by James Slater – Carl “The Cobra” Froch, the unbeaten WBC super-middleweight champion has already proven he is a real fighter who can walk the walk as much as he can talk the talk. Having gone over to America to make the first defence of his belt and rallied while behind on points to KO former middleweight king Jermain Taylor in doing so, the Nottingham man has shown us what he is made of. And now, as he gets ready for what will be his first fight in the upcoming “Super-Six” tournament of super-middleweights that will be shown live on Showtime, Froch has been talking the talk again.
Set to meet unbeaten former Olympian Andre Dirrell in his first fight of the tourney, Froch has been nothing but supremely confident during his preparations. So too has Dirrell, even to the point of predicting a KO win on October 17th, and the fireworks are sure to come when the bell for round-one goes..
As is usual when he is in the run up to a fight, Froch has been speaking to his local media. Speaking with This is Nottingham.co.uk, the exciting puncher had a something to say about Dirrell, the Super-Six tournament in general and, once again, former champion of the world Joe Calzaghe.
Froch sure knows how to make the fans pay attention, as you will agree when you’ve read what he had to say recently.
Froch first spoke about how he has been having some problems getting adequate sparring for the fight with Dirrell.
“My biggest problem is getting sparring. I need a big, tall southpaw if you know of anyone,” Froch stated. “I was thinking of giving Joe Calzaghe a ring. After all he was the best super-middleweight in the world. But I think he might be a bit too heavy these days.”
You’ve got to love that crack at Calzaghe! In seriousness, Froch said he may have to import an American or Canadian fighter to spar with him for the October fight. And the WBC ruler says there is no way Dirrell will KO him as he’s said he will.
“This young American says he will knock me out. But I’m going to smash them all and win the tournament,” Froch continued. “It will be interesting to see how Mikkell Kessler does against [Jermain] Taylor. And Arthur Abraham could be a danger. He is coming up a weight and could be a handful. But I’m not the bookie’s favourite for nothing, you know. Don’t forget, “The Cobra” is unbeaten and I’ve knocked out eighty percent of my opponents.”
Is Froch actually the betting favourite to win Super-Six? The WBC champ sure thinks he is, and that may be all that matters in his mind. It’s interesting to read how Froch lists Kessler and Abraham as the two fighters of the tourney he is most interested/wary of. And it sure will be fascinating seeing how his two biggest rivals (on paper) do in their fights. In short, this whole tournament is a great and hugely exciting idea. And win or lose, Froch is definitely a fighter who will give his all in each single bout.
“The Cobra” finished off by saying how he is making sure his fans will be able to get cheap tickets for the October fight in his hometown.
“We need to fill the arena,” he said. “I’ve asked that tickets be kept at £30 for my loyal fans who have followed me from the start. I think ringside will have gone up to £400, but believe me, they will sell out in thirty seconds flat.”