LONDON (October 23rd, 2009) – Back in 2004 just prior to winning the British Super Middleweight title an outspoken Carl “The Cobra” Froch made the British sporting public sit up and take notice with a venomous attack on some of the nations sporting icons including David Beckham, Tim Henman and Jenson Button. Froch described Beckham as being “under worked, overpaid and over praised” while he accused Henman of being a choker. Now the reigning WBC World Super Middleweight Champion Froch says he’s delighted to have been proven wrong in the case of Jenson Button who won this season’s F1 driver’s championship..
“To be honest it was all a bit tongue in cheek at the time,” said Froch who’s most recent World title victory over Andre Dirrell will be screened on ITV1 tomorrow night at 11:15pm. “It was a bit of a bold statement at the time but I stepped up to the mark and proved that I was World Championship material. I was delighted to be proven wrong and see Jenson winning the World title and fulfilling his potential. No matter what sport you’re in that’s the ultimate aim, to become the best in the World and both myself and Jenson have certainly done that.
“The point I was really making back then was how tough a sport boxing is, particularly at the highest level. If you look at my last three fights, from winning the WBC World title against the unbeaten Jean Pascal (who has since gone on to win the WBC World title at Light Heavyweight), to making my first defence in the States against the former Undisputed Middleweight Champ Jermain Taylor and then taking on another unbeaten American hotshot in Andre Dirrell
“It’s not about to get any easier either because my next bout in the Super Six World Boxing classic is against the current WBA World Champ, Mikkel Kessler but these are the kind of fights I thrive on. I’m not interested in routine defence’s against no name challengers, I constantly want to test myself against the very best and I think that’s something that Jenson Button and the British sporting public can appreciate.”
Froch goes extra terrestrial for Dirrell repeat on ITV1
LONDON (October 22nd, 2009) – WBC Super Middleweight Champion Carl “The Cobra” Froch will be back on British terrestrial TV screens this Saturday night when ITV1 viewers get a chance to see last weekend’s Super Six World Boxing Classic bout with American hotshot Andre “The Matrix” Dirrell.
Froch handed the touted Dirrell his first ever defeat in front of a sold out Trent FM Arena in Nottingham in the early hours of last Sunday morning. Froch emerged with his title and his perfect record intact courtesy of a 12 round split decision with judges Massimo Barrovecchio and Daniel Van de Wiele awarding Froch the bout by three rounds while Mexican official Alejandro Rochin Mapula scored it for the challenger by a single round.
The win capped an outstanding hat trick of victories for Froch who won the WBC title courtesy of a 12 round thriller with Jean Pascal (who has since gone on to capture the WBC World title at Light heavyweight) last December before making a successful first defence Stateside with a sensational final round KO of former Undisputed Middleweight Champ Jermain Taylor. Now “The Cobra” has ended Dirrell’s unbeaten run and promoter Mick Hennessy believes the three wins have made a massive statement.
“To win those three fights back to back is an incredible achievement,” said Hennessy. “In my opinion those three wins on the trot outstrip any other achievement by a British World Champion in recent years. Carl has proved time and time again that he’s willing to walk the walk as well as talk the talk by consistently taking on the very best and his participation in the Super Six tournament further underlines that.”
Speaking about last weekends win Froch said, “Everyone’s entitled to their opinion but as soon as the final bell went I had no doubt that I had won the fight. Dirrell was every bit as good as I expected him to be. He’s a World class boxer, he’s got very fast hands and he’s very slick. I needed to adapt my style to beat him but that’s what World Champions do. I’ve watched it back since and I still think I won the fight pretty comfortably but the British public will get the chance to make up their own minds this weekend.”
The fight will be replayed on ITV1 at 11:15pm on Saturday night with the fight rounding off an action packed night for fight fans with ITV4 kicking off a night of boxing coverage at 9pm. ITV4’s coverage will start with FIGHT CAMP 360°: Inside The Super Six World Boxing Classic, a compelling new reality series that gives viewers unprecedented access into the lives of the Super Six tournament participants.
Then the attention will shift to the O2 World Arena in Berlin for a replay of the dramatic Super Six tournament bout between former World Middleweight Champs, Arthur Abraham and Jermain Taylor which also took place last weekend. ITV4 will also broadcast the English Welterweight title bout from the Trent FM Arena between Adnan Amar and Tom Glover before the action switches to ITV1 and coverage of Froch – Dirrell.
Froch’s next bout in the Super Six tournament will be against current WBA Champ Mikkel Kessler and the Nottingham man believes that fireworks are guaranteed for that bout. “I’ve got Dirrell out of the way now and style wise I always knew that was going to be my most difficult bout in the Super Six tournament. I’m already relishing my next fight against Kessler because we both like to entertain the fans so it promises to be a thriller.”
For more information on the Super Six World Boxing Classic including exclusive videos, photography, expert analysis from Al Bernstein and Steve Farhood, and much more please visit www.WorldBoxingClassic.com or visit http://www.hennessysports.com/worldboxingclassic.htm.