Carl Froch (born 2 July 1977) is an
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
professional boxerBoxing is a combat sport where two participants, generally of similar weight, fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is typically engaged in during a series of one to three-minute intervals called rounds. There are three ways to win...
and is the current
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
Super MiddleweightSuper Middleweight is a boxing and Muay Thai weight division that has a weight limit of 168 pounds. There was interest in a division between middleweight and light heavyweight in the late 1960s, the mid-1970s, and the early 1980s...
champion, since defeating
Jean PascalJean-Thenistor Pascal is a Haitian-Canadian professional boxer and the current WBC Light Heavyweight Champion.-Early life:...
on points for the vacant title on 6 December 2008. After a split decision win over
Andre DirrellAndre Dirrell is an American boxer, who won the middleweight bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.-Amateur career:...
in the second defence of his belt on 17 October 2009, his record stands at 26-0 (20KO).
He is a tall, rangy fighter who adopts a very low guard, however, he uses his left shoulder to protect his chin from a right-handed attack and his right arm from a left, rather than both his forearms.
He previously held the British title at Super Middleweight level, as well as the English title and also the Commonwealth belt.
Amateur
Froch began boxing at home at 9 years old. He later joined the Phoenix ABC in
GedlingGedling is a village in Nottinghamshire, England, that is now a suburb of Greater Nottingham. It is situated four miles north-east of Nottingham city centre in the NG4 postcode...
, near
NottinghamNottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, England and is one of only eight members of the English Core Cities Group....
. As an amateur he won two
ABAThe Amateur Boxing Association of England is the governing body of amateur boxing in England. There are separate organisations for Scotland and Wales with boxing in Northern Ireland being organised on an All-Ireland basis....
middleweight titles in 1999 and 2001 and a bronze medal at the
2001 World Amateur Boxing ChampionshipsThe Men's 2001 World Amateur Boxing Championships were held in Belfast, Northern Ireland, from June 3 to June 10. The competition was organised by the world governing body for amateur boxing International Boxing Association...
before turning pro and having his first pro fight in March 2002.
During his amateur career, he lost a fight to
Denis InkinDenis Inkin is a German based Russian professional boxer who fights in the Super-Middleweight division.-Amateur career:...
, who he was scheduled to fight in a title eliminator in 2008, but Inkin pulled out on two occasions.
Professional career
Standing 6'1", Froch is unbeaten in 26 professional fights, with 20 knockouts.
He turned professional late on at the age of 25. He stated on ITV that despite his age he is a fresh 30-year-old, that he can go on for many more years to come and that he has not yet hit his peak, after presenter Jim Rosenthal asked if he was a little old to be challenging for a world title.
Froch, who is trained by
Robert McCrackenRobert McCracken is a former British Middleweight Boxer and world title challenger from Birmingham, England. Robert worked as a wood machinist at Hoskins Cabinet Works,Bordesley,Birmingham before turning to boxing.He was affectionately known as "boxing Bob". McCracken turned pro in 1991 in the...
and managed by Mick Hennessy, is the reigning
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
World super-middleweight champion. Having been rated the number 1 challenger at super-middleweight by the
WBCThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
previously and then demoted to second, he has recently regained his position as number 1 challenger and defeated Jean Pascal to take the title that
Joe CalzagheJoseph William Calzaghe CBE is a Welsh former professional boxer who retired undefeated. He was rated by Ring magazine as pound for pound one of the top 10 boxers in the world, He retired in February 2009 with an undefeated record, becoming only the third European boxer, after Terry Marsh and Sven...
vacated when he moved up to light-heavyweight to fight
Bernard HopkinsBernard Hopkins, known as the Executioner is an American boxer. He is best known for his ten year reign as middleweight world champion in which he successfully defended his title a record 20 times. He is the first fighter to retain all 4 major boxing governing body belts including the Ring...
.
In 2004, Froch won the vacant British Championship. He has defended it against
Brian MageeBrian Magee is a super middleweight boxer, as an amateur he competed for Ireland in the middleweight division at the 1996 Summer Olympics...
,
Damon HagueDamon Hague is a former two weight World Boxing Foundation champion.Hague was the first boxer ever to win a WBF World title from Derby. In late 2003, Hague was due to defend his WBF title against Robin Reid, but Reid decided to take on Sven Ottke in Germany.Hague was also undefeated British kick...
, and a number of other contenders, earning him a
Lonsdale BeltThe Lonsdale Belt was a boxing prize introduced by Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale, to be awarded to British boxing champions. It is still awarded to British champions today.-National Sporting Club:...
outright in the process and fulfilling a long-held ambition.
On the 9 November 2007 at the Nottingham arena he stopped veteran ex-world champion Robin Reid, after which Reid retired.
He is a supporter of
Nottingham ForestNottingham Forest F.C. are an English professional football club based at the City Ground in West Bridgford, a suburb of Nottingham. They are currently playing in the Coca-Cola Championship, the second tier of the English football pyramid...
and has a season ticket, making him a popular figure amongst Forest fans. He occasionally trains at Forest's training ground when a fight is upcoming. He has also appeared on the popular Sky Sports Saturday Morning Football show Soccer AM the week before a fight.
He has been a special guest at the City Ground on a number of occasions and received a warm welcome from the Forest faithful.
On 10 May 2008, at the Trent Fm Arena in Nottingham Carl Froch stopped unbeaten Polish Albert Rybacki in the 4th round of a scheduled 12. Rybacki was drafted in as a last-minute replacement after initial opponent
Denis InkinDenis Inkin is a German based Russian professional boxer who fights in the Super-Middleweight division.-Amateur career:...
pulled out on two occasions and no Top 30 fighter was willing to take the fight at two weeks' notice.
On 6 December 2008, Froch fought Canadian
Jean PascalJean-Thenistor Pascal is a Haitian-Canadian professional boxer and the current WBC Light Heavyweight Champion.-Early life:...
for the vacant WBC super middleweight title and won after a hard-fought 12-round brawl.
On 25 April 2009, Froch fought
Jermain TaylorJermain Taylor is an American professional boxer and former undisputed middleweight champion. He made his professional boxing debut in 2001 and won his first 23 bouts, which included victories over former champions Raúl Márquez and William Joppy...
in his first defence of his WBC super middleweight title, at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods, Connecticut. Froch survived a third-round knockdown – the first of his entire career, amateur and professional – and, behind on two of the three judges' cards coming into the final round, he managed to stop his opponent with a stunning twelfth round knockout. After the fight, Froch was quoted as saying "Kessler, Pavlik, Hopkins, I want them all to feel the force."
On 13 July, Froch agreed to take part in the
Super Six World Boxing ClassicThe Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament is a boxing competition for the WBA and WBC super middleweight title, it's organized by Showtime in cooperation with Sauerland Event. The first matches took place on October 17 2009...
super middleweight tournament devised by American giant
ShowtimeShowtime is a subscription television brand used by a number of channels and platforms around the world, but primarily refers to a group of channels in the United States...
. The tournament features 6 boxers including
Andre DirrellAndre Dirrell is an American boxer, who won the middleweight bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.-Amateur career:...
,
Mikkel KesslerMikkel Kessler is a Danish professional boxer. In his professional career he has a record of 42-1 and 32 knockouts. Mikkel Kessler is the current WBA super middleweight world champion.-Biography:...
,
Arthur Abraham"King" Arthur Abraham is an Armenian professional boxer residing in Berlin, Germany. He has been undefeated as IBF Middleweight World champion.- Biography :...
,
Jermain TaylorJermain Taylor is an American professional boxer and former undisputed middleweight champion. He made his professional boxing debut in 2001 and won his first 23 bouts, which included victories over former champions Raúl Márquez and William Joppy...
,
Andre WardAndre Ward is an American boxer who won Gold at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the light heavyweight division, the first American boxing gold in 8 years.-Personal:...
and Froch himself. Froch's first opponent in the Super Six was
Andre DirrellAndre Dirrell is an American boxer, who won the middleweight bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.-Amateur career:...
.
The bout took place in Nottingham on 18 October and Froch's WBC world title was on the line. Froch won the fight and retained his title with a split decision victory over the previously undefeated
Andre DirrellAndre Dirrell is an American boxer, who won the middleweight bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.-Amateur career:...
; although this proved to be a controversial decision that many thought should have gone Dirrell's way. The fight was dirty at times with Dirrell constantly grabbing, complaining to the ref, refusing to engage and even falling to his knees to avoid being hit and Froch often throwing rabbit punches and threw Dirrell to the canvas at one point. 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.
Reigns of championships
| Sanctioning Body and Weight Class |
Reign Began |
Reign Ended |
Time Held |
| English super middleweight The British Boxing Board of Control is the governing body of professional boxing in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1929 from the old National Sporting Club and is headquartered in Cardiff.- Councils :...
|
November 28 2003 |
March 12 2004 (Relinquished title) |
4 months |
| Commonwealth super middleweight |
March 12 2004 |
November 24 2006 (Relinquished title) |
20 months |
| BBBofC super middleweight The British Boxing Board of Control is the governing body of professional boxing in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1929 from the old National Sporting Club and is headquartered in Cardiff.- Councils :...
|
September 24 2004 |
December 06 2008 (Relinquished title) |
51 months |
| WBC super middleweight The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
|
December 06 2008 |
|
|
Professional boxing record
|-
|align="center" colspan=8|
26 Wins (20 knockouts, 6 decisions),
0 Losses,
0 Draws
|-
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|
Res.
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|
Opponent
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|
Type
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|
Round
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|
Date
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|
Location
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|
Notes
|-align=left
|Win
|USA
Andre DirrellAndre Dirrell is an American boxer, who won the middleweight bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.-Amateur career:...
||Decision
|12
|2009-10-18
|align=left|
NottinghamNottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, England and is one of only eight members of the English Core Cities Group....
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
|align=left|
|-align=left
|Win
|USA
Jermain TaylorJermain Taylor is an American professional boxer and former undisputed middleweight champion. He made his professional boxing debut in 2001 and won his first 23 bouts, which included victories over former champions Raúl Márquez and William Joppy...
||TKO
|12
|2009-04-25
|align=left|Mashantucket,
ConnecticutConnecticut is a state in the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and New York to the west and south ....
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|align=left|
|-align=left
|Win
|CAN
Jean PascalJean-Thenistor Pascal is a Haitian-Canadian professional boxer and the current WBC Light Heavyweight Champion.-Early life:...
|Decision
|12
|2008-12-06
|align=left|Nottingham, England
|align=left|
|-align=left
|Win
|POL Albert Rybacki
|TKO
|4
|2008-05-10
|align=left|Nottingham, England
|align=left|
|-align=left
|Win
|UK
Robin ReidRobin Reid is a former British boxer whose greatest successes came when winning the light middleweight bronze medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics for Great Britain and Becoming the World Boxing Council super middleweight title in 1996.- Amateur career :*1988 2nd at Light Middleweight at Junior...
|TKO
|5
|2007-11-09
|align=left|Nottingham, England
|align=left|
|-align=left
|Win
|RUS Sergey Tatevosyan
|TKO
|2
|2007-03-23
|align=left|Nottingham, England
|align=left|
|-align=left
|Win
|UK Tony Dodson
|KO
|3
|2006-11-24
|align=left|Nottingham, England
|align=left|
|-align=left
|Win
|UK
Brian MageeBrian Magee is a super middleweight boxer, as an amateur he competed for Ireland in the middleweight division at the 1996 Summer Olympics...
|KO
|11
|2006-05-26
|align=left|
York HallThe York Hall is a health and leisure centre and one of Britain's best known boxing venues.The venue is situated on Old Ford Road in Bethnal Green, London, England. The hall, opened in 1929 with a capacity of 1,200, stages boxing as well as providing a gymnasium and swimming pool.The hall is owned...
,
Bethnal GreenBethnal Green is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. Bethnal Green is located north east of Charing Cross...
, England
|align=left|
|-align=left
|Win
|AUS Dale Westerman
|TKO
|9
|2006-02-17
|align=left|York Hall, Bethnal Green, England
|align=left|
|-align=left
|Win
|RSA Ruben Groenewald
|TKO
|5
|2005-02-12
|align=left|Nottingham, England
|align=left|
|-align=left
|Win
|UK
Matthew BarneyMatthew Barney is an American artist who works in sculpture, photography, drawing and film. His early works were sculptural installations combined with performance and video...
|Decision
|12
|2005-07-09
|align=left|Nottingham, England
|align=left|
|-align=left
|Win
|Costa Rica Henry Porras
|TKO
|8
|2005-04-21
|align=left|Hollywood,
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
, United States
|align=left|
|-align=left
|Win
|UK
Damon HagueDamon Hague is a former two weight World Boxing Foundation champion.Hague was the first boxer ever to win a WBF World title from Derby. In late 2003, Hague was due to defend his WBF title against Robin Reid, but Reid decided to take on Sven Ottke in Germany.Hague was also undefeated British kick...
|TKO
|1
|2004-09-24
|align=left|Nottingham, England
|align=left|
|-align=left
|Win
|CAN Mark Woolnaugh
|TKO
|9
|2004-06-02
|align=left|Nottingham, England
|align=left|
|-align=left
|Win
|Ghana Charles Adamu
|Decision
|12
|2004-03-12
|align=left|Nottingham, England
|align=left|
|-align=left
|Win
|BEL Dmitry Adamovich
|TKO
|2
|2004-01-30
|align=left|
DagenhamDagenham is a suburban town in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, situated east of Charing Cross, in East London.-Etymology:Dagenham as Dæccanhaam is first recorded in a charter of Barking Abbey dating from 687 AD...
, England
|align=left|
|-align=left
|Win
|UK
Alan PageAlan Cedric Page is a jurist and former professional American football player. He graduated from Canton Central Catholic High School in 1963, received his B.A. in political science from the University of Notre Dame in 1967, and received his J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1978...
|TKO
|7
|2003-11-28
|align=left|
DerbyDerby is a city in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
, England
|align=left|
|-align=left
|Win
|ARM Vage Korcharyan
|Decision
|8
|2003-10-04
|align=left|
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
, England
|align=left|
|-align=left
|Win
|UK
Michael MonaghanMichael Monaghan is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays for the Warrington Wolves in the European Super League. He was born 13 May, 1980, in Canberra A.C.T....
|TKO
|3
|2003-04-16
|align=left|Nottingham, England
|align=left|
|-align=left
|Win
|ARM Varuzhan Davtyan
|TKO
|5
|2003-03-05
|align=left|York Hall, Bethnal Green, England
|align=left|
|-align=left
|Win
|FRA Valery Odin
|TKO
|6
|2003-01-28
|align=left|Nottingham, England
|align=left|
|-align=left
|Win
|UK Mike Duffield
|TKO
|1
|2002-12-21
|align=left|Dagenham, England
|align=left|
|-align=left
|Win
|UK
Paul BonsonPaul Bonson is a professional British cruiserweight boxer from Featherstone, Yorkshire. His professional record stands at 21 wins, two by way of knock-out, 105 loses and eight draws in 134 bouts.-External links:...
|Decision
|6
|2002-10-25
|align=left|York Hall, Bethnal Green, England
|align=left|
|-align=left
|Win
|UK Darren Covell
|TKO
|1
|2002-08-23
|align=left|York Hall, Bethnal Green, England
|align=left|
|-align=left
|Win
|UK Ojay Abrahams
|KO
|1
|2002-05-10
|align=left|York Hall, Bethnal Green, England
|align=left|
|-align=left
|Win
|UK Michael Pinnock
|TKO
|4
|2002-03-16
|align=left|York Hall, Bethnal Green, England
|align=left|
|-align=left
Personal life
Froch was born in
NottinghamNottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, England and is one of only eight members of the English Core Cities Group....
in 1977 to an English mother (Carol) and an English father (Frank), his surname is from his
PolishPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
grandparents. Early in his life Froch wanted to become a footballer and play for
Nottingham ForestNottingham Forest F.C. are an English professional football club based at the City Ground in West Bridgford, a suburb of Nottingham. They are currently playing in the Coca-Cola Championship, the second tier of the English football pyramid...
, his local football team. Froch is an avid fan of
Johnny CashJohnny Cash , born J. R. Cash, was an American singer-songwriter and one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
and is also a keen
historianAn historian is an individual who studies and writes about history, and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all events in time...
with regards to combat.
As of January 2009, Froch is dating
modelthumb|200px|Alesya Nazarova modeling a dress by [[bebe stores|bebe]]A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed for the purpose of displaying and promoting fashion clothing or other products and for advertising or promotional purposes or who poses for works of art.Modeling...
Rachael Cordingley.
External links