By Jake Donovan
Undefeated super middleweight contender Carl Froch showed little evidence of ring rust following a seven-month layoff, forcing former titlist Robin Reid into submission, just :01 into the sixth round of their scheduled twelve in Nottingham, England.
Froch, shelved since late March as he was recovering from a knee operation, established his jab early, setting up punishing straight rights, which served as the weapon of choice for both of the bout's official knockdowns. Reid, three months shy of 37 and fighting for only the second time in over two years, enjoyed mild success with looping right hands, but was outgunned and unable to keep up with Froch for much of the bout.
Froch dominated the first two rounds, much to the delight of his hometown crowd, which packed the Nottingham Ice Arena to capacity. Reid's lone success in the early going came on the strength of leaping left hooks, forced to work from the outside due to Froch's superior reach. Froch landed a flush right hand late in the round that appeared to hurt Reid, but their feet became tangled on his way to the canvas, prompting referee David Parris to rule it a slip.
Reid dodged that bullet, but wound find himself on the canvas three minutes later, as a straight right hand set the table for Froch to flurry. Reid was dropped in his corner just as the bell sounded, causing momentary confusion. Reid's corner entered the ring, believing the round was over, before Parris stepped in front of Reid to complete his mandatory eight count.
To his credit, Reid, sensing desperation, recovered well enough to control the fourth round, a frame where Froch came out lethargic, perhaps reserving his energy. A left hook by Reid had Froch visibly hurt for the first time in the fight, but Reid was unable to follow up. A right hand by Froch midway through the fourth put Reid on the defensive, with a follow-up left uppercut putting Reid on the back of his heels. Reid came back with an overhand right; enough to temporarily shift momentum in his favor for the first time in the fight as the round ended with Froch pinned on the ropes.
Froch remained composed at the start of the fifth, which had both fighters stalking and posing in center ring. Reid finally opened up, creating enough of an opening for Froch's right hand to land. Reid's only success for much of the rest of the round came in the form of unorthodox overhand rights, which seemed to catch Froch by surprise. They weren't enough to prevent Froch from drilling Reid with right hands through the second half of the round, enough times to where Reid was forced to take a knee in an effort to clear his head. Reid took a nine count before rising to his feet, but ate a left hook the moment action resumed. Two jabs and a right would also find their way to Reid's chin prior to the close of the round.
Reid's body language in between the fifth and sixth round suggested he was ready to call it a night. His corner was overheard yelling to him, "Come on son, it's only the fifth round," in efforts to pump up their charge. The pep rally fell on deaf ears; Reid remained on his stool at the start of the sixth round, citing an injury to his right shoulder as the cause.
Official time was 0:01 of the sixth round.
Froch improves to 22-0 (18KO) with the win, scoring his sixth straight stoppage, and making a perfect ten, as in ten wins in as many fights in the Ice Arena. Despite the impressive showing, Froch was able to keep the win in perspective.
"He's obviously past his best, I won't create any illusions about beating the best version of Robin Reid," Froch admitted during the post-fight interview. "But he had ten weeks to train. It's his job to upset me, my job to prevent that. I did my job and thought I fared well, considering the seven-month layoff and coming off of knee surgery."
Though fully confident he would score a stoppage, Froch was also hoping to get more work than the main event offered.
"I was perhaps a bit too patient in the early going, but only because I was hoping I would get more rounds in. All in all, it was a good fight for me. Seven months off, then the operation, it was a little tough getting back in the groove. But once I hit him with a flush right, I knew the fight was mine."
Froch didn't specify who he wanted next, though would seemingly be in line for a shot at the alphabet title of his liking. Fellow undefeated Brit Joe Calzaghe is universally regarded as the only Super Middleweight champ that matters, while Lucian Bute holds an alphabet strap to which Froch presently ranks as its highest rated contender.
Whatever the future holds in store for Froch, it's a hell of a lot more than what Reid has going for him. Reid, having never been dropped through the first 12 years and 43 fights of his career, has now been stopped in two of his last three. With the loss, Reid falls to 39-6-1 (27KO). At age 37 and his best days long ago passed, Reid's only remaining pro career options appear to be as a high-profile steppingstone, or sneak off into retirement.
The bout served as the main event of a full night of action presented by Hennessy Promotions, airing live on Sky Sports.
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and presently serves on the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. His column runs every Tuesday on BoxingScene.
