Carl Froch

Carl Froch
Froch wearing the WBC title in 2009
Statistics
Real name	Carl Martin Froch
Nickname(s)	The Cobra
Weight(s)	Super-middleweight
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Reach	75 in (191 cm)
Nationality	British
Born	(1977-07-02) 2 July 1977 Nottingham, England
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	35
Wins	33
Wins by KO	24
Losses	2
Medal record Men's amateur boxing Representing  England World Championships Belfast 2001 Middleweight

Carl Martin Froch, MBE (born 2 July 1977) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2002 to 2014, and has since worked as a boxing analyst and commentator for Sky Sports. He held four world championships at super-middleweight, including the WBC title twice between 2008 and 2011; the IBF title from 2012 to 2015; and the WBA (Unified) title from 2013 to 2015. At regional level he held the British, Commonwealth, and English super-middleweight titles, and won the Lonsdale Belt in 2006. As an amateur, Froch won a bronze medal at the 2001 World Championships, and the ABA title twice; all in the middleweight division.

Froch was voted Fighter of the Year for 2012 by World Boxing News^[1] and BoxRec.^[2] In 2013, the UK edition of GQ magazine voted him Sportsman of the Year. He reached a peak ranking of sixth best, pound for pound, by BoxRec and The Ring magazine,^[3] and in 2013 was listed by the BBC as the best British boxer, pound for pound.^[4] Known for his aggressive crowd-pleasing style, formidable punching power, stamina, and toughness, Froch is considered by many to have one of the best chins of his era.^[5]

Early and personal life

Carl Martin Froch was born in Colwick, Nottingham, in 1977, the son of Carol (Douglas) and Frank Froch.^[6][7] His paternal grandparents were Polish (his paternal grandfather also had German ancestry), while Carl's mother's family is English.^[8][9] Early in his life Froch wanted to become a footballer and play for Nottingham Forest, his local football team, and has stated that he would love to fight at the City Ground. Froch is a fan of Johnny Cash. His fiancée is Rachael Cordingley, a British glamour model, with whom he has a son, Rocco, and a daughter, Natalia.^[10] On 11 September 2015, the couple welcomed a second daughter, Penelope.

He is a supporter of Nottingham Forest and occasionally trained at Forest's training ground before fights.^[11][12] He has also appeared on the Sky Sports Saturday morning football show Soccer AM the week before a fight.^[13][14]

Amateur career

Froch began boxing at the Phoenix ABC in Gedling, Nottingham. As an amateur, he won two ABA middleweight titles in 1999 and 2001 and a bronze medal at the 2001 World Amateur Boxing Championships before turning pro and having his first pro fight in March 2002. As an amateur, Froch lost to American Peter Manfredo Jr.^[15]

Professional career

Early career

Froch was trained by Robert McCracken and managed by Mick Hennessy earlier in his career, and later by Eddie Hearn. Froch made his debut at the age of 24 in March 2002. He fought at the York Hall in Bethnal Green, London against veteran 36 year old journeyman Michael Pinnock (4-52-8, 2 KOs), who weighed 10 pounds more than Froch, in a scheduled 6 round bout. Froch won the fight via a fourth-round technical knockout.^[16] Froch fought a further four times that year, winning them all with three coming by first-round knockout against Ojay Abrahams, Darren Covill and Mike Duffield and one victory coming by a points decision win against Paul Bonson. Froch started 2003 with a knockout win against Valery Odin, fighting for the first time at the Nottingham Arena, the same arena he would win his first world title five years later. Froch would next fight in March, April and October of that year defeating Varujan Davtyan and Michael Monaghan by knockout and Vage Kocharyan via a points decision, respectively. At this point in his career, Froch racked up 9 wins in as many fights, with 7 coming by way of knockout.

Domestic success

In November 2003, Froch fought fellow unbeaten British contender Alan Page (8-0, 4 KOs) at the Derby Storm Arena in Derby for the vacant English super-middleweight title. In round 7, Froch hit a hard right followed by an uppercut, although Page didn't go down, referee John Keane stepped in to call an end to the fight.^[17] In 2004, Froch won the Commonwealth and vacant British super middleweight championships by defeating Charles Adamu and Damon Hague respectively. He has defended both against Matthew Barney, Brian Magee and Tony Dodson and the Commonwealth belt alone against Ruben Groenewald and Dale Westerman.

Following a victory over the Russian Sergey Tatevosyan, on 9 November 2007 at Trent FM Arena in Nottingham, he stopped the veteran ex-world champion Robin Reid, after which Reid retired from the sport for four years.^[18]

WBC super-middleweight champion

Froch vs. Pascal

On 6 December 2008, Froch fought Canadian Jean Pascal for the vacant WBC super-middleweight title and won after a hard-fought 12-round brawl.^[19] Both combatants showed enormous grit and determination, landing and taking huge shots from one another without even flinching. After the fight, it was revealed that Froch had sustained a perforated eardrum and a cracked rib in his final sparring session before the fight. Froch's promoter Mick Hennessy gave Froch the opportunity to withdraw from the fight, but Froch refused.^[20] Since the fight, Froch and Pascal (who has since become a light-heavyweight champion) have become friends on a personal level and have made a promise to face each other again in the future, though this seems unlikely given Froch's retirement.

Froch vs. Taylor

On 25 April 2009, Froch fought Jermain Taylor in his first defence of his WBC super-middleweight title, at the Foxwoods Resort in Foxwoods, Connecticut. Froch survived a third-round knockdown – the first of his entire career, amateur and professional – and, behind on two of the three judges' cards coming into the final round, he managed to stop his opponent with 14 seconds remaining in the 12th round to retain his WBC super-middleweight title.

After the fight, Froch was quick to send out a verbal challenge to unbeaten Welsh boxer Joe Calzaghe and was also quoted as saying "Kessler, Pavlik, Hopkins, I want them all to feel the force."^[21][22]

Super Six World Boxing Classic

On 13 July 2009, Froch agreed to take part in the Super Six World Boxing Classic super-middleweight tournament devised by American giant Showtime, with the winner of the tournament winning the WBC and WBA world super-middleweight titles. The tournament featured 6 boxers including Andre Dirrell, Mikkel Kessler, Arthur Abraham, Jermain Taylor, Andre Ward and Froch. Froch's first opponent in the Super Six was Andre Dirrell.

Froch vs. Dirrell

The bout took place in Nottingham on 17 October and Froch's WBC title was on the line. Froch won the fight and retained his title with a split decision victory over the previously undefeated Andre Dirrell.^[23][24] Two of the judges scored the bout 115–112 in favour of Froch, with the other scoring the bout 114–113 in favour of Dirrell.^[25]

Froch vs. Kessler

Froch's next fight was against Mikkel Kessler, who lost the WBA super-middleweight title to Andre Ward.^[26] Froch's WBC title was again on the line. In a closely fought contest in Kessler's home country of Denmark where both men had great moments throughout the fight, Kessler took Froch's title and inflicted Froch's first professional defeat via unanimous decision, the judges scoring the contest by margins of 116–112, 115–113 and 117–111. The scoring was somewhat controversial, as some boxing announcers had scored the fight much closer, with some awarding Froch the win and others scoring it a draw.^{[27][28][29][30]} Froch later stated that the fight was close and that he believes the decision would have gone his way if the event had been held in Nottingham.^[31] The fight was a contender for the 2010 Fight of the Year.

Froch vs. Abraham

Froch faced former IBF middleweight champion hard hitting King Arthur Abraham in the third stage in Helsinki, Finland at the Hartwall Finland fearing that if he fought in Abraham's adoptive home country he might get mugged. However, since an eye injury forced Mikkel Kessler to relinquish his WBC title and resign from the tournament, Froch-Abraham was for the vacant WBC super-middleweight title. Both Froch and Abraham came off of a loss in stage two of the Super Six. Abraham lost after a disqualification against former Froch victim Andre Dirrell.

Froch regained the WBC super-middleweight title by gaining a unanimous points victory over Arthur Abraham in Helsinki. Froch won the fight against Abraham in a dominant manner, with the scores given by the judges of 119–109, 120–108 and 120–108, reflecting the one-sided nature of the bout.^[32]

Froch vs. Johnson

Following his victory over Abraham, Froch entered the semifinal stage of the tournament. His semifinal opponent on 4 June 2011 in Atlantic City, New Jersey was Glen Johnson. Froch retained his title with a majority decision victory, with the scores given by the judges of 116–112, 117–111, and 114–114.^[33]

Froch vs. Ward

Carl Froch lost in the final of the Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament in a dramatic bout against undefeated WBA super-middleweight champion Andre Ward. The vacant The Ring super-middleweight title would be on the line in the fight, as well as Froch and Ward's super-middleweight titles. In the first 7 rounds, Ward outboxed Froch, successfully using his jab to neutralize Froch and beating Froch to the punch from a distance and at close range. In the later rounds, Ward seemed to take his foot off the gas, leaving Froch to win a couple of rounds near the end of the fight, though they were close and fairly competitive rounds. The judges scorecards were 115–113, 115–113 and 118–110, all in favor of Ward.^[34] Ward won the vacant The Ring super-middleweight title and is also regarded as becoming Lineal champion with his Super Six World Boxing Classic win against Froch, despite some independent sources rating undefeated IBF title holder Lucian Bute #1 or 2.^[35] The fight peaked at 580,000 viewers on Showtime.^[36]

IBF super middleweight champion

Froch vs. Bute

The IBF officially enforced Carl Froch as Lucian Bute's number one mandatory challenger. The fight, billed as "No Easy Way Out", took place on 26 May 2012 in Froch's hometown of Nottingham.^[37] Despite being the underdog with bookmakers, critics and fans around the world, Froch dominated Bute throughout the fight to become the new IBF super-middleweight champion via TKO in round five, making Froch a three-time world champion.^[38][39]

After the Bute fight and acquiring IBF belt, Froch defeated Yusaf Mack via knockout. The British website BoxRec named Froch the "Fighter of the Year" in the end of 2012.^[40]

Unified super middleweight champion

Froch vs. Kessler II

On 26 May 2013 (NB the match was scheduled for the 25th, but started after midnight BST), Froch faced WBA champion Mikkel Kessler in a rematch of their fight in 2010. This time it was Froch that was victorious via a unanimous points decision at The O2 Arena in London, with the judges scoring the bout 118-110, 116-112 and 115-113.^{[41] [42]} After the match, Froch hinted at a rematch against Andre Ward^[43] in the UK, or a possible rubber match against Kessler.^[44]

Froch vs. Groves

The IBF installed George Groves as Froch's mandatory challenger, their bout taking place on Saturday 23 November at the Phones4u Arena in Manchester with Froch's IBF and WBA super-middleweight titles on the line. Despite being floored for only the second time in his career by a left hook right hand from Groves in the first round, Froch defended his titles with a TKO victory in Round 9. There was significant controversy as many observers felt that referee Howard Foster stepped in to end the contest prematurely. The three scoring judges had scored Groves ahead of Froch before Groves was shaken by some powerful Froch blows in the 9th. The controversial ending prompted a widespread demand for a rematch to be fought between the two.^[45][46]

On 24 January 2014, the IBF ordered a rematch between Froch and Groves, giving Froch 90 days to fight Groves or relinquish his IBF title.^[47]

Froch vs. Groves II

On 13 February 2014, it was announced by Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing that Froch v Groves II would take place on 31 May 2014 at Wembley Stadium in London, England. Froch was quoted that the fight was what the 'British public want to see' and that was his reason for taking the option to give George Groves a rematch while defending his IBF and WBA super-middleweight titles. As soon as tickets went on sale, 60,000 tickets were sold in under an hour and a further 20,000 tickets were made available, making this the biggest ever attendance for a boxing match in Britain since the Second World War.^[48]

The fight was a more cagey affair than the first match, with both fighters initially looking to outbox each other. Froch was stronger in the earlier rounds, with Jim Watt unofficially scoring the earlier rounds in favour of the champion on his Sky Sports scorecard. By the end of the seventh round, both Richie Woodhall and Steve Bunce had the fight scored 4 rounds to 3 for Froch on the BBC scorecards. Groves came out fighting in the 8th round before Froch got him pinned against the ropes and delivered a right hand blow which knocked Groves out.^[49] The referee, Charlie Fitch, instantly called the fight, sensing Groves was clearly in no fit state to continue. BBC boxing commentator Mike Costello referred to it as "The best punch you will ever see in a British boxing ring".^[50] It was later named Knockout of the Year by The Ring for 2014.^[51]

Professional boxing record

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
35	Win	33–2	George Groves	KO	8 (12), 2:28	31 May 2014	Wembley Stadium, London, England	Retained WBA (Unified) and IBF super-middleweight titles
34	Win	32–2	George Groves	TKO	9 (12), 1:33	23 Nov 2013	Phones4u Arena, Manchester, England	Retained WBA (Unified) and IBF super-middleweight titles
33	Win	31–2	Mikkel Kessler	UD	12	25 May 2013	The O2 Arena, London, England	Retained IBF super-middleweight title; Won WBA (Unified) super-middleweight title
32	Win	30–2	Yusaf Mack	KO	3 (12), 2:30	17 Nov 2012	Capital FM Arena, Nottingham, England	Retained IBF super-middleweight title
31	Win	29–2	Lucian Bute	TKO	5 (12), 1:05	27 May 2012	Capital FM Arena, Nottingham, England	Won IBF super-middleweight title
30	Loss	28–2	Andre Ward	UD	12	17 Dec 2011	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US	Lost WBC super-middleweight title; For WBA (Super), vacant The Ring and lineal super middleweight titles; Super Six World Boxing Classic: final
29	Win	28–1	Glen Johnson	MD	12	4 Jun 2011	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US	Retained WBC super-middleweight title; Super Six World Boxing Classic: semi-final
28	Win	27–1	Arthur Abraham	UD	12	27 Nov 2010	Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland	Won vacant WBC super-middleweight title; Super Six World Boxing Classic: group stage 3
27	Loss	26–1	Mikkel Kessler	UD	12	24 Apr 2010	MCH Arena, Herning, Denmark	Lost WBC super-middleweight title; Super Six World Boxing Classic: group stage 2
26	Win	26–0	Andre Dirrell	SD	12	17 Oct 2009	Trent FM Arena, Nottingham, England	Retained WBC super-middleweight title; Super Six World Boxing Classic: group stage 1
25	Win	25–0	Jermain Taylor	TKO	12 (12), 2:46	25 Apr 2009	Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, US	Retained WBC super-middleweight title
24	Win	24–0	Jean Pascal	UD	12	6 Dec 2008	Trent FM Arena, Nottingham, England	Won vacant WBC super-middleweight title
23	Win	23–0	Albert Rybacki	TKO	4 (12), 2:35	10 May 2008	Trent FM Arena, Nottingham, England
22	Win	22–0	Robin Reid	RTD	5 (12), 3:00	9 Nov 2007	Trent FM Arena, Nottingham, England	Retained British super-middleweight title
21	Win	21–0	Sergey Tatevosyan	TKO	2 (12), 2:54	23 Mar 2007	Trent FM Arena, Nottingham, England
20	Win	20–0	Tony Dodson	KO	3 (12), 2:55	24 Nov 2006	Trent FM Arena, Nottingham, England	Retained British and Commonwealth super-middleweight titles
19	Win	19–0	Brian Magee	KO	11 (12), 1:21	26 May 2006	York Hall, London, England	Retained British and Commonwealth super-middleweight titles
18	Win	18–0	Dale Westerman	TKO	9 (12), 1:45	17 Feb 2006	York Hall, London, England	Retained Commonwealth super-middleweight title
17	Win	17–0	Ruben Groenewald	TKO	5 (12), 2:25	2 Dec 2005	Trent FM Arena, Nottingham, England	Retained Commonwealth super-middleweight title
16	Win	16–0	Matthew Barney	PTS	12	9 Jul 2005	Trent FM Arena, Nottingham, England	Retained British and Commonwealth super-middleweight titles
15	Win	15–0	Henry Porras	TKO	8 (10), 0:56	21 Apr 2005	The Avalon, Los Angeles, California, US
14	Win	14–0	Damon Hague	TKO	1 (12), 2:10	24 Sep 2004	Trent FM Arena, Nottingham, England	Retained Commonwealth super-middleweight title; Won vacant British super-middleweight title
13	Win	13–0	Mark Woolnaugh	TKO	11 (12), 1:47	2 Jun 2004	Trent FM Arena, Nottingham, England	Retained Commonwealth super-middleweight title
12	Win	12–0	Charles Adamu	PTS	12	12 Mar 2004	Trent FM Arena, Nottingham, England	Won Commonwealth super-middleweight title
11	Win	11–0	Dmitry Adamovich	TKO	2 (8), 1:07	30 Jan 2004	Goresbrook Leisure Centre, London, England
10	Win	10–0	Alan Page	TKO	7 (10), 1:40	28 Nov 2003	Storm Arena, Derby, England	Won vacant English super-middleweight title
9	Win	9–0	Vage Kocharyan	PTS	8	4 Oct 2003	Alexandra Palace, London, England
8	Win	8–0	Michael Monaghan	TKO	3 (8), 2:18	16 Apr 2003	Trent FM Arena, Nottingham, England
7	Win	7–0	Varuzhan Davtyan	TKO	5 (8), 1:44	5 Mar 2003	York Hall, London, England
6	Win	6–0	Valery Odin	TKO	6 (8), 2:15	28 Jan 2003	Trent FM Arena, Nottingham, England
5	Win	5–0	Mike Duffield	TKO	1 (6), 1:14	21 Dec 2002	Goresbrook Leisure Centre, London, England
4	Win	4–0	Paul Bonson	PTS	6	25 Oct 2002	York Hall, London, England
3	Win	3–0	Darren Covell	TKO	1 (6), 2:03	23 Aug 2002	York Hall, London, England
2	Win	2–0	Ojay Abrahams	KO	1 (6), 2:18	10 May 2002	York Hall, London, England
1	Win	1–0	Michael Pinnock	TKO	4 (6), 2:03	16 Mar 2002	York Hall, London, England	Professional debut

References

External links

• Official website
• Professional boxing record for Carl Froch from BoxRec