The announcement from Carl Froch to hang up his gloves and retire was not too much of a surprise. After an illustrious career of achievement and unbridled success culminating with a spectacular knock out victory over George Groves at Wembley Stadium, Froch will leave a gaping hole in the Super-Middleweight Division that will be very difficult to fill.
Renowned for his fearsome competitiveness and never say die approach, Froch was one of the rare breed of fighters that accepted all challenges from all fighters that were often in their prime.
Questions can be asked of Joe Calzaghe not giving Robin Reid an immediate re-match or indeed answering the calls from Carl Froch. Questions can be asked of Floyd Mayweather Jr. as to why he did not fight Manny Pacquiao, Oscar De La Hoya, Shane Mosely or Arturo Gatti in their primes. Questions can be asked of Lennox Lewis as to why Vitali Klitchko was not granted a rematch.
No questions of this nature can be asked of Carl Froch.
His win column reads like a ‘who’s who’ of Super Middleweights. Mikkel Kessler, Andrew Ward, Lucian Bute, Andre Dirrell, Arthur Abraham, Jermain Taylor, Jean Pascal, Yusef Mack and finally, George Groves. All fighters at the top of their game faced within a 5 year period is quite frankly, nothing short of admirable.
Being from Leicester and Froch from Nottingham, I almost automatically wanted to dislike him, but from very early on, it was quite clear that this was a fighter worthy of praise and respect.
The biggest shame of Froch’s career is that he only really started to gain national and world recognition during the Super 6 Tournament. It was during this tournament where Froch’s reputation as a fighter who never gives up was truly recognised and cemented. In a bout with Jermain Taylor, Froch was put down in the 3rd round and outboxed for the majority of the fight. Going into the last round, it was painfully obvious what was needed for Froch to emerge victorious.
The round followed a familiar pattern with a tired looking Froch chasing Taylor trying to land a telling blow but Taylor grabbed and leant in looking to see the fight out. Then with a minute remaining Froch got through and put Taylor on the seat of his pants. But this was not enough. Even a 10-8 round at that stage would not do. Froch piled in and with 14 seconds of the fight remaining, the referee stepped in and handed Froch one of the most remarkable victories a Brit has ever scored on American soil.
This was the point that I believe not only won the respect of the boxing community for Froch, but also the hearts of many fans around the world and in the UK.
All too much these days, boxing fans, commentators and journalists alike, place too much emphasis on an undefeated record. Calzaghe and Mayweather Jr both are excellent fighters and have the ‘0’ in the loss column, but can they really claim to be deserving of more accolades than a Carl Froch? Mayweather Jr looks set to have his final fight against the unspectacular Andre Berto, no doubt resulting in a win and claims from many that Mayweather Jr is ‘The Best Ever’. Joe Calzaghe had ample opportunity to fight Carl Froch but always turned it down, however people remember him for beating a washed up Roy Jones Jr rather than ducking the Cobra.
Froch may have 2 defeats on his record but those came to two world class opponents in the prime of their careers.
Froch deserves legendary status and he leaves the ring with no doubts, no regrets and the best wishes of all.
