the nature of his wildly entertaining decision loss to Mikkel Kessler in Denmark has ensured the bitter pill went down easy.
?Before the fight if I ever thought about getting beat I couldn?t even use the ?lost? word,? confessed Froch. ?But I don?t know if it?s because I?m in the Super Six, or if it is because everybody I speak to had me winning the fight. I?ve been the victim of a bad decision as far as I?m concerned; I?ve not been beat. I mean there?s getting beat, and there?s getting beat. There?s being stopped in three rounds or flattened in a round and that?s different. If I had been flattened in a round then I?d probably be devastated and questioning whether I could mix it at world level, but that fight has given me confidence because I was tired. I was stood in front of a legend like Kessler, who nobody can normally live with. To be quite honest I found it quite easy other than the fact I was tired. It was frustrating because I was stood in front of him looking at openings and seeing opportunities, hurting him, but I wasn?t able to close the show.?
Delayed flights and extensive media obligations meant he had no time to settle in his new surroundings before entering the toughest fight of his career. And it wasn?t just the volcanic ash cloud and promotional commitments that ensured there were few calming moments prior to the fistic storm.
?I had a perforated eardrum going into the fight and they always take about two or three weeks, so that healed up a week after the fight,? said the 32-year-old before revealing yet another issue. ?I?m waiting to see what happens with the ongoing problem with my cornea in my eye. It?s not a career threatening injury; it?s a reccurring corneal erosion. I?ve just got to have it cleaned up and it will be sorted.?
Such injuries mean the pre-arranged August Arthur Abraham date is unlikely to be met. And with hankerings about the venue ongoing, a September meeting looks a lot more likely. He has drawn confidence from the German?s recent disqualification loss to Andre Dirrell when Abraham struck the American after he had slipped to his knees.
?I thought it was a boxing masterclass from Dirrell in every department,? acknowledged the Nottingham warrior. ?He outworked him, outpunched him. But unfortunately for Dirrell, it was a bad ending to a good night?s work. But it?s almost poetic justice, you keep moaning and bitching to the referee, like he was doing when he fought me, eventually you?re going to get knocked out and that?s what happened. He gave his opponent an opportunity to cheap-shot him and he came unstuck because he got smacked very hard in the face by a big puncher. I know he slipped but he wasn?t defending himself and trying to get up. He was looking at the referee asking for help and taking a breather. He shouldn?t have been hit and disqualifying Abraham was the right decision but Dirrell makes a rod for his own back. He goes over far too easily and he does far too much whining and moaning. He went down on his knees a few times with me and I was tempted to punch him, but I wasn?t as frustrated as Abraham was because I wasn?t getting beat but I can see why Abraham did it.?
Froch wonders if Abraham?s final dirty sucker punch will affect him in the long-term.
?It was a devastating punch for Dirrell though and one that will knock his confidence,? opined the Brit. ?He was clearly badly hurt after the fight. It would have been much better to win on points because he did a good job overall and showed the blueprint on how to beat Abraham and I?ll try and do a similar thing. But me being me, there will be times when I?ll stand in front of him and stand and have a punch-up. I hope I don?t get drawn into that, but you know what I?m like, I like to have a fight now and again. It will be a great fight and one that Sky Box Office should get hold of.?
Given that the majority of Froch?s recent performances have been so wildly entertaining, it remains a mystery why domestic television audiences have largely been unable to witness ?The Cobra? in action. He doesn?t know if things will change for the Abraham humdinger:
?It?s a shame for the British public that they don?t get to see me fight in top-level fights,? he mused. ?I?ll stand there and fight and put it all on the line and mean business. I don?t run and jab and move and hold and keep safe. People don?t want to see someone playing it safe for 12 rounds but the fact is it?s not for me to say it should be on ITV or Sky Box Office. I?m happy though, because Primetime TV did really well and proved that Sky Box Office missed out. If they don?t want to get behind boxing, then it?s not about me anymore. Boxing is in a bad state in Britain at the moment because the fights are not getting shown.?
