By Wayne Lloyd: On October 29 2011 I believe that Carl ‘The Cobra’ Froch (29-20-1) will defeat Andre Ward in the Super Six Final and be crowned the pound for pound king of the Super Middleweight Division – I also believe that this is a title he thoroughly deserves. Mayweather and Pacquiao aside there are not many boxers that have entertained me as much as Carl Froch over the past three years or so and I am honest enough to admit that I never envisaged this happening.

As a huge fan of Joe Calzaghe hindsight allows me to see that I adopted a negative attitude towards Froch because he simply bad mouthed one of my hero’s at any given opportunity. I passed judgement on the man rather than the boxer…. How wrong could I have been? Indeed, Joe Calzaghe claimed that Froch did not possess the skills that were needed to beat him and I still agree with these comments four years down the line…Indeed, I still think that there are no super-middleweights out there that could beat Joe Calzaghe even if he was still fighting today. If we consider the current batch of super-middleweights; however, I do believe that Carl Froch is the best that the division has to offer and by far the most entertaining.

In 2008 I traveled to the Nottingham Trent Arena to watch the World Boxing Council (WBC) Super-Middleweight clash between Froch and Jean Pascal. Regardless of how much he had annoyed me in the past – I felt that as a fan of British boxing it was only right to get behind the Nottingham man – and how pleased I was that I did. The standard of the fight was exceptional – easily a contender for the best fight of 2008 – and how it lasted 12 rounds I’ll never know. In that one performance Froch demonstrated that he had the heart, desire and mental toughness together with a cast iron chin and a devastating right hook. He instantly commanded respect from me and many others that might have doubted his credentials around the same time whilst since claiming the WBC title his reputation has gone from strength to strength. Not only has Froch fought top ranking fighters in each of his last six fights but he has done it with great dignity. He has fought in the USA twice and beaten both of his opponents as well as going to Denmark and Finland. On each of these occasions, despite losing home advantage he hasn’t moaned he has just got on with the task in hand and for that he deserves great credit.

In his last home fight against Dirrell he looked comfortable against a south paw that possessed exceptional hand speed and quick feet and this is something that Froch should again be given credit for. Many fighters seem to struggle against southpaws – Mayweather is one of the modern greats that spring to mind if we consider the first six rounds of his welterweight bout against Zab Judah back in 2006 – Froch; however, looked in control against Dirrell for the full 12 rounds and claimed another victory against one of the best prospects in the business. He then went to America for the first time were he again displayed great heart and tremendous strength and character by knocking out Jermaine Taylor in the 12th round. For the Froch haters they will always make the case that he lost to Mikkel Kessler; however, if we look at the fight again it would be fair to assume that if that fight was on British soil we may well have seen a much different outcome – indeed, I believe that if that fight was in Nottingham we would have seen Carl Froch defeat another fighter whom many consider as the best in his weight division and I hope that once the fight against Ward is finished that a re-match can be made.

The defeat to Kessler was the first of Carl Froch’s career. The implications of that defeat could have been huge especially when the doubters claimed ‘I told you so’. Many people thought that he would fall short against Kessler and many feel that this defeat demonstrates’ the lack of skills needed to be one of the best. Froch; however, managed to put the negative press to the back of his mind and pull off the best performance of his career so far by demolishing Arthur Abraham over 12 rounds. The performance again commanded my respect – not that he had lost any of it in his performance against Kessler. The Abraham fight opened our eyes to the boxing ability that Froch has within his locker. In all his other performances ‘The Cobra’ has relied upon brute force and power as well as his reliable granite chin – in this fight I think he realized that you can win a boxing match without actually taking the level of punishment he has been used to. I believe that he again deserves all the accolades for changing his game plan when it mattered most and this showed us that he is in fact a well rounded fighter rather than a one dimensional one.

Having defeated Abraham he again went over to the States to defeat another experienced fighter in Glen Johnson whilst simultaneously claiming his place in the Super Six Final. In order for Froch to win this match up against Andre Ward he will once again have to demonstrate all of the qualities that have carried him this far. Throughout the tournament I believe that his skills have fused together through a growing maturity – gained through fighting good quality opponents. I cannot help but wonder how good Froch might have been if he was provided with these opportunities much earlier in his career. Currently I consider Froch to be the best that Britain has to offer and hope that he is provided with an opportunity to show off his skills in Las Vegas sooner rather than later. The Super Six Final not being held there is something of a joke and I imagine that this is a view shared by Froch – not that this will distract him from the task in hand.

Although Ward is fast his punching power is not devastating enough to test the chin of Froch; however, I do believe that the punching power of Froch will be too much for Ward over the duration of 12 rounds. My hope is that this fight is given the level of coverage that it deserves both in the States and the United Kingdom as I feel that Froch has been something of a ‘forgotten man’ in the eyes of the public. Through his performances over the past 3 years I believe Froch has proven that he is by far a much better fighter than both Hatton and Khan especially if we judge them on the quality of their opponents. Hopefully once the Super Six Final is over people will recognise that and Froch will be handed out the fights he deserves.