Carl ‘The Cobra’ Froch finally brought the curtain on an illustrious boxing career, during which he tasted defeat just twice, both times in world title fights, in July 2015. Indeed, he finished his career on a high note, having successfully defended his IBF and WBA world super middleweight titles, for the second time in six months, against arch-rival George Groves at Wembley Stadium on May 31, 2014. That final victory, by technical knockout in the eighth round, took his overall career record to 33-2-0, with 24 of his victories, and neither of his losses, coming by knockout. At the time of his retirement, Froch said, ‘I have nothing left to prove and my legacy speaks for itself.’
A bronze medallist in the middleweight event at the 2001 AIBA World Boxing Championships Belfast, Northern Ireland, Froch made a successful professional debut at York Hall in Bethnal Green, London on March 16, 2002. He cruised to a fourth-round technical knockout of veteran Michael Pinnock and so embarked on his journey to the top of his profession.
Froch suffered the first defeat of his career when making the third defence of his first WBC world super middleweight title against Mikkel Kessler in the second stage of the so-called ‘Super Six World Boxing Classic’ at the MCH Messecenter Herning in Herning, Denmark on April 23, 2010. After a close fought contest, Kessler was awarded victory, by unanimous decision, 116–112, 115–113, 117–111. Froch was beaten again, also by unanimous decision, by undefeated WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward in the final of the same tournament at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, USA on December 17, 2011.
Nevertheless, the Nottingham-born fighter subsequently captured the IBF world super middleweight title with a fifth-round technical knockout of Lucian Bute at the Nottingham Arena on May 26, 2012. Almost exactly a year later, on May 25, 2013, he also won a rematch with Kessler, the reigning WBA super middleweight champion, by unanimous decision, at the O2 Arena in Greenwich, London, to become unified world super middleweight champion.
