By James Hughes: Carl “The Cobra” Froch became the WBC Super-Middleweight Champion on Saturday night, with a gutsy and ultimately more composed display against the equally determined Jean Pascal. In an explosive encounter, Froch and Pascal traded thunderous blows around the ring and in the centre of it, making the fight compelling to watch.
Neither fighter wasted any time figuring each other out as they went for an early lead, Froch making the first significant statement by backing Pascal up to the ropes with a two-handed attack. Pascal came back, showing his hand speed and landing some good right hands to head and body. Froch came back strong though, and took the opening round as he forced Pascal to hold. The fast pace continued in round 2 as Froch worked the body of Pascal particularly well, but Pascal landed well with big right hands over Froch’s guard, and on the inside too with a left hook. Pascal received a warning for shots to the back of the head but evened the scores. The 3rd round saw both men standing and trading bombs, landing almost simultaneously. Pascal perhaps showing slightly better footwork and definitely more speed but Froch landed the best individual shot of the round with a lovely right uppercut and edged the exchanges until a late assault from Pascal forced him back to the ropes.
After such a relentless start from both men, it wasn’t surprising to see the 4th round start a little slower, but it soon got going as Pascal looked to land his swinging right and left hooks and Froch took advantage to land a 2 good rights, one leading and one shorter one at close quarters. They then slugged it out again, with Pascal getting the better of the exchanges and landing one great left hook in particular. Each man leaving themselves open on the counter and each gamely trying to exploit it to land counterattacks; action-packed and you dare not blink. I scored that one even. Round 5 started slower again before bursting into life as Froch and Pascal battled it out in the centre of the ring. Pascal was almost swinging himself off his feet at times but landed the better shots, working Froch to the body and having him pinned to the ropes – the last place Froch needs to be with a low left guard and Pascal’s booming right winding up. Pascal throws several shots after the bell, he’s lucky only to get a warning for them.
This epic encounter took its first decisive turn in round 6, as Froch started to box Pascal more than he battled and brawled with him. It was more composed as he forced Pascal to eat his left jab often, occasionally rocking his head back and following it up with right hands. Pascal was too quick and wild to be kept away all round like this though, and landed with both left and right hands in the middle of the round. Froch ended stronger, forcing Pascal onto the ropes and attacking the body to good effect, forcing him to hold for the first time in a while.
Crucially, Froch followed up this round with another good one, where he was dominant and in almost complete control. He kept using the jab, while Pascal looked a little leggy and was struggling to land anything clean. Froch took advantage to bank another round, putting in a decent combination (right uppercut, left hook) during the last 30 seconds of it. Pascal’s right eye is swelling by this point, and his nose is a little bloodied now too.
The fight twisted back in the 8th round despite Froch starting well with his jab and countering Pascal’s attack, because then it went back into the slugfest. Pascal, who seemed to have a second wind, starts unleashing big rights and lefts again. The exchanges are fierce and the Canadian had the better of them, even before he opened up a cut above Froch’s left eye with a chopping right. It wasn’t a bad cut, but it did show that this war of attrition was far from over; that Froch would be writing Pascal off at his peril. Only a point in it for me at this stage.
The last third of the fight was where a clear winner eventually prevailed, as Froch boxed and battled his way to victory, making it difficult to score a round in favour of Pascal. Both landed big shots in the 9th, with Froch blinking due to the cut and Pascal swinging with both hands before Froch landed a cracking double right-hand salvo to wobble Pascal significantly. The 10th round saw a similar pattern, as Froch landed more shots including a good overhand right, while Pascal landed the best single shot with a nice uppercut and finished stronger. Froch worked Pascal’s body well again for a spell in the 11th and landed a chopping right to his head, but Pascal landed his own power shots on Froch by using his left hand well, perhaps sensing that the fight was slipping away, as they exchange yet again. Indeed, Pascal was trying to load up so much that he nearly swung himself off his feet again at the end of it. I was tempted to score it a draw, but I think Froch did enough to edge it. In the final round, both men defied the fact that the other had thrown their entire arsenal at them, standing and trading without hesitation, with Froch again the more composed of the two, jabbing well and keeping the pace manageable instead of manic.
Ultimately then, a more composed spell down the stretch saw Froch outscore the quicker but slightly erratic Pascal. Both men’s workrate was extremely high; both displayed the ability to give and take power shots – chins of granite. That there were no knockdowns was testament to both men, as they stood and gave it everything for 12 exciting rounds of a rather brutal bout.
My final scores: Froch 117, Pascal 112.
Congratulations to “The Cobra”, Carl Froch, the new WBC Super-Middleweight Champion.
UNDERCARD REPORT
Tyson Fury vs. Bela Gyongyusi (Heavyweight)
Fury’s pro debut and an easy 1st round TKO. Fury used left jabs followed mainly by solid rights to the head, which reddened his opponent’s nose, then face, in less than 2 minutes. He then started working the body, finishing the fight off with a solid left downstairs as his opponent retreated to the ropes. The referee was correct to stop a wincing Gyongyusi taking more punishment when he got up at 9, this was a complete mismatch.
Danny McIntosh vs. Rod Anderton
*BBBofC English Light-Heavyweight Title
Another brief contest, with McIntosh retaining his title. The bout started with McIntosh just beating Anderton to the punch, landing a couple of left jabs that snapped Anderton’s head back. Anderton landed a short left inside, but it was single shot and he was on the backfoot more often than not. The fight ended with Anderton throwing a slappy right hand and being put on the canvas by a cracking right hook that landed flush on his jaw. A really good shot from McIntosh, even if Anderton did leave himself too open.
Paul David vs. Tyrone Wright
*BBBofC English Super-Middleweight Title
This one went beyond the 1st round, which started evenly but ended with Wright in the ascendency and taking it on workrate and landing more shots. The 2nd round was a scrappy affair that contained a lot of clinching and more missing than hitting from both fighters. The 3rd saw some improvement, but both fighters were looking to load up which meant neither could score consistently and accurately. David landed a solid right to stop Wright on the way in, and another later that busted Wright’s nose, so he clearly got the better of these wild exchanges.
In the 4th, the most action-packed round of the bout so far, David continued stronger and landing cleaner, but seemed to lose momentum when the ref stopped the action to have the cut on Wright’s nose assessed. Wright took advantage to land some shots, one good right hand sending David wobbling back into the ropes. David pulled Wright to the floor with the inside of his glove as his opponent lunged in and the referee correctly ruled no knockdown, but David ended the round stronger. In the 5th, Wright tried desperately to catch David, but was caught by numerous good shots himself, including one sustained onslaught in the corner. David was clearly enjoying it, taunting Wright with hands down and talking, leaning back to avoid his lunges.
The 6th was more even, as Wright took advantage of David’s low guard to land some shots of his own, backing his man into the corner once. It was a much better round for Wright, but only temporary respite as David overpowered him again in the 7th, finishing it with a brutal short-range right hand that sent Wright to the canvas and Wright’s blood into the air. Wright’s face was a bloody mess, so the referee made a fair call in stopping the fight despite Wright just about beating the count.
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