Carl “The Cobra” Froch: With A Resume Like His, He Should Be A Mega-Star: Part-Two!

By James Slater – Back in November of 2010, ahead of his “Super Six” clash with Arthur Abraham, I wrote a piece in which I gave my arguments for why Britain’s Carl Froch should be a mega-star considering his amazing and constant quality of opposition, his exciting style, his big wins and his sheer desire to fight the best each and every time out – old-school is what I think they call it!

Anyway, some 18-months on from Froch’s virtual shut-out over Abraham, Froch’s greatness – yes, greatness – has been proven even more.. Okay, Froch subsequently lost a decision to Andre Ward (another fight away from home for “The Cobra”) but look at what he did in is next fight: utterly destroy the much-lauded and unbeaten Lucian Bute, that‘s what. Yet despite this great win – added to all Froch’s other notable victories – the Nottingham man still finds it hard to get his just due from certain people.

Honestly, it puzzles me what fight fans want, and what they like and respect. With Froch, 29-2(21) we have a fighter who gives his all each and every time out, a warrior who always looks to fight the best, and a fighter who has an incredibly exciting style. But is he popular, at least as popular as he should be? No. On this website alone, there have been many, many comments left by fans hoping to see “The Cobra” KO’d, beaten – even humiliated (these same fans, by the way, predicted that Froch would indeed be KO’d by Abraham and Bute.)

Some say the 34-year-old, now three-time ruler at 168-pounds, is too cocky for his own good, and it’s true Froch speaks his mind and is confident ahead of each and every fight he has. But this self belief is being mistaken, I believe, for arrogance. Froch is not arrogant, he is just supremely confident in his own abilities.

Yet even though he has backed up his talk every single time apart from on two occasions in 31 pro bouts (and the points loss to Mikkel Kessler, in a fight that was about as good as it gets, was one that some said was undeserved), fans aplenty still choose to dislike Froch. I think a fighter like Froch, who is both exciting and willing to rumble with the best, as I’ve said, deserves way more respect than he is getting. Not only that, but Froch should be recognised as the fighter who has perhaps the best recent resume in the sport.

Consider Froch’s last EIGHT opponents: Back in December of 2008, he rumbled (in a truly great fight) with Jean Pascal; the man who subsequently moved up in weight and became THE best light-heavyweight on the planet. Then, in his first defence of the WBC super-middleweight belt he won in that thriller with Pascal, Froch travelled to Connecticut to give us another classic, this one seeing him come from behind to halt the still-formidable Jermain Taylor in dramatic fashion.

In his next fight after that, upon entering the “Super Six” Boxing Classic, Froch took on the tricky, the skilled, the unbeaten and awkward Andre Dirrell. Some said he actually lost this decision, but Froch did enough in the eyes of some good judges. Then, when many fighters would’ve had a breather, “The Cobra” went to Denmark to face the mighty Kessler. He came up short in that fight, back in April, but what a great battle it was for the fans.

And after the loss to the great Dane, Froch went in with the immensely strong “King” Arthur in his next fight, then he marched on and out-toughed the amazing Glen Johnson; before entering the “Super Six” final and coming up short against Ward (yet had him breathing heavy and holding on in the Championship rounds; leading some to wonder what would’ve happened had the fight been set for the old distance of 15-rounds) and most recently, this past Saturday, Froch bounced back with the clinical dismantling of Bute! If you’re counting, the Bute fight marked the eighth occasion in less than three-and-half years that Froch has rumbled with a top-class, close to pound-for-pound-worthy opponent – The eight men Froch last fought having a combined record of 239-11-3! In all honesty, has ANY active fighter got a better and more impressive resume they can proudly display?

Froch is now looking at avenging his loss to Kessler and then, maybe, his loss to Ward – a man he said at the post-fight press conference that he can defeat if he fights him the way he fought Bute. Right now, though, for the things he has achieved so far and for showing willing when it comes to tackling the best each time out, even if it means going to the other guy’s homeland (Andre Ward, who almost always fights at home, should take note) Froch to me is a definite future Hall of Famer. If Froch quit now (which he will not do) I’d vote to enshrine him at Canastota.

But for now, and for the time remaining in which he continues to fight, enjoy Froch. Precious few fighters with his mentality, his ability and his sheer toughness come around very often. Cherry picking and ducking and dodging are things Froch knows nothing about. Neither does he know how to fail to give his all when he climbs into the ring.

Why this future Hall of Famer is not amongst the most popular fighters on the planet (say in the top two or three) I do not know.