11 things you didn't know about boxer Carl Froch Daily mirror

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http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/boxing/carl-froch-vs-george-groves-3576108 


Froch won
 Carl Froch vs George Groves rematch: 11 things you need to know about Carl 'The Cobra' Froch

    May 20, 2014 16:47
    By Matthew McEvoy

He’s been at the top of British boxing for several years now and on Saturday he will defend his throne again against challenger George Groves
 

Getty
Carl Froch (left) will once again take on George Groves on Saturday

The biggest British fight of all time is nigh, as Carl Froch and George Groves square off again. This time though, it’s in front of 80,000 fight fans at Wembley Stadium. With a cloud of controversy over both fighters from their first encounter, and their recent very public spats, it’s easy to forget how accomplished each fighter is.

Froch in particular has been boxing for more than 25 years, with 12 of them as a pro. He’s won several world championships and unified a division – one that’s been extremely competitive over the last decade. He’s beaten some of the best, and lost to even better, but he has cemented his legacy as an all-time British great.

Here are 11 things you should know about British boxing’s super middleweight supremo, Carl ‘The Cobra’ Froch.

1) Nottingham born and bred

Carl Martin Froch was born on July 2, 1977 in Nottingham, to parents Frank and Carol Froch. He has two brothers, Lee and Wayne, who are regularly seen by his side at fights. Carl is of Polish Jewish descent.

2) Amateur pedigree

Froch started boxing at the age of nine. He made a name for himself at Nottingham’s prolific Phoenix ABC. He won two senior ABA National Championships at middleweight in 1999 and 2001, and a bronze medal at the 2001 World Amateur Championships in Belfast. He left the amateurs for the paid ranks in 2002, with a final ledger of 88-8.

PA Boxing - WBA and IBF Super Middleweight Title - Carl Froch v George Groves - Phones 4u Arena
Carl Froch will be looking to notch another win against George Groves

3) Football fan

It’s no secret that Froch is a massive Nottingham Forest F.C. fan. He’s often welcomed onto the pitch at half-time after his fights and attends matches regularly.

He has a long-standing desire to fight at the City Ground, with Forest’s home turf initially a mooted venue for the forthcoming rematch. He’s also trained there before fights.

4) Family man

Froch has some very vocal support in his corner, none more so than partner, model Rachael Cordingley. He has two children with her, Rocco and Natalia, and has become something of a property developer as he looks to a life beyond boxing.

PA Boxing - WBA and IBF Super Middleweight Title - Carl Froch v George Groves - Phones 4u Arena
The last fight between Froch and Groves ended in controversial circumstances

5) Media personality

It’s taken a long time for Carl’s hard work to reap dividends, but he broke into the mainstream consciousness after his victory over Lucian Bute in 2012. He won GQ’s Sportsman of the Year and even appeared on ITV dance show Stepping Out with partner Rachael in 2013. He had to bow-out rather unceremoniously however, as he sprained his back during a performance.

6) Professional life

Carl turned pro in 2002 as a super middleweight and has done it the ‘proper way’. He’s won the BBBofC English, Commonwealth and BBBofC British super middleweight titles, earning the prestigious Lord Lonsdale belt outright in 2007.

He’s faced names including Damon Hague, Tony Dodson, Brian Magee and Robin Reid at domestic championship level early on in his career, and KO’d all of them.

   

7) Matchroom bread-winner

For much of his early career, Froch was Hennessy Sport’s poster boy. Despite winning titles under Mick Hennessy, Froch parted ways with him in 2011 and joined Eddie Hearn’s burgeoning Matchroom Sports stable. It looks like it may have been the right decision.

Froch is enjoying an unrivalled amount of exposure, as well as career-high paydays with the Hearns.

Four-time world champ

Froch’s first world title came in 2008, when he scored a unanimous decision over unbeaten Canadian-Haitian Jean Pascal for the vacant WBC super middleweight championship. He defended it twice successfully: once against former undisputed middleweight king Jermain Taylor and then against Olympic bronze medallist Andre Dirrell in 2009, in the opening round of the Super Six World Boxing Classic.

 

WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE

 

In the same tournament he suffered his first loss at the hands of Mikkel Kessler, in Denmark in 2010 . He won back his title by beating Artur Abraham (Kessler had to vacate due to injury). He then defended his WBC strap against Jamaican veteran Glen Johnson in 2011, but lost it in the tourney’s final to Andre Ward a few months later.

Froch was comprehensively beaten by the Olympic gold medallist, but this didn’t bow his head. Instead, he took on Canadian southpaw Lucian Bute for his IBF super middleweight title in 2012. Froch obliterated him in five rounds in the best British fight of the year.

Froch has a record of 9-2 in world title fights with 4 KOs, and is 7-2 against former or current world titlists.

 

9) Rivalry with Groves

It runs deeper than just a fight with the gifted Londoner, apparently. They were occasional sparring partners, and Froch believes Groves is trying to 'prove himself' after getting bashed up in training. He also says Groves was jealous after he beat Lucian Bute.

10) Britain’s best?

Froch may have lived in Joe Calzaghe’s shadow for some time, but it looks as if he has a legacy to match the unbeaten Welshman’s. He’s been at the top of the British pound-for-pound (P4P) rankings for some time now, and currently sits at tenth in the world P4P rankings. He will almost certainly go down as a ‘great’ within the sport’s division, let alone in British history.

 

11) Retirement

Froch has admitted that if he loses to Groves that may well be curtains for his illustrious career. At 36 he knows he can retire with his legacy secured – “I am very, very satisfied with what a glossy, fantastic, unbelievable career I’ve had. If it was to go wrong – I can’t see it happening – I’ll probably stop fighting,” he has said.

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