Lucian Bute's number one mandatory challenger. The fight, billed as "No Easy Way Out", took place on 26 May 2012 in Froch's hometown of Nottingham.[21] Despite being the underdog with bookmakers, critics and fans around the world, Froch dominated Bute throughout the fight to become the new IBF super-middleweight champion via TKO in round five, making Froch a three-time world champion.[22][23]
IBF champion
After the Bute fight and acquiring IBF belt, Froch defeated Yusaf Mack via knockout. The British website BoxRec named Froch the "Fighter of the Year" in the end of 2012.[24]
Froch vs Kessler II
On 26 May 2013 (NB the match was scheduled for the 25th, but started after midnight BST), Froch beat Mikkel Kessler in a rematch from their fight in 2010 via a unanimous points decision at The O2 Arena in London, with the judge's scoring the bout 118-110, 116-112 and 115-113.[25] [26] After the match, Froch hinted at a rematch against Andre Ward[27] in the UK, or a possible rubber match against Kessler.[28]
Froch vs Groves
The IBF installed George Groves as Froch's mandatory challenger; the bout will late November/Early December 2013 with Froch's IBF and WBA super-middleweight titles on the line.[29]
Professional boxing record
Titles in boxing
Major World Titles:
- (2) WBC super-middleweight champion (168 lbs)
- IBF super-middleweight champion (168 lbs)
- WBA super-middleweight champion (168 lbs)
Regional/International Titles:
- BBBofC English super-middleweight champion (168 lbs)
- Commonwealth (British Empire) super-middleweight champion (168 lbs)
- BBBofC British super-middleweight champion (168 lbs)
Personal life
Froch was born in Nottingham in 1977. He is of Polish Jewish heritage.[30] Early in his life Froch wanted to become a footballer and play for Nottingham Forest, his local football team, and has stated that he would love to fight at the City Ground. Froch is an fan of Johnny Cash and is also a historian with regards to combat.[citation needed] His partner is UK glamour model Rachael Cordingley with whom he has a son Rocco and a daughter Natalia.[citation needed]
He is a supporter of Nottingham Forest and occasionally trains at Forest's training ground when a fight is upcoming.[31][32] He has also appeared on the Sky Sports Saturday Morning Football show Soccer AM the week before a fight.[33][34]
References
- ^ BBC pound-for-pound British rankings. Bbc.co.uk (2013-01-14). Retrieved on 2013-03-01.
- ^ Jay, Phil D (2013-01-03). "Carl Froch voted WBN fighter of the year 2012". worldboxingnews.net. Archived from the original on 2013-01-16.
- ^ Bax, Chris (2012-12-27). "Carl Froch and Juan Manuel Marquez win boxrec news awards".
- ^ Froch vs Kessler: Warriors' Call | O2 Arena, London, 25th May 2013. Cobraboxing.com (2012-05-25). Retrieved on 2013-03-01.
- ^ Kirkbride, Philip (24 February 2011). "Robin Reid comes out of retirement after mum's blessing". liverpoolecho.co.uk. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
- ^ "Froch beats Pascal on points for super-middle belt". USA Today. 2008-12-06. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
- ^ Davies, Gareth A (2008-12-07). "Carl Froch beat Jean Pascal to become world champion despite a perforated eardrum". The Daily Telegraph. London.
- ^ Dirs, Ben (2009-04-26). "Froch stuns Taylor with late show". BBC News. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
- ^ "Britain's new champion Froch lines up Taylor for first defence". Daily Mail. London. 2008-12-11.
- ^ Iorfida, Chris (2009-10-19) Chris Iorfida, CBC Sports. Cbc.ca. Retrieved on 2013-03-01.
- ^ Brookhouse, Brent. (2009-10-18) Brent Brookhouse, Bloody Elbow. Bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved on 2013-03-01.
- ^ Kevin Mitchell (18 October 2009). "Carl Froch holds off Andre Dirrell in WBC super-middleweight title defence". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 18 October 2009.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ Boxing News: Arthur Abraham vs Carl Froch Odds. OnlineSportsHandicapping.com (2010-09-27). Retrieved on 2013-03-01.
- ^ Carl Froch Getting Anxious To Get Ward in The Ring – Boxing News. Boxingscene.com (2011-11-17). Retrieved on 2013-03-01.
- ^ Iole, Kevin. (2011-12-13) Mailbag: Ranking the Super Six bouts – Boxing – Yahoo! Sports. Sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved on 2013-03-01.
- ^ Carl Froch is ready to end two year wait in Final showdown with Ward | Mail Online. Dailymail.co.uk (2011-11-16). Retrieved on 2013-03-01.
- ^ Vester, Mark (2010-04-24) Froch: If I Was Back Home, I Would Have Beaten Kessler – Boxing News. Boxingscene.com. Retrieved on 2013-03-01.
- ^ [2][dead link]
- ^ Christ, Scott. (2011-06-04) Carl Froch Gets Past Glen Johnson, Advances to Super Six Final. Bad Left Hook. Retrieved on 2013-03-01.
- ^ "IBF make Carl Froch the number one mandatory to Bute". LiveFight. 2012-02-09.
- ^ Carl Froch destroys Lucian Bute to capture IBF world title | Sport | The Observer. Guardian (2012-05-27). Retrieved on 2013-03-01.
- ^ Froch unhappy with bookmakers having him the underdog against Bute. Eastsideboxing.com (2012-05-26). Retrieved on 2013-03-01.
- ^ McNeilly, Ian (2012-12-26). "Froch and Marquez head the BoxRec News Awards for 2012". BoxRec. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
- ^ "Carl Froch v Mikkel Kessler – as it happened". Guardian. 26 May 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
- ^ http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/boxing/4943085/Carl-Froch-sets-sights-on-Andre-Ward-showdown.html
- ^ http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/boxing/4943541/Andre-Ward-tells-Carl-Froch-50m-London-superfight-fine-for-me.html
- ^ "Froch beats Kessler in thriller at the O2 Arena as Cobra avenges defeat to Dane with points victory in unification battle". Daily Mail. 26 May 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/boxing/23421148
- ^ Mitchell, Kevin (2009-04-24). "Haye fever leaves Carl Froch in the shadows in the US". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
- ^ [3][dead link]
- ^ "Froch gearing up for title shot". BBC News. 2008-11-19. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
- ^ Froch vs Kessler: Warriors' Call | O2 Arena, London, 25th May 2013. Cobraboxing.com (2012-05-25). Retrieved on 2013-03-01.
- ^ Froch on Soccer AM | Boxing News. Saddoboxing.com (2007-11-01). Retrieved on 2013-03-01.
External links
- Official website
- Boxing record for Carl Froch from BoxRec (registration required)