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A little piece I did, a personal experience of watching The Cobra:
This is not going to be a statistical or objective breakdown of Carl Froch’s career, you can find those in any number of media outlets; what this will be is a fan’s personal opinion on one of the most entertaining fighters of recent years. In a sport increasingly engulfed in business, money, promotional misgivings and feuds, Froch walked both sides of the line. He feuded yes but he also gave us the fights we wanted to see. This is a personal account of a very conflicting and conflicted figure.
The first time I saw Carl Froch was on a BBC broadcast, back when the broadcaster still invested in boxing. It was a commonwealth title fight against Charles Adamu, a teak, tough Ghanaian who knew how to fight. I had never even heard of Froch before that fight and in all honesty, he didn’t show anything I hadn’t seen in a thousand other fighters. Yes he could punch and yes he could take a punch but so what, so could Oliver McCall.
Over the next few years, I caught Froch fights on occasion, across the BBC and ITV. In reality, they were throw away affairs, undercards to bigger, better events and fighters. As the middle of the new decade progressed, it was Joe Calzaghe and Ricky Hatton who were the stars. They were the guys packing out stadiums and being ranked as the best Britain had to offer. By 2008, the year in which Froch finally managed to get his hands on a world title shot, Amir Khan had been added as another name that shone brighter and sold more than the Nottingham fighter.
However, on that night, against Jean Pascal, a gifted fighter who could punch, Froch showed that he was not only championship material but also a champion. The two men went to war. It wasn’t always pretty, here really wasn’t much for the aficionados but the two big men swung like they were trying to chop down trees. Punches landed, both men survived and the fans loved it. I remember not being quite sure who the winner was but wanting it to be Froch. He had finally won me over. Not that he cared about that, holding the WBC title but I cared.
What followed over the course of the next seven years is simply remarkable. There was champion and top contender, one after the other. In his next eleven fights he faced a possible four hall of famers, maybe more if George Groves’ career pans out like it should. There were the downs of course, losses to Mikkel Kessler and Andre Ward, not to mention countless twitter and media wars with Joe Calzaghe, Amir Khan and just about anyone else that pissed Froch off.
That’s one aspect of Carl Froch’s personality that always rubbed me the wrong way: he hated being called out on some of his misgivings and always walked around with a chip of titanic proportions on his shoulder. Someone praising Calzaghe? Froch would have none of it. Khan getting the attention in the sports pages that day? Froch would have to make a comment. I’ve met Froch once, while he was doing the media circuit in London for the first Groves fight. We chatted a bit and he seemed like a nice, genial man but the ****y, uncomfortable, bitter caricature he played on screen, or maybe was forced to play, alienated some fans. We couldn’t always get behind him because he was fond of saying the ******est things.
Enough of the drama, back to the boxing, which in all honesty, was a soap opera in itself. Following a disappointing loss to Andre Ward, Froch arrived back in England, reputation enhanced but still under the shadow of bigger British names. Eddie Hearn would be his saviour, striking a deal with Sky and throwing Froch in the deep end. The shark infesting those waters was Lucian Bute, the only top super middleweight to not have participated in Showtimes super six fiasco. Quick, immensely talented and hard hitting, Bute was regarded as one of the best fighters in the division.
In the lead up to that fight, I fully expected a Bute win. I liked his style, hands down and flashy. There’s something attractive about a style like that, even if the fundamentals are absent. Just ask any Roy Jones fan. I bought tickets for the fight as did two other friends. We were ready, it would be a fun night, even if our lad lost. Then something came up and I sold my ticket, content with watching the whole thing on TV. Oh, how I regret that now. Froch dispatched of the heir apparent with ease. He battered Bute, bounced him around the ring and then ended him in brutal fashion. That scene of Eddie Hearn running into the ring, tears streaming down his face and lifting his biggest investment is one of the most iconic in 21st century boxing.
That night, in front of his hometown fans, could have been the perfect climax to a terrific career. But Froch still had to avenge his loss to Kessler and then stop upstart and resident cheeky chappy George Groves. That too required a rematch. In the twilight of his career, Froch finally had a great rival…a great domestic rival. As a British boxing fan, I finally had a rivalry to talk about when older fans would pipe up about Eubank and Benn. Maybe it wasn’t as intense but it was just as competitive and just as glorious. Wembley…80, 000 people…it’s become a joke, a meme and a massive face palm moment for Froch. But it’s also an emphatic stamp on a long, hard career.
There will be inevitable discussions on Carl Froch’s greatness as a boxer, British or otherwise. All I will say on tha tis what I now write:
It was that most enigmatic of British superstars, Chris Eubank Sr who spoke about the “warrior’s code”. It’s how he defined his boxing mentality and that of his foes. Looking back at that most storied of careers, Eubank certainly delivered, facing and often beating several world champions. Even in defeat, against the big, brooding cruiserweight Carl Thompson, Chris Eubank played to the baying crowd. He was a dying breed, the last gladiator of a more civilised sport. Carl “The Cobra” Froch is a disciple of that warrior’s code. He was the last caveman in an increasingly ****sapien environment. I may not have always liked him, I may have disagreed with a lot of what he said but I always tuned in and he always entertained.
Carl Froch – The Warrior’s Code
This is not going to be a statistical or objective breakdown of Carl Froch’s career, you can find those in any number of media outlets; what this will be is a fan’s personal opinion on one of the most entertaining fighters of recent years. In a sport increasingly engulfed in business, money, promotional misgivings and feuds, Froch walked both sides of the line. He feuded yes but he also gave us the fights we wanted to see. This is a personal account of a very conflicting and conflicted figure.
The first time I saw Carl Froch was on a BBC broadcast, back when the broadcaster still invested in boxing. It was a commonwealth title fight against Charles Adamu, a teak, tough Ghanaian who knew how to fight. I had never even heard of Froch before that fight and in all honesty, he didn’t show anything I hadn’t seen in a thousand other fighters. Yes he could punch and yes he could take a punch but so what, so could Oliver McCall.
Over the next few years, I caught Froch fights on occasion, across the BBC and ITV. In reality, they were throw away affairs, undercards to bigger, better events and fighters. As the middle of the new decade progressed, it was Joe Calzaghe and Ricky Hatton who were the stars. They were the guys packing out stadiums and being ranked as the best Britain had to offer. By 2008, the year in which Froch finally managed to get his hands on a world title shot, Amir Khan had been added as another name that shone brighter and sold more than the Nottingham fighter.
However, on that night, against Jean Pascal, a gifted fighter who could punch, Froch showed that he was not only championship material but also a champion. The two men went to war. It wasn’t always pretty, here really wasn’t much for the aficionados but the two big men swung like they were trying to chop down trees. Punches landed, both men survived and the fans loved it. I remember not being quite sure who the winner was but wanting it to be Froch. He had finally won me over. Not that he cared about that, holding the WBC title but I cared.
What followed over the course of the next seven years is simply remarkable. There was champion and top contender, one after the other. In his next eleven fights he faced a possible four hall of famers, maybe more if George Groves’ career pans out like it should. There were the downs of course, losses to Mikkel Kessler and Andre Ward, not to mention countless twitter and media wars with Joe Calzaghe, Amir Khan and just about anyone else that pissed Froch off.
That’s one aspect of Carl Froch’s personality that always rubbed me the wrong way: he hated being called out on some of his misgivings and always walked around with a chip of titanic proportions on his shoulder. Someone praising Calzaghe? Froch would have none of it. Khan getting the attention in the sports pages that day? Froch would have to make a comment. I’ve met Froch once, while he was doing the media circuit in London for the first Groves fight. We chatted a bit and he seemed like a nice, genial man but the ****y, uncomfortable, bitter caricature he played on screen, or maybe was forced to play, alienated some fans. We couldn’t always get behind him because he was fond of saying the ******est things.
Enough of the drama, back to the boxing, which in all honesty, was a soap opera in itself. Following a disappointing loss to Andre Ward, Froch arrived back in England, reputation enhanced but still under the shadow of bigger British names. Eddie Hearn would be his saviour, striking a deal with Sky and throwing Froch in the deep end. The shark infesting those waters was Lucian Bute, the only top super middleweight to not have participated in Showtimes super six fiasco. Quick, immensely talented and hard hitting, Bute was regarded as one of the best fighters in the division.
In the lead up to that fight, I fully expected a Bute win. I liked his style, hands down and flashy. There’s something attractive about a style like that, even if the fundamentals are absent. Just ask any Roy Jones fan. I bought tickets for the fight as did two other friends. We were ready, it would be a fun night, even if our lad lost. Then something came up and I sold my ticket, content with watching the whole thing on TV. Oh, how I regret that now. Froch dispatched of the heir apparent with ease. He battered Bute, bounced him around the ring and then ended him in brutal fashion. That scene of Eddie Hearn running into the ring, tears streaming down his face and lifting his biggest investment is one of the most iconic in 21st century boxing.
That night, in front of his hometown fans, could have been the perfect climax to a terrific career. But Froch still had to avenge his loss to Kessler and then stop upstart and resident cheeky chappy George Groves. That too required a rematch. In the twilight of his career, Froch finally had a great rival…a great domestic rival. As a British boxing fan, I finally had a rivalry to talk about when older fans would pipe up about Eubank and Benn. Maybe it wasn’t as intense but it was just as competitive and just as glorious. Wembley…80, 000 people…it’s become a joke, a meme and a massive face palm moment for Froch. But it’s also an emphatic stamp on a long, hard career.
There will be inevitable discussions on Carl Froch’s greatness as a boxer, British or otherwise. All I will say on tha tis what I now write:
It was that most enigmatic of British superstars, Chris Eubank Sr who spoke about the “warrior’s code”. It’s how he defined his boxing mentality and that of his foes. Looking back at that most storied of careers, Eubank certainly delivered, facing and often beating several world champions. Even in defeat, against the big, brooding cruiserweight Carl Thompson, Chris Eubank played to the baying crowd. He was a dying breed, the last gladiator of a more civilised sport. Carl “The Cobra” Froch is a disciple of that warrior’s code. He was the last caveman in an increasingly ****sapien environment. I may not have always liked him, I may have disagreed with a lot of what he said but I always tuned in and he always entertained.
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