Carl Froch to face Yusaf Mack on November 17th in Nottingham

Carl Froch to face Yusaf Mack on November 17th in NottinghamBy Michael Collins: IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch (29-2, 21 KO’s) will be taking on a soft opponent for his next fight against recent Tavoris Cloud knockout victim light heavyweight Yusaf Mack (31-4-2, 17 KO’s) in a scheduled 12 round bout on November 17th at the Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, UK. The fight doesn’t really make a lot of sense because Mack has already been knocked out by Glen Johnson in 2010, a fighter that Froch already beat in the Super Six tournament. It just looks like a mismatch.

Mack, 6’1″, will have to drop down from light heavyweight to make the fight with the 35-year-old Froch and you can imagine that Mack will be weakened from the process of making weight. It’s already a mismatch going in but when you add to that Mack having to take off weight to get down to the 168 lb limit then you’re really talking mismatch.

Froch’s promoter Eddie Hearn from Matchroom Sport did his best to try and hype Mack as an opponent, saying to Sky Sports News “He’s got nothing to lose coming here to face me and I know he’ll put it all on the line to take the title from me so I’ll be fully prepared for everything he’s got and I’ll be hitting him with all my best.”

“Nothing left to lose” sounds like code to me to mean Mack only has a puncher’s chance in this fight. In other words, this is a mismatch.

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Yusaf Mack To Challenge Froch, Nov. 17th?

Yusaf Mack To Challenge Froch, Nov. 17th?By James Slater: Earlier this week, when the news broke that Carl Froch would be defending his IBF super-middleweight title at his hometown arena, The F.M in Nottingham, there was speculation over who “The Cobra” would be facing.

A number of names were mentioned, including Philly’s Yusaf Mack, but in a news piece in The Daily Star it was reported that Mack was unwilling to put pen to paper and accept the terms offered to him. Well, according to a new piece on Ringtv.com, it appears as though 32-year-old Mack, 31-4-2(17) has had a change of heart and has agreed to the November fight.

Ringtv.com reports that the fight is a done deal for Nov. 17th, and that Froch will then fight former IBF champ Lucian Bute in a contractually agreed rematch at a date to be confirmed. If it is Mack next for Froch, some fans may well moan a little, as used as they are to seeing 35-year-old Froch, 29-2(21) fight the very best (Froch’s last eight fights being, in order, Jean Pascal, Jermain Taylor, Andre Dirrell, Mikkel Kessler, Arthur Abraham, Glen Johnson, Andre Ward and, last time out, the 5th-round stoppage win over Bute – a crazy resume if ever there was one!)

But Froch, having his second fight in a row at home, is more deserving than most when it comes to having an “easy” fight. But this is to perhaps pay a disservice to the tough and experienced Mack.

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Carl Froch vs. Nicholson Poulard possible for November

By Marcus Richardson: IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch (29-2 21 KO’s) vs. light heavyweight contender Nicholson Poulard (19-3, 9 KO’s) is being talked about for Froch’s next fight in November in Nottingham. This is supposed to be Froch’s stay busy tune-up fight so it’s understandable why he might be taking on a lesser fighter compared to the guys he’s been facing recently. Poulard isn’t too well known, but he is known in Canada where he fights out of.

Poulard, 34, hasn’t been positively confirmed as Froch’s opponent as of yet, but we should know more tomorrow when Froch makes an announcement about his next opponent.

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Froch to reveal his next opponent this Monday

Froch to reveal his next opponent this MondayBy Michael Collins: IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch (29-2, 21 KO’s) will be making an important announcement this Monday to reveal who his next opponent will be in November at home in Nottingham, UK. Froch and his promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport has done a good job of keeping it secret about who the next guy will be for him. We’ve seen names like Kelly Pavlik and Thomas Oosthuizen mentioned and then ruled out unfortunately.

Froch deserves an easy fight at this point because he’s faced nothing but tough opposition for the last three years straight. Although I’m sure he prefers to face another quality opponent, it may not be possible for his November fight without his promoter giving the opponent a lot of money. The good fighters aren’t going to be got on the cheap unfortunately especially when they know how hard it is to beat Froch when he’s fighting in front of his home crowd in Nottingham.

Hearn said to Sky Sports News “The Bute fight night will go down in history as one of the greatest nights in British boxing history. Carl is chomping at the bit to get back into the ring and feel the roar of the Nottingham fans that he loves so much.”

Froch defeated Lucian Bute with ease last May, stopping him in the 5th round in what turned out to be a slaughter in Nottingham. Going into the fight many boxing fans felt that Bute’s power and boxing skills would be enough for him to beat the slower, slightly weaker Froch. However, Bute couldn’t stand up to Froch’s power and was immediately having problems in the 1st round when Froch was able to steadily back him up with his hard power shots.

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Oosthuizen’s team says no to Froch fight

Oosthuizen's team says no to Froch fightBy Michael Collins: The team of unbeaten super middleweight contender Thomas Oosthuizen (20-0-1, 13 KO’s) has reportedly said no to a match-up against IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch for November. It’s unclear why Oosthuizen’s team don’t want the fight but it likely comes to one of several things: Money, venue or readiness for the fight.

Brian Mitchell, the manager for the 6’4″ South African Oosthuizen, said to Sowetanlive.co.za “We’ve turned down that fight. Oosthuizen is a potential superstar…It’s proper that [promoter] Lou Dibella will feature him in Shobox. The American boxing public just loves Tommy.”

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