By Paul Strauss: Carl Froch is one tough hombre. Jermain Taylor definitely had “Bad Intentions” as he worked over “The Cobra” for the first few rounds. He had the Foxwood Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut crowd on their feet in expectation of a early knockout when he dropped Froch in the third round. Froch fans were stunned, because they had never seen their fighter off his feet.
Taylor appeared the faster of the two. From the outset, Taylor landed hard jabs, and long straight rights hands, which seemed readily available to him because Froch carries his left unusually low and moves it in a circular motion. In fact, Froch carries both hands low, and fights with a wide awkward looking stance..
Taylor looked sharp right away in the first round, landing crisp shots. However, Froch initally did not appear to be bothered by Taylor’s power. Froch attempted to manage distance and his defense by taking a half-step back, moving out of range. He coupled that with long sweeping left hook counters. Occasionally, he would leave his own extended left jab outstretched to prevent Taylor’s overhand right from landing.
In the second round, Froch began throwing his own jab more, and just missed with a few powerful looking straight rights. Taylor was busier though, and took the round. He looked comfortable and composed while controlling the action.
Early in the third, there was a clash of heads, but no damage resulted. Taylor quickly scored with a jab and right hand combination. Froch smiled as though the punches didn’t bother him at all. Then Taylor landed another big right. It crashed into the left ear area of Froch’s head. The Sheriff of Nottingham shocked his fans when his backside hit the canvas. He seemed cleared headed enough to take an eight count, and then quickly gathered himself upon regaining his feet to avoid further damage. That brought a huge sigh of relief from the Froch fans.
In rounds three, four and five, Taylor continued to outbox Froch, landing hard jabs, and double jabs. He also continued to take advantage of Froch’s low left by firing long overhand rights. Often the fierce action continued up to and past the bell. At the end of the fifth, Froch started landing his own jab, and finally got through his own beautiful right hand, but Taylor seemed unaffected by it.
In the sixth round, both fighters were jabbing effectively, and the round was very close. In the seventh, Froch landed several right hands to the back of Taylor’s head that seemed to hurt Taylor. But, Taylor quickly turned the tide when he landed his own powerful left uppercut to end the round. Up to that point, Froch had controlled the round. At the end of the eighth, Froch surprisingly told his trainer that “He (I) had (have) him”. However, his trainer disagreed saying, “No you don’t!” Round nine was another close one, and could have easily been scored either way. Froch seemed to be applying the more sustained pressure, but Taylor was explosive with eye catching combinations. At the end of the round, Froch was told that he had to be busier. The tenth was similar, with Froch continually applying the pressure, with Taylor trying to steal the round with dazzling combinations at the end.
Froch, although not extremely accurate with his punches, kept up the pressure. It finally seemed to be taking its toll. Taylor appeared to be withering under the onslaught. It still appeared that if only he could last through the eleventh and twelfth rounds, he would come away with the decision. But, such was not to be. In the twelfth and final round, Froch backed Taylor up with more pressure, then blasted through his guard with a straight right, and then another huge right that landed with full force, putting Taylor down hard. Tremendous courage enabled Taylor to beat the count, but he was in dire straights. When Froch once again back him up and unloaded with a barrage of different punches, Taylor’s hands started to drop and he appeared defenseless. That was enough for referee Mike Ortega. He stepped in and stopped the fight at 2:46 seconds of the twelfth round. It was a huge win for Froch, who so much wanted to impress United States boxing fans. Obviously, it was also a huge disappointment for Taylor, who had fought so well, and had the fight won on points until the stoppage. Both fighters agreed in post fight interviews that a rematch was in order; although, Froch attempted to call out the retired Joe Calzaghe.
A more immediate worry for Froch might come in the form of Allan Green. He battered Carlos De Leon, Jr. into submission in the second round. Green looked like his old self, starting off fast and strong with his powerful jab, left hook and straight right. Carlos did a have a few brief moments in the first round, when he managed to land a few double left hooks to the body and head, but unbeknownst to him that was possible only because Green allowed him to do so, luring him into the danger zone. He proved that to be true in the second round when he landed his great left hook right up the middle between Carlos’ guard. Carlos went down and looked out of it, but he did beat the count, and was able to respond positively to referee Joey Lupino’s question about being able to continue.
Three more times Green dropped De Leon by first landing a hard jab, followed by a clubbing right. Green has those heavy hands which allow a fighter to cause dizzying results with only partial, glancing contact. The end came at 1:06 of the second when the referee called a halt to the action.
This bout, of course, led up to the Froch vs. Taylor main event, and Green stated in his post fight interview that he wanted the winner of the main event. His performance seems to warrant serious consideration for just that. His heavy hands might be more than even the tough chinned Froch can handle. It was also interesting to note that Green picked Froch to win. Green also mentioned he would like to fight Lucien Bute, who was sitting ringside, and I am sure wondering about the foolhardiness of such a prospect. The relocated Romanian would wisely like to keep Green out of his new Montreal Quebec, Canada home and away from his title.