by Hector Echevarria
We hear fighters say all the time they will fight the best, but let’s be honest do they really? The one man that has been doing that has been Carl “The Cobra” Froch. For the last 3 years, Carl has been kicking ass and taking names. Name one fighter that has fought all these names: Jean Pascal, Andre Ward, Jermain Taylor, Glen Johnson, Lucian Bute, Mikkel Kessler, Andre Direll, and Arthur Abraham. Wow!
He’s been fighting a murders row of boxing, not ducking or dogging anyone. Let’s put this into perspective, he has fought the best fighters at super middleweight; never cried, complained, or asked for a soft touch. The best part about this run is that he has been in every fight but one. The only fight he really wasn’t in was the Super Six finals when he lost to the winner Andre Ward. Hey, where’s the shame in losing to a boxer considered by most to be the number four pound for pound fighter in the world? There is none.
After that Carl’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, put together a home and home series with the IBF Super Middleweight champ at the time, Lucian Bute. A lot of boxing insiders were pegging this as Bute’s coming out party but Froch had other plans. What we got, was a white wash and not the one everyone expected. From the opening bell, the Cobra imposed his will on the unbeaten Canadian, who was over matched and outgunned. He put pressure on Bute, hit Bute flush, and hurt him often.
The title of the event was called “No Way Out”. There was no way out for Bute and there was no way he was leaving Nottingham, England with his title. Froch destroyed Bute in 5 rounds. The man from Nottingham was crowned champ for the third time.
There is nothing flashy about Froch. He has always been an over-achiever, He’s not going to be the fastest or the tallest boxer in the world. But what he is going to do is give it 110% every time he steps in that ring. Maybe 110% doesn’t give the man his just do. If you realize what he has accomplished with his lack of skill, combined with a late start in boxing, it is amazing. Not only that, but his best attribute is his willingness to fight the very best. While the sport has become a boxing business based on pay-per-view numbers and cable money, he’s a throwback to the old timers. Maybe if we had more Carl Froch’s in boxing, the sport would be in a better place.
