By Don Caputo

Is modesty a virtue? If you are young boxer grappling for big fights and public recognition, then the answer to that question is a definite no. Spouting poetry and predicting the round in which his opponents would fall, Cassius Clay (aka Muhammad Ali) arrived on the scene in 1960 with a bang and over the better part of two decades essentially transformed the ‘sweet science’ from a sport into an entertainment industry. As such, marketability is now the name of the game.

It is no longer enough for a fighter to purely be a master of his craft and expect to become a superstar. Great ability does not equate to a high profile. Don’t believe me? Just ask Floyd Mayweather Jr. To be marketable, and therefore in a position to earn the big bucks, a fighter must sell himself or be sold to his audience comparative to a product. Ali said it best: it’s about putting butts in seats, love you, hate you, it doesn’t matter as long as people pay to watch you! He was the first to spot that boxing and professional wrestling were not too dissimilar in the sense that they are both personality driven, skill on its own will not make you a super-star in either profession.

British and Commonwealth super-middleweight champion Carl ‘The Cobra’ Froch (15-0) believes that he has the ability to beat any man in his division willing to trade blows with him. Froch has displayed no shyness in making his claims that countrymen Joe Calzaghe and Robin Reid are running scared from him. Apparently not content with a job that permits him to punch jaws for a living, the former world senior amateur champion and bronze medallist spends much of his time outside of the ring aiming for the same target, but from an altogether different angle. Instead of using his fists as weapons, he has taken a liking to dropping the jaws of those in ear-shot of his audacious boasts and cocky quips.

“Brian Magee and Robin Reid, I'd fight them tomorrow. I'd fight them next Friday for the British no problem at all, and Joe Calzaghe for that matter, as long as he doesn't step up to light-heavyweight.”

His brash comments have not done much in the way of adorning him with wide-spread popularity, but one gets the distinct impression that Froch does not give two hoots about being liked as long as we all know who he is and what he is about. I can safely say mission accomplished on both fronts. Froch is constantly talking his way into the headlines and successfully getting attentions from the public. He drummed up a fair bit of international interest in his fifteenth professional bout, which took place in America under the glamorous banner of Golden Boy Promotions. Froch was signed to the Los Angeles based promotional company earlier this year, along with Junior Witter, as part of a strategic partnership with Hennessy Sports to co-promote two of the UK’s brightest stars.

Just over three weeks ago, ‘The Cobra’ made a sensational United States debut by headlining an event which was part of a live HBO Latino broadcast. Froch stopped the highly respected Costa Rican Henry Porras in eight rounds. The voctory officially elevated his status from one of the hottest prospects in world boxing to a legitimate contender in the 168-pound weight-class. Porras, though not a top-line operator by any stretch of the imagination, is a one of those solid fighters lacking the talent to beat the crème of the division but good enough to have had quite a bit of success against B level opposition. He is a gatekeeper figure of sorts, not necessarily into the elite bracket, but for anyone entertaining world-title aspirations he is someone that you unquestionably need to beat without too much trouble. Froch, becoming only the third man to stop him, out-performed seasoned campaigners such as Otis Grant and Danilo Häussler and also made a statement of intent by ending matters a round earlier than current WBC champ, Mikkel Kessler, did back in 2003.

Froch, never backward in coming forwards, joyously vented after the victory, "I said I was going to make America sit up and take notice and I have done just that." At this early stage of his young career, beating Porras represents a good scalp on his record and, if he continues to step up the level of his competition, may well have signaled the first step towards his promotion into the upper-echelon of the division. I wonder though, are his handlers getting slightly ahead of themselves? So far, they have done a good job of guiding him up the ladder at a brisk but steady pace without chucking him in at the deep end at any point. If they genuinely want to put him in with WBO king Joe Calzaghe as soon as possible, they will be making a first and fateful mistake as their man will not only be in deep water against the Welshman, he will drown. Without at least five or six more fights against fighters on the caliber level of Omar Shieka and Syd Vanderpool, it is not a fight that anyone should be realistically contemplating. Froch is still a novice, a very talented novice, but a novice all the same. By no means is Froch not the finished article yet. I have no doubt that he wholeheartedly believes that it is a match that he can win right now, but those behind him who are looking out for his best interests should know better.