Carl Froch retires: What will we miss about seeing him fight?
Tuesday 14 July 2015 08:38, UK
After 33 victories from 35 fights and having held three different world titles during an illustrious career in the ring, Carl Froch has decided to hang up his gloves. Here we ask, what will we miss about watching him?
World titles
Froch has had 12 world title fights in a row, spanning almost six years at the very top of the super-middleweight division. In that time, he's fought for the WBC belt seven times, the IBF belt five times and the WBA belt four times.
'The Cobra' has made seven world title defences – his reigns disrupted by defeats to Mikkel Kessler and Andre Ward. To put that in to perspective, the unbeaten Joe Calzaghe made 21 defences of his WBO crown, while Lennox Lewis racked up 13 defences.
Of the British heirs to Froch's throne, WBA super-bantamweight champion Scott Quigg currently leads the way having made five defences, with the likes of IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook (two) among others hoping to build legacies of their own.
The chin
We are talking about one of the greatest chins in the history of the sport. Froch was down just twice in his entire career.
With a low left hand, Froch's defence has always attracted criticism. His punch endurance, though, is beyond question and he has proved his toughness in most if not all of his bouts.
The wars with Kessler live long in the memory as both men seemed prepared to trade as many shots as possible, while the heavy hands of Arthur Abraham failed to make much of an impression on Froch in their 2010 bout in Helsinki.
Then of course, there was that famous night against George Groves in Manchester in November 2013. Froch had to haul himself off the canvas after a heavy first-round knockdown. He survived, weathered another storm in the sixth and forced an extraordinary victory.
Last-round wars
One of Froch's great strengths has been his persistence in the final session. Whether in front or behind, the Nottingham fighter was always keen to accelerate through the finish line.
Who could forget the dramatic way he stopped Jermain Taylor to retain his world title in 2009? Or the manner in which he and Kessler battered each other right up until the final bell in both their fights? Would the split decision with Andre Dirrell have gone his way had he not seized the initiative in the latter stages?
Even when Froch was beaten – most notably by Ward in Las Vegas in December 2011 – he left it all out there and was trying to knock his opponent out right up until the last second.
The menace
In the latter stages of his career, Froch's reputation as a true boxing warrior was assured – and he certainly let people know about it.
Often flanked by his towering brothers Lee and Wayne, who were not exactly shy in the build-up to the Groves clashes, Froch has cut an increasingly media-friendly figure in the past few years.
The aggro with Groves was pure soap opera. The youngster bold and brash and full of mind games such as the Rubik's Cube during the press conference... while Froch kept it simple, quietly furious and letting it spill over with that push during a Wembley photo shoot.
There is steel in his eyes, granite in his chin and danger in his hands. Potential opponents may be breathing a sigh of relief but the menace Froch brought to the boxing game will be sorely missed by fans.
Britain's best
Froch's retirement leaves a bit of a vacuum in British boxing. We are not short on world champions but the question arises – who takes over from 'The Cobra' as the No 1 British boxer?
Several have claims. Brook remains unbeaten and his first two defences of the IBF welterweight have looked routine but Amir Khan is a two-weight world champion who is flying the flag out in America. If ever there was a reason for those two to finally get it on, the position of No 1 fighter in Britain is not all that'd be on the line.
Scott Quigg has been all business throughout and continues to chase the unification bout he, along with the rest of British boxing, craves – a fight with Carl Frampton. We need to see who is the best super-bantamweight, never mind the new top dog.
Then there are the likes of Lee Selby and the new super-middleweight IBF owner James DeGale, who only recently conquered the world but look to have the talent required to enjoy long reigns at the top.
Oh... and let's not forget George Groves, who has another shot at a world title later this year. The irony would be hard to ignore if the Londoner were to eventually inherit Froch's crown.
