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Carl FrochMBE
Froch in 2010
Born	Carl Martin Froch (1977-07-02) 2 July 1977 (age 47) Nottingham, England
Nationality	British
Other names	The Cobra
Statistics
Weight(s)	Super-middleweight
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Reach	75 in (191 cm)
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	35
Wins	33
Wins by KO	24
Losses	2
Medal record Men's amateur boxing Representing  England English National Championships 1999 Barnsley Middleweight 2001 Barnsley Middleweight World Championships Belfast 2001 Middleweight

Carl Martin Froch, MBE (/ˈfrɒtʃ/; born 2 July 1977) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2002 to 2014, and has since worked as a boxing analyst and commentator. He held multiple world championships in the super-middleweight division, including the World Boxing Council (WBC) title twice between 2008 and 2011, the International Boxing Federation (IBF) title from 2012 to 2015, and the World Boxing Association (WBA) title (Unified and Regular versions) between 2013 and 2015. At regional level, he held the British and Commonwealth super-middleweight titles between 2004 and 2008, and won the Lonsdale Belt in 2006. As an amateur, Froch won a middleweight bronze medal at the 2001 World Championships, and the ABA title twice.

Froch was voted Fighter of the Year for 2012 by BoxRec. In 2013, the UK edition of GQ magazine voted him Sportsman of the Year. He reached a peak pound for pound ranking of sixth by BoxRec and The Ring magazine, and in 2013 was listed by the BBC as the best active British boxer, pound for pound. Froch was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2023.

Early life

Carl Martin Froch was born in Colwick, Nottingham, in 1977, the son of Carol (Douglas) and Frank Froch. His paternal grandparents were Polish (his paternal grandfather also had German ancestry), while Carl's mother's family is English. Early in his life Froch wanted to become a footballer and play for Nottingham Forest, his local football team, and has stated that he would have loved to fight at the City Ground. He is a supporter of the club and occasionally trained at its training ground before fights. He has also appeared on the Sky Sports Saturday morning football show Soccer AM the week before a fight.

Amateur career

Froch began boxing at the Phoenix ABC in Gedling, Nottingham. As an amateur, he won two ABA middleweight titles in 1999 and 2001 and a bronze medal at the 2001 World Amateur Boxing Championships before turning pro and having his first pro fight in March 2002. As an amateur, Froch lost to American Peter Manfredo Jr.

Professional career

Early career

Froch was trained by Robert McCracken throughout his professional career. He was managed and promoted by Mick Hennessy until 2011, and from thereon by Eddie Hearn.

Froch made his debut at the age of 24 in March 2002. He fought at the York Hall in Bethnal Green, London against veteran 36 year old journeyman Michael Pinnock (4–52–8, 2 KOs), who weighed 10 pounds more than Froch, in a scheduled six-round bout. Froch won the fight via a fourth-round technical knockout. Froch fought a further four times that year, winning them all with three coming by first-round knockout against Ojay Abrahams, Darren Covill and Mike Duffield and one victory coming by a points decision win against Paul Bonson.

Froch started 2003 with a knockout win against Valery Odin, fighting for the first time at the Nottingham Arena, the same arena he would win his first world title five years later. Froch would next fight in March, April and October of that year defeating Varujan Davtyan and Michael Monaghan by knockout and Vage Kocharyan via points decision, respectively. At this point in his career, Froch racked up nine wins in as many fights, with seven coming by way of knockout.

In November 2003, Froch fought fellow unbeaten British contender Alan Page (8–0, 4 KOs) at the Derby Storm Arena in Derby for the vacant English super-middleweight title. In round seven, Froch landed a hard right followed by an uppercut, although Page didn't go down, referee John Keane stepped in to call an end to the fight.

British and Commonwealth champion

In 2004, Froch won the Commonwealth and vacant British super-middleweight titles by defeating Charles Adamu and Damon Hague respectively. He has defended both against Matthew Barney, Brian Magee and Tony Dodson and the Commonwealth belt alone against Ruben Groenewald and Dale Westerman.

Following a victory over the Russian Sergey Tatevosyan, on 9 November 2007 at Trent FM Arena in Nottingham, he stopped the veteran former world champion Robin Reid, after which Reid retired from the sport for four years.

WBC super-middleweight champion

Froch vs. Pascal

On 6 December 2008, Froch fought Canadian Jean Pascal for the vacant WBC super-middleweight title and won by unanimous decision a hard-fought twelve-round brawl. Both combatants showed enormous grit and determination, landing and taking huge shots from one another without even flinching. After the fight, it was revealed that Froch had sustained a perforated eardrum and a cracked rib in his final sparring session before the fight. Froch's promoter Mick Hennessy gave Froch the opportunity to withdraw from the fight, but Froch refused. Since the fight, Froch and Pascal (who has since become a light-heavyweight champion) have become friends on a personal level and have made a promise to face each other again in the future, though this seems unlikely given Froch's retirement.

Froch vs. Taylor

On 25 April 2009, Froch fought Jermain Taylor in his first defence of his WBC super-middleweight title, at the Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut. Froch survived a third-round knockdown – the first of his entire career, amateur and professional – and, behind on two of the three judges' scorecards coming into the final round, he managed to stop his opponent with 14 seconds remaining in the twelfth round to retain his WBC super-middleweight title.

After the fight, Froch was quick to send out a verbal challenge to unbeaten Welsh boxer Joe Calzaghe and was also quoted as saying "Kessler, Pavlik, Hopkins, I want them all to feel the force."

Super Six World Boxing Classic

On 13 July 2009, Froch agreed to take part in the Super Six World Boxing Classic super-middleweight tournament devised by Showtime, with the winner of the tournament winning the WBA, and WBC super-middleweight titles. The tournament featured six boxers including Andre Dirrell, Mikkel Kessler, Arthur Abraham, Jermain Taylor, Andre Ward and Froch. Froch's first opponent in the Super Six was Andre Dirrell.

Froch vs. Dirrell

The bout took place in Nottingham on 17 October and Froch's WBC title was on the line. Froch won the fight and retained his title with a split decision victory over the previously undefeated Dirrell. Two of the judges scored the bout 115–112 in favour of Froch, with the other scoring the bout 114–113 in favour of Dirrell.

Froch vs. Kessler

Froch's next fight was against Mikkel Kessler, who lost the WBA super-middleweight title to Andre Ward. Froch's WBC title was again on the line. In a closely fought contest in Kessler's home country of Denmark where both men had great moments throughout the fight, Kessler took Froch's title and inflicted Froch's first professional defeat via unanimous decision, the judges scoring the contest by margins of 116–112, 115–113, and 117–111. The scoring was somewhat controversial, as some boxing announcers had scored the fight much closer, with some awarding Froch the win and others scoring it a draw. Froch later stated that the fight was close and that he believes the decision would have gone his way if the event had been held in Nottingham. The fight was a contender for the 2010 Fight of the Year.

Froch vs. Abraham

Froch faced former IBF middleweight champion Arthur Abraham in the third stage in Helsinki, Finland at the Hartwall Finland. Froch feared that if he fought in Abraham's adoptive home country there was a possibility of receiving a bad decision. However, since an eye injury forced Mikkel Kessler to relinquish his WBC title and resign from the tournament, Froch-Abraham was for the vacant WBC super-middleweight title. Both Froch and Abraham came off of a loss in stage two of the Super Six. Abraham lost after a disqualification against former Froch victim Andre Dirrell.

Froch regained the WBC super-middleweight title by gaining a unanimous decision victory over Abraham, with the judges' scorecards reading the 120–108 twice, and 119–109, reflecting the one-sided nature of the bout.

Froch vs. Johnson

Following his victory over Abraham, Froch entered the semi-final stage of the tournament. His opponent on 4 June 2011 in Atlantic City, New Jersey was Glen Johnson. Froch retained his title with a majority decision victory, with the judges' scorecards reading 117–111, 116–112, and 114–114.

Froch vs. Ward

Carl Froch lost in the final of the Super Six tournament in a bout against undefeated WBA super-middleweight champion Andre Ward. The vacant Ring magazine super-middleweight title was on the line in the fight, as well as Froch's and Ward's super-middleweight titles. In the first seven rounds, Ward outboxed Froch, successfully using his jab to neutralise Froch and beating him to the punch from a distance and at close range. In the later rounds, Ward seemed to take his foot off the gas, leaving Froch to win a couple of rounds near the end of the fight, though they were close and competitive rounds. The judges' scorecards were 115–113, 115–113, and 118–110, all in favour of Ward. Ward won the vacant Ring magazine super-middleweight title and is also regarded as becoming lineal champion with the win, despite some independent sources rating undefeated IBF title holder Lucian Bute #1 or 2. The fight peaked at 580,000 viewers on Showtime.

IBF super-middleweight champion

Froch vs. Bute

The IBF officially enforced Carl Froch as Lucian Bute's number one mandatory challenger. The fight, billed as "No Easy Way Out", took place on 26 May 2012 in Froch's hometown of Nottingham. Despite being the underdog with bookmakers, critics and fans around the world, Froch dominated Bute throughout the fight to become the new IBF super-middleweight champion via TKO in round five, making Froch a three-time world champion.

Froch vs. Mack

After the Bute fight and acquiring the IBF title, Froch defeated Yusaf Mack via knockout. The British website BoxRec named Froch the "Fighter of the Year" in the end of 2012.

WBA (Regular) and WBC super-middleweight champion

Froch vs. Kessler II

On 26 May 2013 (the match was scheduled for 25 May, but started after midnight BST), Froch faced WBA (Regular) champion Kessler in a rematch of their fight in 2010. This time it was Froch that was victorious via unanimous decision at The O2 Arena in London, with the judges scoring the bout 118–110, 116–112, and 115–113.

Froch vs. Groves

The IBF installed George Groves as Froch's mandatory challenger, their bout taking place on 23 November at the Phones4u Arena in Manchester, with Froch's WBA (Regular) and IBF super-middleweight titles on the line. Despite being floored for only the second time in his career by a left hook right hand from Groves in the first round, Froch retained his titles with a TKO victory in round nine. There was significant controversy as many observers felt that referee Howard Foster stepped in to end the contest prematurely. The three scoring judges had scored Groves ahead of Froch before Groves was shaken by some powerful Froch blows in the ninth. The controversial ending prompted a widespread demand for a rematch to be fought between the two.

On 24 January 2014, the IBF ordered a rematch between Froch and Groves, giving Froch 90 days to fight Groves or relinquish his IBF title.

Froch vs. Groves II

On 13 February 2014, it was announced by Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing that Froch v Groves II would take place on 31 May 2014 at Wembley Stadium in London. Froch was quoted that the fight was what the "British public want to see" and that was his reason for taking the option to give Groves a rematch while defending his WBA (Unified) and IBF super-middleweight titles. As soon as tickets went on sale, 60,000 tickets were sold in under an hour and a further 20,000 tickets were made available, making this the biggest ever attendance for a boxing match in Britain since the Second World War.

The fight was a more cagey affair than the first match, with both fighters initially looking to outbox each other. Froch was stronger in the earlier rounds, with Jim Watt unofficially scoring the earlier rounds in favour of the champion on his Sky Sports scorecard. By the end of the seventh round, both Richie Woodhall and Steve Bunce had the fight scored four rounds to three for Froch on the BBC scorecards. Groves came out fighting in the eighth round before Froch got him pinned against the ropes and delivered a right hand blow which knocked Groves out. It was later named Knockout of the Year by The Ring for 2014.

Fighting style

Froch was known for his long jab, which he used to maintain distance before delivering the right straight, with both punches often launched from hip height. While lacking some traditional defensive skills, Froch was renowned for his high levels of durability and resilience. Meticulous about his fitness regimen, he kept log books of all his training camps, beginning in 2002 until his 2013 retirement. He would use these to assess his performance in each camp against previous personal bests and records, helping him to decide when it was time to retire.

Personal life

His wife Rachael Froch, whom he married in May 2019, is a British glamour model. Together they have a son and two daughters. Froch has publicly stated his belief in a flat Earth on numerous occasions.

Professional boxing record

References

1. ^ Sky Box Office tale of the tape prior to the second George Groves fight.
2. Bax, Chris (27 December 2012). "Carl Froch and Juan Manuel Marquez win boxrec news awards".
3. "Ring Ratings" Archived 3 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine. The Ring. 2015-02-23. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
4. BBC pound-for-pound British rankings. BBC Sport (14 January 2013). Retrieved 2013-03-01.
5. Santoliquito, Joseph (7 December 2022). "HALL OF FAME ANNOUNCES CLASS OF 2023; TIM BRADLEY, CARL FROCH AND RAFAEL MARQUEZ TO BE INDUCTED". The Ring Magazine. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
6. "Carl Froch: heading towards Vegas, a spectacular career finale and The Hall of Fame!". Boxing News and Views. June 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
7. Wilson, Jared (7 December 2008). "Carl Froch". Left Lion. Nottingham. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
8. "The Cobra Returns: Carl Froch speaks to East Side Boxing". Archived from the original on 5 June 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
9. Froch, Carl (28 April 2011). The Cobra. Random House. ISBN 9781407079813. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
10. "Froch takes on the X Factor". Nottingham Post. Local World. Archived from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
11. "Froch gearing up for title shot". BBC News. 19 November 2008. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
12. Froch vs Kessler: Warriors' Call | O2 Arena, London, 25 May 2013 Archived 20 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Cobraboxing.com (25 May 2012). Retrieved 2013-03-01.
13. Froch on Soccer AM | Boxing News. Saddoboxing.com (1 November 2007). Retrieved 2013-03-01.
14. Froch vs Kessler: Warriors' Call | O2 Arena, London, 25 May 2013. Cobraboxing.com (25 May 2012). Retrieved 2013-03-01.
15. "Carl Froch vs. Michael Pinnock – BoxRec".
16. "Froch claims English title". 23 March 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
17. Kirkbride, Philip (24 February 2011). "Robin Reid comes out of retirement after mum's blessing". liverpoolecho.co.uk. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
18. "Froch beats Pascal on points for super-middle belt". USA Today. 6 December 2008. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
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20. Dirs, Ben (26 April 2009). "Froch stuns Taylor with late show". BBC News. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
21. Iorfida, Chris (19 October 2009) Chris Iorfida, CBC Sports. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
22. Brookhouse, Brent. (18 October 2009) Brent Brookhouse, Bloody Elbow Archived 25 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
23. Kevin Mitchell (18 October 2009). "Carl Froch holds off Andre Dirrell in WBC super-middleweight title defence". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 18 October 2009..
24. "Yahoo! Sports – Sports News, Scores, Rumors, Fantasy Games, and more". Archived from the original on 22 November 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2009.
25. Boxing News: Arthur Abraham vs Carl Froch Odds Archived 17 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine. OnlineSportsHandicapping.com (27 September 2010). Retrieved 2013-03-01.
26. Carl Froch Getting Anxious To Get Ward in The Ring – Boxing News. Boxingscene.com (17 November 2011). Retrieved 2013-03-01.
27. Iole, Kevin. (13 December 2011) Mailbag: Ranking the Super Six bouts – Boxing – Yahoo! Sports. Yahoo! Sport. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
28. Vester, Mark (24 April 2010) Froch: If I Was Back Home, I Would Have Beaten Kessler – Boxing News. Boxingscene.com. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
30. Christ, Scott. (4 June 2011) Carl Froch Gets Past Glen Johnson, Advances to Super Six Final. Bad Left Hook. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
31. "Andre Ward outfoxes Carl Froch". ESPN. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
32. THE CYBER BOXING ZONE PRESENTS THE LINEAL SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONS. cyberboxingzone.com
33. "Andre Ward draws 1.3 million viewers to HBO for his TKO of Chad Dawson". Retrieved 29 May 2017.
34. "IBF make Carl Froch the number one mandatory to Bute". LiveFight. 9 February 2012. Archived from the original on 17 January 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
35. Carl Froch destroys Lucian Bute to capture IBF world title | Sport | The Observer. Guardian (27 May 2012). Retrieved 2013-03-01.
36. Froch unhappy with bookmakers having him the underdog against Bute Archived 31 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Eastsideboxing.com (26 May 2012). Retrieved 2013-03-01.
37. McNeilly, Ian (26 December 2012). "Froch and Marquez head the BoxRec News Awards for 2012". BoxRec. Archived from the original on 10 January 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
38. Nakrani, Sachin (26 May 2013). "Carl Froch v Mikkel Kessler – as it happened". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
39. "Carl Froch retains world titles with controversial stoppage win over George Groves". Sky Sports.
40. "Carl Froch ordered to have George Groves rematch by IBF". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
41. Davies, Gareth A. (29 May 2014). "Carl Froch vs George Groves part II press conference: live". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
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43. "Ring Magazine Awards for 2014". February 2015.
44. Nabil, Hassan (24 April 2009). "The secret diary of Carl Froch". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 November 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
45. "No pressure from 'stressed' Rachael Cordingley for Carl Froch to hang up gloves | Nottingham Post". nottinghampost.com. 25 November 2013. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
46. "George Groves comments on Carl Froch claiming Earth is flat, Froch responds". 26 September 2019.
47. "Carl Froch denies moon landings happened – and says the Earth is flat". 24 September 2019.
48. "Boxing legend Carl Froch is Flat Earther who says NASA is faking space photos". 24 September 2019.
49. "Carl Froch: 'Moon landing never happened' and questions the shape of the earth". 24 September 2019.

External links

• Official website (archived)
• Boxing record for Carl Froch from BoxRec (registration required)

• 1977 births
• Living people
• AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists
• Boxers from Nottingham
• Boxing commentators
• British Boxing Board of Control champions
• Commonwealth Boxing Council champions
• England Boxing champions
• English male boxers
• English people of Polish descent
• Flat Earth proponents
• International Boxing Federation champions
• Members of the Order of the British Empire
• People from Colwick
• Sportspeople from Nottinghamshire
• World Boxing Association champions
• World Boxing Council champions
• World super-middleweight boxing champions
• Middleweight boxers