Froch: “Calzaghe Is Next” – News

By Boxing News - 04/26/2009 - Comments

froch3423434By Jim Dower: WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch (25-0, 20 KOs) had to rally to score a 12th round TKO last night, knocking out former WBC/WBO middleweight champion Jermain Taylor (28-3-1, 17 KOs) with only 14 seconds remaining in the round at the Foxwoods Resort Casino, in Mashantucket, Connecticut. After the fight, Froch, 31, called out former WBO super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe, saying “Joe Calzaghe was using the excuse that nobody knows who I am in American. Now everybody knows who I am, so he [Calzaghe] has no excuse now.”

I like Froch’s persistence in trying to get a fight with Calzaghe, but Froch is obviously wasting his time trying to call out Calzaghe. I mean if Calzaghe wasn’t interested in fighting him during his career, he sure won’t change his mind now that Froch beat Jermain Taylor.

Calzaghe probably wouldn’t fight Froch no matter whom he beats. I don’t think it’s about Froch not having a big enough name, because he’s been the second best super middleweight in England for quite some time.

My guess is Calzaghe just doesn’t like the idea of fighting someone as dangerous as Froch, which is why it likely wouldn’t matter if Froch were to beat Mikkel Kessler, Lucian Bute, Chad Dawson, Andre Ward, Andre Dirrell and Karoly Balzsay.

“Joe Calzaghe is next if he can get himself out of his armchair and get himself back in the gym,” Froch said after last night’s fight with Taylor. “Let’s have ourselves a fight for the British fans and the rest of the World. It’s only boxing, don’t worry about it. Let’s get it on.”

Froch is quite lucky that he was able to beat Taylor, because the fight was going Taylor’s way until the 6th, when Taylor seemed to tire out and stop throwing right hand. Froch was then able to take over the fight as Taylor did little other than jab for the remainder of the fight.

Taylor would occasionally throw a right hand, but it looked as if he had hurt his right hand because he wasn’t doing much at all involving his right. If this had been another super middleweight with better stamina than Taylor, I think Froch would have lost by a lopsided decision.

He was knocked down in the 3rd and looked brutally slow for the entire fight. Taylor had the perfect opportunity to knock Froch out in the 3rd, but let Froch off the hook by letting his hands go after knocking him down. Taylor did nothing in the 4th, hitting Froch only with jabs and not throwing a lot of punches. In the absence of any real offense from Taylor, it’s no wonder that Froch was able to come on in the second half of the fight and get a stoppage.

Instead of going after Calzaghe, who will likely never come back from his retirement, Froch needs to try and shoot for the best possible opponent. His number #2 contender in the WBC is Ward, a former 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist.

I think Ward is a lot better than Taylor, and I think he’d beat Froch without too many problems. However, if Froch can get by Ward, he’d get more respect from boxing fans – and maybe even Calzaghe, although I still don’t see that getting Calzaghe interested in fighting Froch.



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