27.04.09 – by James Slater – Well, undefeated Carl “The Cobra” Froch did it last night in Connecticut. Stopping former world middleweight king Jermain Taylor with just 14 seconds left on the clock in the 12th and final round, the defending WBC super-middleweight champion surely silenced his critics. Going into last night’s fight, an overwhelming majority of experts picked “Bad Intentions” to take the 31-year-old’s belt and send him back to the UK with his tail very much between his legs. This was not how things transpired, however, and in all possibility Froch ended the career of the 30-year-old from Arkansas.
Nottingham’s Froch, now 25-0(20), did as he did when winning the world title in last December’s thriller with Jean Pascal – he gave the paying fans something truly dramatic. Taylor, who fought a fine fight, even putting his man on the mat in the 3rd round, must have thought he had the fight in the bag going into the last three minutes. Ahead on two of the judge’s scorecards, the former conqueror of the great Bernard Hopkins needed only to make it to the bell. Froch, though, gave us something special last night – pulling out one of the most dramatic comeback wins of recent years..
The question is, what now for the man who just might be the most exciting 168-pound fighter in the world?
A rematch is a possibility, though this time it would likely be Taylor who would have to do the travelling. And would Jermain really want to do it again? Another possibility, and one that is sure to be spoken of in the next few days, is a Froch defence against a returning Joe Calzaghe. It’s no secret “The Cobra” had been chasing “The Pride of Wales” for the longest time before the former champ retired – maybe, just maybe, now that Froch has TKO’d Taylor, Calzaghe will be tempted to return to the ring for an all-British super-fight with the man who has had so much to say about him?
Another exciting, and more likely possibility, is a Froch defence against the always good value Edison Miranda – if, “Pantera” can get past the unbeaten Andre Ward on May 16th. The trash-talking and extremely hard-hitting Colombian called out the winner of yesterday’s fight a few weeks back, and if he can do a job on the talented, though some would say untested Ward, such a fight would be a natural. Imagine the hype and the lead up to this one!
Also of massive appeal to the fans would be unification fights between Froch and either Mikkel Kessler or Lucian Bute. In the past, even before he was a world champion, Froch spoke of his desire to get it on with Denmark’s WBA super-middleweight champion, and he has also expressed his desire to go in and beat up on Romania’s Bute, the current IBF king. Both fights would be tough challenges for Froch to be sure, but now that he’s arrived well and truly on the big stage with a bang, the fights can and should be made.
In short, the world is now Carl Froch’s oyster. He upset the odds last night, he upset and silenced a lot of nay Sayers, and he ruined former middleweight champion Jermain Taylor’s comeback plan.
“The Cobra” also proved he is very much the real deal.