Carl Froch's retirement was expected but nobody knew exactly when it would happen. Froch made it official very early Tuesday morning in the UK (late Monday night in America). Froch's career will be defined by many things. The former world champion known as "The Cobra" admits that his two-fight series with domestic rival George Groves will be the defining moment of his pro career.
George Groves does not think that he is a broken fighter after his defeat to Carl Froch and is looking forward to stepping back into the ring. The English boxer is gearing up to face Frenchman Christopher Rebrasse at Wembley Arena and Groves sees this fight as the perfect opportunity to challenge for world titles again. He told Sky Sports News HQ: “I just want to be busy and I just want to box. We didn’t want to hang about after the last fight, we’ve come straight back in to take the quickest route back to a world title fight.
George Groves overcame his shattering defeat to Carl Froch by replaying the moment he was knocked out nine times the next morning. Groves, who was floored in the eighth round against Froch in May, is hoping to lay the demons to rest when he fights Frenchman Christopher Rebrasse for the European super middleweight title on September 20. The bout will also serve as a final WBC title eliminator but it has added importance for Groves, who is looking for rejuvenation after his loss to Froch in front of 80,000 fans at Wembley Stadium. Groves watched the fight back three times that same night and trainer Paddy Fitzpatrick made his pupil go through it all again the following morning.
The bad blood between super middleweights Carl Froch and George Groves is far from over. After two tension filled encounters, a third fight could be brewing for 2015. Groves (19-2, 15KOs) came close to beating Froch (33-2, 24KOs) last November and found himself on the losing end of a controversial ninth round stoppage. Their May rematch drew a record crowd of 80,000 fans to Wembley Stadium. Froch once again prevailed, stopping Groves with a devastating knockout in the eight.
Adam Booth had trained super middleweight George Groves until a bit before Groves challenged titleholder Carl Froch last year. Groves lost that bout by a controversial stoppage. There was no controversy in the rematch, which Froch won in May with a one-punch knockout. Booth chatted briefly with BoxingScene.com on July 25 about what he thought.
The highly anticipated rematch between Carl Froch and George Groves fared incredibly well at the box-office, produced a highlight reel ending and – for U.S. cable network HBO – proved to be a worthy Saturday matinee feature. The May 31 headliner at Wembley Stadium in London proved to be a successful venture in an otherwise risky time slot for HBO, generating an average of 700,000 viewers over the course of their thrilling super middleweight title fight. Froch (33-2, 24KO) added to his growing stature as boxing’s perennial tough guy, overcoming an early rally to knock Groves out cold in the 8th round of their instant classic. The bout topped out at 830,000 viewers and overall served as a 42% increase from Froch’s network appearance this time one year ago. His rematch with Mikkel Kessler – in which Froch avenged a 2010 defeat to score a unanimous decision last May – was one of the best fights of 2013, but only playing to an audience of 493,000 viewers on this side of the Atlantic.
Carl Froch says sending George Groves "back down the hole he crawled out of" has left him the happiest man alive. The double world super-middleweight champion finished his feud with Groves with a huge right hand in the eighth round of their record-breaking Wembley rematch on Saturday. British boxing's biggest post-war crowd was there to witness a victory which had none of the controversy of Froch's ninth-round stoppage in November. Groves' antagonistic attitude in the build-up to both fights left Froch unimpressed, but in the immediate aftermath of Saturday's win he spoke graciously about his younger rival.
The fight ended on a whale of a right hand in round eight but, really, it was over at the end of the fourth. After losing most of the first three rounds, Carl Froch caught George Groves with a big shot late in the fourth and took over with a nasty body attack in the fifth. When he finally lowered the boom with the closing bomb, in front of some 80,000, Froch had completed a significant transition. Before the fight, he was already established as one of the better fighters of his time. Before the fight, he’d already amassed a resume worthy of Hall of Fame consideration, facing the most consistently challenging run of foes in the sport in the last six years. After the fight, he’d finally stamped what his place in British and hardcore boxing lore will likely be.
by David P. Greisman - Both men came in with the knowledge that they could hurt each other and could be hurt by each other. They had learned this truth in their first fight, but that truth was not the whole truth. Any fact can be seen through the prism of opinion. What buttressed both Carl Froch and George Groves was the belief that his foe had not done enough to finish him. There was truth to this, too. Groves had knocked Froch down hard in the first round of the first fight. He had controlled most of the first six rounds of the bout, the upstart unproven contender using this start to prove he belonged in with the accomplished veteran titleholder. Groves was ahead on the scorecards after eight. But Froch was still there in the ninth, and as long as he was still there, he still had a chance. After all, Froch had been in similar positions four and a half years before then — on the canvas early, deposited down there by a counter right hand landed by a faster, younger opponent. Froch had been behind as his fight with Jermain Taylor got late, and he remained behind almost as late as he could go without losing. As the 12th round began, two judges had Taylor ahead. As the 12th round got going, Froch had Taylor down. The knockdown hurt Taylor badly. Froch needed to end Taylor quickly. He continued to attack, hoping the referee would step in to stop him before the final bell would force him to do so. He got the win with just 14 seconds left. There was much more time left against Groves, yet there was similar urgency. It was better to get started before the end. What began with two men exchanging punches soon became Froch getting the better of the exchange, for one punch had left Groves wobbled and attempting to hold on. Froch sought to keep him from holding on and to take him off his feet. Froch landed a hard left hook and a right hand. Groves leaned back against the ropes, came forward to throw a few of his own, got caught once more and then covered up, stepping forward with his head down.
No controversy this time, only some regret by George Groves & Company. Groves was too tentative in the opening rounds (35 punches thrown per round), allowing the slow-starting (and seemingly vulnerable) Carl Froch to get loose and into the fight. Groves averaged just 12 power punches thrown per round in the rematch after averaging 21 in the first fight.