Carl Froch was stunning again on Saturday night in Herning against Mikkel Kessler. The problem is that he no longer holds the world title. He is bold, he is brazen and he lives and dies on his sword.The twelfth round of the Nottingham man?s WBC supermiddleweight defence will go down in history as one of the most exciting ever in supermiddleweight history. And, let us not forget, this is a title graced by great names ? Sugar Ray Leonard, who was the the first holder of the WBC gong in 1984, Nigel Benn, and Joe Calzaghe, to name but three.
Forget all the conjecture from know-it-all boxing sages about the judges? marking in this fight. Most of the rounds were close. It?s a subjective sport ? and always will be. Even judge Roger Tilleman?s verdict, which may have looked beyond the pale at 117-111, had some reasoning behind it.
Froch fought most of the rounds on the back foot, deliberately and tactically maybe, but Kessler looked the dominant fighter in the ring. Froch fought bravely, and earned everyone?s respect as one of the toughest men out there in boxing today. Yet he fought the wrong fight?
Ask his trainer Robert McCracken in a sanguine moment. He was going spare in the corner during the fight. McCracken is a cool customer, but he was imploring Froch to listen and ?take away Kessler?s jab?. He never did. Listen, that is? or take the jab away. It was the jab, and the successive body shots Kessler scored with which essentially, and decisively, would have won him the fight in the judges? minds. He did also trip himself up in the fifth round. The three-punch combination landed by Froch before Kessler fell landed on his arms. It was rightly ruled a slip. Had it been ruled a knockdown, I would have had the fight a draw.
But Froch, with slight alterations, could have both taken the fight, and hurt Kessler. It will be Froch?s undoing if he does not learn from this defeat, which he must. Forget complaining about going to Berlin, hometown decisions, and one million pound demands; go to Berlin and show the world that he is the genuine article. He most definitely has it in him.
Nor was it ?a home decision?. Froch is hurt. Rightly so, he is a proud champion who put it all on the line, and as the dust settles, he is looking for reasons as to why he lost. He lost because he did not listen to his corner; nor did he capitalise on hurting Kessler in the fifth round.
I scored it a very close fight. I had the two men even going into the last round, pipped by Kessler. But don?t believe a word of Froch?s threat to pull out. If he does, it is plain foolishness, sheer madness. He is three wins away from holding the WBC title, again, and the WBA title. That?s 15 months of fights. A fallen champion can sometimes take that long to regain one belt. That?s the beauty of the Super Six classic.
There is also no question of Froch v Kessler being the main contender for Fight of the Year 2010, thus far. But let?s hope the fallout soon settles. Time for Froch to recover ? after a brutal battle ? and not to look for excuses to avoid going to Berlin.
Froch demands since losing his title are just posturing, and in my view, he must be bluffing when he says he will pull out of the fight he is scheduled to have with Arthur Abraham on August 21 if it has to take place in Berlin.
It is also, possibly, a sign he is not earning highly enough, and this is also part of the problem. Froch?s fighting style equals short career, and Saturday night was overtime on his chin, which will not last forever. He has had three very tough fights in his last four ? and should have the green ones stacking up in the bank. This is where his promoter, Mick Hennessy comes in. Timing is everything in sport, but so too with match-making and television deals in boxing. Froch has endured the rough end in those aspects. His major paymasters in this tournament are Showtime, the US cable station, but there is not a reciprocal deal in the UK.
German promoters Sauerland have a concrete contract with German tv, and an array of stadia and arenas at their disposal which they can fill with huge audiences. Boxing is major Saturday night fare in Germany at present.
When Vitali Klitschko fought Kevin Johnson last year in Germany, the television audience was the second largest of the year in sport in that country. The only sports event to top it, with over 12 million viewers was the FIFA World Cup qualifying match between Germany and Russia.
In spite of reports to the contrary on Monday, logic dictates it is all but certain he will.
Froch has no UK television deal, his principal paymasters being Showtime. I can?t see where else he could go which makes sense right now.
The only other option, a long shot, would be to walk away and fight Canadian Lucien Bute, the International Boxing Federation super-middleweight champion. Yet Bute fights on Showtime rival channel HBO. Lawsuit ? No, thank you.
German promoter Wilfried Sauerland ? who handles both Abraham and Kessler ? had rebuffed Hennessy?s claims of a verbal agreement on a UK venue for Froch-Abraham. This is where business takes over. Without a written contract for a UK venue, Froch will have to go to Berlin, although Sauerland has admitted a neutral venue could be the answer.
Froch must defeat now Abraham to progress to the semi-finals of the Super Six classic after losing to Kessler. Froch, 32, has the style to defeat the smaller, bull of a man who was the world middleweight champion. Like Froch, he looks to land heavy shots, but has less of a work-rate. He is tailor-made for Froch to modify his style ? actually use his jab more ? and go to Berlin and nick a result. So, it?s Berlin ? or bust.
Walk away now ? and Froch really will be in the wilderness. In some respects, he already is in tv terms, with
I have both enjoyed Froch?s company, and admired his boxing skills since meeting him at a multi-nations amateur tournament in Liverpool when he was an amateur boxing for England ten years ago. He is a bright man, a wonderful athlete, and now one-time world boxing champion. I hope he will come back..and take the title again. But I also want to offer my congratulations to him on the pregnancy of his girlfriend Rachael Cordingley, announced soon after the contest on Saturday night. Wonderful.
Make or break time for Enzo Maccarinelli in Russia tomorrow
In Russia tomorrow night, Welshman Enzo Maccarinelli challenges for the vacant European cruiserweight title against Alexander Kotlobay in St. Petersburg. The former WBO champion from Swansea looked dead and buried in his career after losing to Ola Afolabi and Denis Lebedev last year, but a win would put him back on track.
Remarkably, this is only the second time Maccarinelli has fought outside of Great Britain ? the other came in the homeland of his parentage, Italy, in 2005. ?So what ? I?ve got to go to Russia. The fans can shout and scream for him as loud as they want but at the end of the day they won?t be in the ring to help him.? Make or break for the Welshman in this fight?
