Boxing’s “Cobra” Comes Through Surgery

British and Commonwealth super middleweight champion Carl Froch has undergone successful surgery on the severe damage he suffered to his right hand in the second round of his impressive win over Brian Magee at the York Hall last month. The 28-year-old went under the knife of orthopaedic specialist Nick Downing, who also oversaw his recovery from the injuries he suffered against Dale Westerman in February earlier this year, (haematoma), and Henry Porras in April 2005, (ruptured extensor hood).

“I have what is called a Bennett’s Fracture,” Froch explained. “The metacarpal that connects the thumb is broken at the base. It was when I threw a big right hook in the second. It was a punch I had been working on; it was the same one that Robin Reid was dropping Magee with. “Because I found I was unable to clinch my fist correctly in the gloves we had to wear for the fight, my thumb was exposed and I caught it. It went there and then.

“I raised my concerns about the gloves before the fight. I was worried that this would happen. In the Everlasts that I normally wear, when I close my fist, my thumb is almost under the hand, but that wasn’t the case with these. It was exposed. I know Magee was wearing the same gloves, but it wasn’t as much of a problem for him, he doesn’t hit as hard as I do. I won’t wear those gloves again. I would rather pull out of a fight. There is too much at risk. I’ve got a chronic sprain in my left thumb as well. Fortunately, the damage isn’t lasting.

“The hand was pinned in two places last week so that it sets back straight,” Froch added. “It was a bad fracture because I carried on punching with the hand for nine rounds and the bone got moved about, but I have been told that it won’t give me any long term problems. Injuries like this are one of the things that a puncher has to live with. I have got to rest it for about 6 weeks but then it will be as good as new. It’s not related to any previous injuries. It won’t stop me fighting again once the boxing season starts properly in the autumn.”

Even with the injury, Froch underlined his status as an outstanding talent against Magee. The highly experienced Ulsterman employed all of his Championship guile in an attempt to see out the distance, but the Cobra still became the first to ever stop him. “I do have more respect for Magee than I had beforehand, ” Froch admitted. “He came to fight, he came fit and strong and initially he came to win. That was the best Brian Magee’s ever been in there. He was tougher than I thought he was, but at the end of the day he did still employ the dirty tactics I predicted once he discovered how hard I punched.

“After the first round knockdown he realised the power and started employing survival tactics. Instead of fighting in close, he opted to clinch and spoil. I thought the referee did well. There is an argument to say that he could have taken a point off, but he stayed on top of him. I thought he was good; he kept pulling him away.

“I don’t appreciate the way Magee fights. It’s not a man’s way; he throws a shot and looks for the hold. He doesn’t stand toe to toe. Top fighters will trade blows when they have to, but he claims you. He’s a claimer. That approach can spoil fights, but I guess he knew that if he took me on the fight would have been over in 4 or 5. When he tried to fight back I always had the last say. Look how many times he grabbed me.

“It was frustrating. Because of the injury, I couldn’t throw the shots I usually would. When someone’s holding me, I like to work the body and head with the inside of the glove. I like to throw three of four shots, but I couldn’t do that as my thumb was exposed.
When your injured you feel weak and shaky as well, your adrenaline kicks in and all the energy goes to that part of the body. But that’s why I put in ten hard weeks of training, so I can overcome things like that. Due to the injury I wasn’t able to give a top-class performance, but I am more than happy with the result. Eleventh round KO no-one’s ever done that to him before.”