Updated:
Jul 18, 2023 11:40 am
Boxing fans are some of the most passionate and vocal in any sport. Therefore, it can be difficult to judge the true calibre of a fighter until they hang up the gloves for good, and there can be a clearer picture of the greatness of a career once the dust has settled. As far as British boxing is considered, a select group of genuinely magnificent fighters proved themselves at an elite level, entertained fans (80,00 at Wembley in Froch’s case), and consistently proved themselves as world-level and worthy opposition.
In retirement, many analysts and fans have been able to look back on “The Cobra” and his incredible achievements in professional prizefighting, and history has been kinder to call than many fans and experts were giving him credit for when he was operating as a professional world champion. Froch is often seen providing his opinion on the current state of boxing and affairs within the sport, and he has a YouTube channel that has picked up a lot of subscribers in a short space of time. Not only does he seem content in retirement, but he is also refining some of the poker skills he picked up toward the back end of his career.
On multiple occasions, Carl has found himself playing poker against celebrities and fellow professionals. It appears as though he has developed a passion for the card game, which shouldn’t come as a shock to people given how well he would psych out his opponent before a fight and use a poker face in the ring not to give away when he was hurt off a good shot or not to telegraph his punches. As far back as 2014, Carl has been pictured playing poker, and while his stakes might be a little higher than what you or I might be used to, it shows that he’s got a passion for the game.
Since 2014, there’s been a lot of changes in the world of poker, with online poker becoming an even bigger success, especially over the last few years and during lockdown. It is a fresh spin and new variation on a classic game where psychology plays less of a role, and the quality of your hand takes precedence. Despite the huge wave of new gamblers who prefer to play online poker for real money, Froch appears to have a soft spot for the social side of a land-based game. However, for many people who prefer the added convenience of online poker and digital gambling, kicking back and having a game of online poker without having to get up from your seat is proving to be a big selling point.
The Rise Of Froch
Following Joe Calzaghe’s legendary win against Jeff Lacy, British boxing went through quite a mundane string of fights that slowly deflated the public’s appetite for the sport, whether it was the insomnia-curing three-way fights that Danny Williams, Audley Harrison, and Matt Skelton participated in or the frightening one-punch knockout of Ricky Hatton at the hands of Manny Pacquaio in 2009.
This pendulum started to swing the other way again in the background of the mainstream hysteria as Carl Froch went toe-to-toe with strong Canadian fighter Jean Pascal. It was a great fight, and Froch became the WBC super-middleweight champion, but he was still a largely unknown figure to the public.
He then travelled to America to take on the former undisputed world middleweight champion Jermain Taylor. Recovering from a knockdown, Froch stopped Taylor with seconds to spare in the final seconds of round twelve. Look it up if you haven’t seen it; it’s an incredible round of boxing, and it endeared Carl to American audiences as a legitimate world-level talent.
A fighter who always gave the fans what they wanted, his legendary domestic rivalry with domestic rival George Groves was a bookmark to a highly entertaining career and a well-deserved induction into the Boxing Hall of Fame this year.
Other Fighters
Many other underrated fighters, including Liam Smith and Josh Taylor, fly under the radar in the modern era. However, Froch, a multiple world champion, sold out a massive show at Wembley and consistently challenged himself against the elite, holding his own. Although Josh Taylor became the first British undisputed champion in the four-weight era, his recent performances haven’t driven home the idea that he’s underrated. Following a highly controversial win against Jack Catterall, Taylor resoundingly lost to Teofimo Lopez and hasn’t captured the public’s imagination as Froch did with his George Groves rivalry.
Taylor is massively underrated, though, and the elephant in the room is how can a fighter like Froch be considered underrated when he’s just been inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame. Underrated, from a skill perspective, definitely. Froch was consistently chastised for his slow footwork, “poor” defence, and inability to move out of the way of shots. However, his style was relentless and exciting, and he had a never say die grit that rivals any British boxer in history.
You could make a strong case that he has the best chin in the history of British boxing and one of the best at super middleweight. Whether he’s underrated or not, he’s definitely one of the best, and that’s all that truly matters.
