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On 25 April 2009, Froch fought
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
Carl Martin Froch, (born 2 July 1977) is a British former
as the best active British boxer, pound for pound. BoxRec ranks Froch as the third greatest British fighter of all time, pound for pound. Froch will be inducted into the professional boxer
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...
who competed from 2002 to 2014, and has since worked as a boxing analyst and commentator. He held multiple super-middleweight world championships, including the WBC title twice between 2008 and 2011, the IBF
The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...
title from 2012 to 2015, and the WBA (Unified)
The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is the oldest and one of four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Council (WBC), International Bo ...
title from 2013 to 2015. At regional level he held the British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
, Commonwealth, and English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
super-middleweight titles, and won the Lonsdale Belt in 2006. As an amateur in the middleweight division, Froch won a 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
Pound for pound is a ranking used in combat sports, such as boxing, wrestling, or mixed martial arts, of who the better fighters are irrespective of their weight, i.e. adjusted to compensate for weight class. As these fighters do not compete direc ...
ranking of sixth by BoxRec and ''The Ring'' magazine, and in 2013 was listed by the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...International Boxing Hall of Fame
The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The I ...
as part of the class of 2023.
Early and personal life
Carl Martin Froch was born inColwick
Colwick ( ) is a village, civil parish, and suburb of the city of Nottingham, in the English ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire. It is situated to the east of Nottingham's city boundary, and forms the Colwick ward within the local governmen ...
, Nottingham
Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...
, 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. Froch is a fan of Johnny Cash. His wife Rachael Froch with whom he married in May 2019, is a British glamour model, with whom he has a son, Rocco, and a daughter, Natalia. On 11 September 2015, the couple welcomed a second daughter, Penelope. Early in his life Froch wanted to become a footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
and play for Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
, his local football team, and has stated that he would love 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
''Soccer AM'' is a British football-based comedy/talk show, produced by Sky Sports.
First broadcast in 1995, the programme currently airs on Sky Showcase, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Football at 10.30am on Saturdays during the f ...
'' the week before a fight. Froch has publicly stated his belief in a flat Earth
The flat-Earth model is an archaic and scientifically disproven conception of Earth's shape as a plane or disk. Many ancient cultures subscribed to a flat-Earth cosmography, including Greece until the classical period (5th century BC), t ...
on numerous occasions.
Amateur career
Froch began boxing at the Phoenix ABC inGedling
Gedling is a village in the Gedling district, in Nottinghamshire, England, four miles northeast of Nottingham city centre. The population at the 2011 census of the ward was 6,817 and 111,787 for the district. Gedling was recorded in the Dome ...
, 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
Coach and promoter
Froch was trained byRobert McCracken
Robert Chad McCracken is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1991 to 2001, and has since worked as a boxing trainer. He once challenged for the WBC middleweight title in 2000. At regional level, he held the British super-wel ...
throughout his professional career. He was managed and promoted by Mick Hennessy
Mick Hennessy is a British boxing manager and promoter. He is the founder and CEO of Hennessy Sports. He was known for promoting Tyson Fury
Tyson Luke Fury (born 12 August 1988) is an English professional boxer. He is a two-time world h ...
until 2011, and from thereon by Eddie Hearn
Edward John Hearn (born 8 June 1979) is a British sports promoter who is chairman of Matchroom Sport and Professional Darts Corporation. Hearn is the son of promoter Barry Hearn, the founder of Matchroom Sport.
Education
Hearn was a student a ...
.
Early career
Froch made his debut at the age of 24 in March 2002. He fought at theYork Hall
The York Hall, officially known as York Hall Leisure Centre, is a multi-purpose indoor arena and leisure complex in Bethnal Green, London, and is situated on Old Ford Road. The building opened in 1929 with a capacity of 1,200 and is now an inte ...
in Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heath Road. By ...
, London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
against veteran 36 year old journeyman
A journeyman, journeywoman, or journeyperson is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that fie ...
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
A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving strikin ...
. 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
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
.
Froch started 2003 with a knockout win against Valery Odin, fighting for the first time at the Nottingham Arena
Motorpoint Arena (originally the Nottingham Arena) is a multi-use indoor arena joined with the National Ice Centre in the Lace Market district of Nottingham, England. The National Ice Centre and Nottingham Arena were opened by Olympic gold m ...
, 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.
Domestic success
In November 2003, Froch fought fellow unbeaten British contender Alan Page (8–0, 4 KOs) at the Derby Storm Arena inDerby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...
for the vacant English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
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. 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
Matthew Barney (born March 25, 1967) is an American contemporary artist and film director who works in the fields of sculpture, film, photography and drawing. His works explore connections among geography, biology, geology and mythology as well ...
, Brian Magee
Brian Magee (born 9 June 1975) is a Northern Irish former professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2012.. Retrieved 19 June 2016. He held the WBA (Regular) super-middleweight title in 2012, and the IBO title from 2001 to 2004. At regiona ...
and Tony Dodson
Tony Dodson (born 2 July 1980) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2016. He held the British super middleweight title in 2003, and challenged for the Commonwealth super middleweight title in 2006 and the light heav ...
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 CanadianJean Pascal
Jean-Thenistor Pascal (born 28 October 1982) is a Haitian-born Canadian professional boxer. He held the WBA (Regular) light-heavyweight title from 2019 to 2021, and previously the WBC, IBO, '' Ring'' magazine and lineal light-heavyweight tit ...
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
Jermain Taylor (born August 11, 1978) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2014. He remains the most recent undisputed middleweight champion, having won the WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, WBO, ''Ring'' magazine, a ...
in his first defence of his WBC super-middleweight title, at the Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut
Mashantucket is a census-designated place (CDP) in the northeast part of the town of Ledyard, New London County, Connecticut, United States. It consists of land held by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe. The Foxwoods Resort Casino
Foxwoods Resort ...
. 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
Joseph William Calzaghe ( ; born 23 March 1972) is a Welsh former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2008. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the unified WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, WBO, '' Ring'' magazin ...
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 theSuper Six World Boxing Classic
The Super Six World Boxing Classic was a professional boxing tournament organized by the Showtime television network in co-operation with Sauerland Event. The tournament was held from 2009 to 2011, with all fights being contested in the super mi ...
super-middleweight tournament devised by Showtime
Showtime or Show Time may refer to:
Film
* ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film
* ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur
Television Networks and channels
* Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
, with the winner of the tournament winning the WBA, and WBC super-middleweight titles. The tournament featured six boxers including Andre Dirrell
Andre Dirrell (born September 7, 1983) is an American professional boxer who held the IBF interim super middleweight title from 2017 to 2018. As an amateur, he won a bronze medal in the middleweight division at the 2004 Olympics. His young ...
, Mikkel Kessler
Mikkel Kessler (born 1 March 1979) is a Danish former professional boxer who competed from 1998 to 2013. He held multiple super-middleweight world championships, including the WBA title three times between 2004 and 2013, and the WBC title twic ...
, Arthur Abraham
Avetik Abrahamyan ( hy, Ավետիք Աբրահամյան; born 20 February 1980), best known as Arthur Abraham, is an Armenian-German former professional boxer who competed from 2003 to 2018. He held multiple world championships in two weight ...
, Jermain Taylor
Jermain Taylor (born August 11, 1978) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2014. He remains the most recent undisputed middleweight champion, having won the WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, WBO, ''Ring'' magazine, a ...
, Andre Ward
Andre Michael Ward (born February 23, 1984) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2017. He retired with an undefeated record and held multiple world titles in two weight classes, including the unified WBA (Super) ...
and Froch. Froch's first opponent in the Super Six was Andre Dirrell
Andre Dirrell (born September 7, 1983) is an American professional boxer who held the IBF interim super middleweight title from 2017 to 2018. As an amateur, he won a bronze medal in the middleweight division at the 2004 Olympics. His young ...
.
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 viaunanimous decision
A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighte ...
, 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 formerIBF
The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...
middleweight champion Arthur Abraham in the third stage in Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...
, 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 wasGlen Johnson
Glen McLeod Cooper Johnson (''né'' Stephens; born 23 August 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played predominantly as a right back.
Johnson began his career at West Ham United, spending time on loan at Millwall, and was ...
. Froch retained his title with a majority decision
A majority decision (MD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking. In a majority decision, two of the three judges agree on whi ...
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
Ring may refer to:
* Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry
* To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell
:(hence) to initiate a telephone connection
Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
'' 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
Lucian Bute (born February 28, 1980) is a Romanian-Canadian former professional boxer who competed from 2003 to 2017. He held the IBF super-middleweight title from 2007 to 2012, successfully making nine consecutive defenses and reaching a peak r ...
#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. After the Bute fight and acquiring the IBF title, Froch defeatedYusaf Mack
Yusaf Mack (born January 20, 1980) is an American former professional boxer.
Professional boxing career
On November 17, 2000, in his professional boxing debut, Mack defeated Willie Lee via TKO in the second round.
He has held regional titles fr ...
via knockout. The British website BoxRec named Froch the "Fighter of the Year" in the end of 2012.
Unified 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 champion Kessler in a rematch of their fight in 2010. This time it was Froch that was victorious via unanimous decision atThe O2 Arena
The O2 Arena, commonly known as the O2 (stylised as The O2 arena), is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of the O2 entertainment complex on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the s ...
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 thePhones4u Arena
Manchester Arena, currently referred to as the AO Arena for sponsorship reasons, is an indoor arena in Manchester, England, immediately north of the city centre and partly above Manchester Victoria station in air rights space. The arena has the ...
in Manchester, with Froch's WBA 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 byEddie Hearn
Edward John Hearn (born 8 June 1979) is a British sports promoter who is chairman of Matchroom Sport and Professional Darts Corporation. Hearn is the son of promoter Barry Hearn, the founder of Matchroom Sport.
Education
Hearn was a student a ...
and Matchroom Boxing
Matchroom Sport is a sporting event promotions company founded by English entrepreneur Barry Hearn and run by Hearn and his son Eddie Hearn. It first came to attention in the sports of snooker and boxing and is also involved in pool, bowling, go ...
that Froch v Groves II would take place on 31 May 2014 at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The 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 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
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
.
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
Richie Woodhall (born 17 April 1968) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2000. He held the WBC super-middleweight title from 1998 to 1999, as well as the Commonwealth middleweight title from 1992 to 1995, and the E ...
and Steve Bunce
Steve Bunce (born 3 December 1962 in Camden Town, London), nicknamed "Buncey", is a British freelance television and radio sport pundit and newspaper columnist.
Career
He has regularly appeared as a pundit on the BBC sports programme '' Insi ...
had the fight scored four rounds to three for Froch on the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...Knockout of the Year
'' The Ring'' magazine was established in 1922 and has named a Knockout of the Year since 1989, based on the magazine's writers' criteria.
Knockouts of the Year by decade 1980s
* 1989: Michael Nunn ''KO 1'' Sumbu Kalambay
1990s
* 1990: Terr ...
by '' The Ring'' for 2014.
Professional boxing record
References
External links
* (archived) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Froch, Carl 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 World Boxing Association champions World Boxing Council champions World super-middleweight boxing champions Middleweight boxers