Carl Froch has turned up the heat in his quest for a WBC super-middleweight title shot by insisting he doesn't mind who he fights as long as he is granted a shot at the gold.
The Nottingham fighter took out his frustrations on late substitute Albert Rybacki with a one-sided fourth round stoppage at the Nottingham Arena on Saturday night.
Froch was quickly into his stride against the previously unbeaten Pole, who had stepped in at two days notice following the withdrawals of Denis Inkin and Rubin Williams.
Unbeaten run
'The Cobra' dominated the fight from start to finish and gave referee John Keane no option but to stop the fight as he extended his unbeaten run to 23 fights.
Froch said: "It's been a nightmare for me mentally but I've come through it and now I'm in exactly the same position as I would have been, which is the mandatory challenger for the WBC title."
With Joe Calzaghe certain to vacate, Froch could find himself standing toe-to-toe against the likes of former middleweight champion Jermain Taylor or the winner of the imminent clash between Fulgencio Zuniga and Jean Pascal for the vacant crown.
Froch added: "Now it's all about keeping the momentum going because it's been frustrating having to hang around for six months. I don't care who I fight as long as I get my shot at the world title."
I completely agree, it's as if the last round does not count in some peoples eyes. Had there been 13 rounds, maybe Froch had knocked him out in the 13th because he put the pedal to the metal in the last round. It's completely irrelevant when you get knocked out, first or last, if you get knocked out, you have lost. Doesn't matter if you look like Floyd for 11 rounds but then end up being KO'ed in the last second. End of conversation.
SMDH when people give Froch heat for KO'ing Taylor with 14 seconds to go.
No, I give him heat for getting outboxed for most of the fight and getting dropped on his ass by a severely shot 160 pounder.
Something I'll never understand.
"He was going to win if he didn't get knocked out"
Well that's irrelevant because the guy got knocked out..
I completely agree, it's as if the last round does not count in some peoples eyes. Had there been 13 rounds, maybe Froch had knocked him out in the 13th because he put the pedal to the metal in the last round. It's completely irrelevant when you get knocked out, first or last, if you get knocked out, you have lost. Doesn't matter if you look like Floyd for 11 rounds but then end up being KO'ed in the last second. End of conversation.
SMDH when people give Froch heat for KO'ing Taylor with 14 seconds to go.
Ward did not take anything, it was an ugly affair once again with Ward outboxing him, nothing else.
Taylor was 10 seconds away? So what? He got KTFO and the scorecards would have been extremely close with 2-3 KD's in the 12th, not sure Taylor would've won it. So check your facts banana boy.
Something I'll never understand.
"He was going to win if he didn't get knocked out"
Well that's irrelevant because the guy got knocked out..
Well, Kessler did beat him and Ward took his manhood away.
Taylor was 10 seconds away from winning the fight and made him kiss the canvas.
Ward did not take anything, it was an ugly affair once again with Ward outboxing him, nothing else.
Taylor was 10 seconds away? So what? He got KTFO and the scorecards would have been extremely close with 2-3 KD's in the 12th, not sure Taylor would've won it. So check your facts banana boy.
Bump bump bump
I love going thru these old threads..
Lacy froch seemed to be the fight a lot of people wanted to see
Well, Kessler did beat him and Ward took his manhood away.
Taylor was 10 seconds away from winning the fight and made him kiss the canvas.
Calzaghe, Kessler,Bute, Miranda, Taylor would all beat him easily
Kessler would have Froch wide eyed on the canvas by the third round.
I think Froch would get stopped, he leaves himself open too much.
If Taylor actually uses his ****ing jab, then he'll control the pace of the fight with it, and land his combos. Taylor has KO power, just like Froch - He proved that against Pavlik.
Bump bump bump
I love going thru these old threads..
Lacy froch seemed to be the fight a lot of people wanted to see
Has Lacey done much of late, i remember the hype before the JC fight and now well evey fight i ahve seen looekd dull since. Maybe he lost his mojo :op
I think he is still nice name.
And style wise it would be a war. Froch gets hit, so does Lacy, they both aren't the quickest, Lacy has a great chin, Froch looks to have a good one.
FOTY imo.
Froch should fight Lacy.
agreed or manfredo, he needs to make a better name for himself, I know any fights better than no fight and he was in a lose lose on saturday but he didn't really impress against that guy.
He needs the bigger names before he goes after title's really, I don't think he deserves the WBC title to be given to him on a plate either. He hasn't done enough IMO.
Froch is as ready is he is ever going to be.
He is slow upright, very little movement but he has very heavy hands and a great engine and with the div not as good as it was he could get a title, though he would have went the WBO way so he could hand pick his opp when he became champ, but Kudos for going for the WBC.
Hard to tell whether Froch is ready or not!! For a fight that was supposed to introduce him to a international audience they put him in against a 37 year old fighter who only had three days notice to prepare. What I saw was a relatively slow Froch who telegraphed his punches especially his upper cut and has the ability to beat some old guy. Once again he may turn out to be awesome but he DOESN'T deserve a shot at Calzaghe yet. He reminds me of Kelly Pavlik except for the fact Pavlik fought ranked instantly recognised fighters BEFORE getting a shot at Taylor. How about fighting a least one decent ranked fighter before screaming for a shot at the title. Why would Calzaghe in this stage of his career even concider fighting Froch who isn't known and would produce at best a mediocre payday. It's not going to happen
Froch/Taylor is the fight i want the most.
Taylor has had one of the toughest runs of the last 3 years of any boxer and probably needs a tune up before going into a vacant title fight to help build his confidence after his 2 losses. I'm not sure he'd take this fight as his next but later in the year is alway a possibility.
Another name i'd like to see Froch face is Lacy. Both boxers need their next fight to put them at the front of the division. This would make for an exciting match up.
The likes of Braehmer, Andrade and Pascal would even be a huge step up of class after his recent opponents suggest. Whoever his next opponent will be i'm sure will be a top contender, after all, Froch is the No1 rated contender with WBC and not many will turn down a possible vacant title shot.
I think Froch would get stopped, he leaves himself open too much.
If Taylor actually uses his fucking jab, then he'll control the pace of the fight with it, and land his combos. Taylor has KO power, just like Froch - He proved that against Pavlik.
Think that Taylor's a little too fast & technically sound for Froch.
Can be static at times & Froch might be able to land a bomb, but would favour Taylor by a pretty solid margin in that match-up.
Bute seeems to be pretty under-rated around here - he's a very good technical boxer who can step it up when necessary.
And considering how well he handled both Bika & Berrio, I very much doubt he'll be imtimidated by Froch's power, or make any stupid mistakes..
Would favour Bute by comfortable decision in this one.
Berrio would be a fun fight, & quite possible.
Would favour Froch if he can keep it tight in that one.
Would favour him against the winner of Fulgencio Zuniga and Jean Pascal by a pretty solid margin.