11.05.05 – Hennessy Sports have secured the promotional rights for the first defence of Carl Froch’s cherished British title. Carl Froch, the widely acclaimed hottest prospect in World boxing, secured home advantage with the bout scheduled to take place on Saturday 9th July at the prestigious Nottingham Arena. Matthew Barney, fresh from a controversial loss against European light heavyweight champion Thomas Ulrich, is the mandatory challenger in a fight that has the potential to be one of the grudge matches of 2005..
Both champion and challenger, Froch and Barney, have a long history of trading insults.
“He wanted a barney- well now he’s got one,” Froch began.
“He’s talked a good fight but I know he’s going to suffer from a twitchy bottom when he steps through the ropes.
“And I don’t blame him – I’d hate to face me.”
“Listen- I’ve just destroyed world ranked Henry Porras in a manner that a WBA champion and WBC #5 could only dream about. (Mikkel Kessler and Otis Grant respectively)
“And remember this- Porras is a tough operator. But even with seven months out of the ring and a busted hand I still finished him in style.”
“Barney is scheduled to get the same treatment that Porras endured. Only this time I’m aiming to add another 50% onto my game- and that’s a frightening proposition for any boxer.”
The Cobra is so confident that he has the measure of his forthcoming opponent that he offered Barney some advice.
“Barney had better not bother bringing his running shoes to this fight. It’ll be a waste of time,” said the current undefeated British and Commonwealth champion.
“Nottingham is my house and this fight is on my terms. I’m not going to give him a chance to run and he won’t have time to spoil this fight.”
“I’m going to put so much heat on him, he won’t know what’s hit him. I won’t just take him out of the fight- I’ll take him out of the game. It’ll make for beautiful viewing, ” Froch continued.
“He’s getting a single, express ticket to Row Z.”
“It’s my first Saturday night at the Nottingham Arena- so I’ll be expecting a big crowd. It’s going to be a homecoming-of-sorts since my American debut win over Porras last month. I want to put on a show for my fans.”
So it’s on – a proper grudge match for genuine titles on a Saturday night.