England’s Carl Froch retained his IBF Super Middleweight Championship at home in Nottingham on Nov. 17 when he knocked out Yusaf Mack of America in the third round. Froch launched a brutal body attack which doubled the challenger over and the bout was called off by referee Phil Edwards with 28 seconds to go in the round. Mack was also dropped in the first round after Froch caught him with a brutal left hook and straight right hand to the head.
The 35-year-old champion was dominant fright from the start of the fight and has now won 30 of his 32 pro bouts. He won the IBF crown last May when he demolished Lucien Bute, a Romanian now fighting out of Canada, and he may meet Bute in a rematch next. However, Froch has designs on fighting the unbeaten Andre Ward in a rematch. Ward is one of the only two men to have beaten Froch.
After the fight, Froch said he believes that he’s a level ahead of Mack, but that doesn’t mean anything if you aren’t properly motivated and prepared. Froch was definitely motivated as he’s determined to meet Ward again. He lost to the American by a unanimous decision a year ago in the final of the Super Six boxing tournament. Froch has looked unbeatable in his last two bouts, against Bute and Mack, and coincidentally they have both been fought on his home soil in Nottingham.
With Froch in fine form, most boxing fans are turning up the heat on Ward and would like to see them go at it again. Froch said that he wasn’t at 100 per cent when he met Ward and he’s confident that he has the skills to beat him in a second meeting. Bute found out how tough Froch can be when he’s in top shape. The former champion was undefeated in 30 bouts when he met Froch earlier this year and was totally overwhelmed and stopped in the fifth round.
Mack, who once challenged for a world light heavyweight title, suffered the same fate against Froch as the 32-year-old Philadelphia fighter wasn’t really in the bout at all. The third round saw Froch at his absolute best as the champion landed several effective shots to the head and body of the challenger and chopped Mack down to the ring with the relentless attack.
Froch has been on a roll lately even with the two defeats thrown into the equation. He’s been involved in nine straight world title bouts and has thrilled fans on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean with his electrifying performances. But while Bute and Ward are in his radar, Froch’s next bout could be against Adonis Stevenson since he is the mandatory challenger for the IBF crown. Ward apparently didn’t have much of an interest in a rematch with the Briton, but after he took care of Mack, he said he might consider taking Froch on in England.
With the win, Froch raises his record to 30-2 with 22 Kos while Mack drops to 31-5-2 with 17 KOs.
Ian Palmer
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