Will Froch’s luck finally run out?

By Smith-Dan - 04/01/2014 - Comments

froch1234By Smith Dan: As a relatively avid boxing fan from Britain, there is very little I enjoy more than seeing a fellow Brit in possession of a World title. My first real boxing hero was Joe Calzaghe, a blisteringly quick, charismatic character with an exciting style that always brought me to the edge of my seat. Watching Joe deliver flurry upon flurry of punches (I disagree with the criticism that they were ‘slaps’, but you’re entitled to your opinion) was exhilarating, and served as the proverbial fishing rod that hooked me in.

Calzaghe helps to lead me to the man who is the topic of this article; as he almost built his publicity off of the back of claiming Joe had ‘ducked’ a fight with him. WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch, before his controversial fight with George Groves and his arrogance that followed, was one of the most popular British boxers around, and with the WBA and IBF super-middleweight titles around his waist, it was very tough to be a critic. Despite this, I can honestly say that I have never been a fan of ‘The Cobra’, and have always been waiting for the rest of the boxing world to find out why.

You’ll have an extremely tough job convincing many Americans of Froch’s legitimacy as a champion. His well-publicized and well-deserved dismantling by arguably the best fighter in the division, Andre Ward, will be a strong enough reason to question whether he deserves his titles. Add this to Carl’s only other official defeat against Mikkel Kessler, who had at that point already been beaten by an almost retired Calzaghe, and you’ve got a second leg to stand on. Even Carl’s win in the massively over-hyped rematch with Kessler, who had gotten even older by this point, is not enough to banish the memory of the two defeats.

You may have noticed I used the term ‘official’ when describing his defeats. After watching Carl’s fight with Andre Dirrell myself, I find it incredulous that he managed to secure a result. This may have been balanced out by his controversial loss to Kessler, but in my opinion the gap between Dirrell and Froch was much more significant than that between Froch and Kessler. Part of Carl’s appeal is that he is seen as a warrior. His fans will often point towards the fights against Jermaine Taylor and George Groves, but is this honestly a talent? Jermaine Taylor was convincingly winning his battle with Froch, but clearly over-punched in search of a knockout, and Froch managed to finish him off late in the fight. Groves’ fight is similar, in that Groves was clearly getting the best of the bout (despite the judge’s inconceivable scorecards), before he over-worked and Carl’s experience, plus some help from an all-too-eager referee, saw him knock the thoroughly impressive George Groves out. Now, call me harsh, but I genuinely do not see where the positives come from those fights. All it shows is that Carl has very little defensive ability; causing his opponents to try and hit all of the countless opportunities he gives, and that he clearly does not have much actual boxing ability; evidenced by his apparent ineptitude when it comes to dominating a fight against a top-level opponent.

On top of all of this, in my opinion, pretty clear evidence, the one thing that makes Froch so utterly un-likable is his over-active mouth. For someone who has been so dangerously close to losing two of his biggest ever victories, whilst also being comfortably beaten by Andre Ward and, arguably, Dirrell, the way Froch describes himself is infuriating. He has claimed he is Britain’s greatest ever boxer, that he would have beaten Calzaghe, that he is the best super-middleweight on the planet, and a fair few other incredulous statements in his time in the limelight. The sheer coverage and hype surrounding a rematch with Kessler that came 4 years late was amazing to me, especially when you think, as mentioned earlier, that a 35 year-old Joe Calzaghe had beaten him three years before Froch was defeated. His celebrations were almost embarrassing.

I am never one to be biased, so I will admit that there have been a few things Carl Froch has done to impress me. His chin is one of the greatest I have witnessed, and although he tends to take a lot of power punches in the head during fights, his balance very rarely wavered. It is truly impressive the amount of knockout punches he has taken, even if it does unconsciously highlight his lack of defense. It can also be said that his sheer determination to keep on fighting has to be commended. He looked like he was in a different country when he hit the deck against Groves, yet managed to climb up, stay on his feet through the round, sit back, and wait to unleash his fury in the later rounds.

Carl Froch has all of the tools in his arsenal to be one of Britain’s greatest ever champions. He has fought and beat some impressive opposition; Lucian Bute, Jermaine Taylor and Jean Pascal. He is a stereotypical British sportsman, relying on grit, determination and pure staying power, in favor of technical ability. His confidence is incredible and he certainly has the ability to throw a verbal barb or two. Yet, when comparing him to a true great like Calzaghe, it becomes clearer where he falls down. His boxing ability; both offensive and defensive, is European level at best. In his biggest three fights in terms of opponent; Kessler in 2009, Andre Ward and Jermaine Taylor, he has failed to show beyond doubt that he belongs at the top table.

Even when you overlook all of these things, however, Froch’s overwhelming arrogance and animosity means he will always be a World away from the charismatic and (most of the time!) respectful Joe Calzaghe.



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