Froch vs. Mack: Carl hopes this will be an easy fight

By ESB - 10/11/2012 - Comments

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By Michael Collins: IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch (29-2, 21 KO’s) will be taking a rare tune-up fight the next time he steps inside the ring to fight light heavyweight Yusaf Mack (31-4-2, 17 KO’s) on November 17th at the Capital FM Arena, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, UK. It’s been ages since Froch took on a guy that was clearly out of his league and didn’t deserve to be in the same ring with him. Mack, 32, is a decent fighter but it’s pretty clear that he doesn’t stand much of a chance in this fight unless he can score a knockout.

Mack does have good power, but he’s had problems with his stamina in the past for fights that go past four rounds. Also, he’s going to be coming down in weight from 175 for this fight and it’s likely he’ll be weaker than he usually is.

It’s unclear who’s idea it was for Froch to fight a soft touch for his next fight – his or his promoter Eddie Hearn. Froch had a ton of options available for him for the November 17th fight. He could have taken on Thomas Oosthuizen for one. Oosthuizen is an unbeaten talent from South Africa who is quickly moving up the super middleweight ranks. However, that would have been a dangerous fight for Froch, so perhaps he or his promoter Hearn opted for the much safer fight against Mack. Froch has a planned rematch coming up next year against former IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute in Montreal, Canada.

That’s going to be a good paying bout for Froch and it should take place in front of a full capacity crowd at the Bell Centre. Froch/Hearn obviously don’t want to lose out on that big payday, because a loss here for Froch would mess things up for a potential rematch with Mikkel Kessler. That’s another fight that Froch wants to take in 2013, if possible. It might require for Froch to do some traveling to make the fight happen, but it’s definitely a real possibility if he can get past Mack and then Bute.

Froch should be able to blast the likely weight-drained Mack out in four rounds or less. Hearn made sure that he put his fighter Froch in a good position to win by dragging a light heavyweight down from 175 to take the fight. He also gave Froch a big advantage by choosing a fighter that has a chin problem and can be hurt. That should be enough to guarantee success and a good payday in a title milking first defense.

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