The State of British Boxing: Young Tiger, Old Lions Part I.

Is modesty a virtue? If you are a young boxer grappling for big fights and public recognition, then the answer to that question is a definite no; boxing is a fickle sport with fans even more fickle. Boxing is a sport revolutionized by the arrival of someone called Muhammad Ali (anyone ever heard of him?), whose impact

was immeasurable as he essentially transformed the “sweet science” from a sport into an entertainment industry, and as such, marketability is now the name of the game. To be marketable, and therefore in a position to earn the big bucks, a fighter must sell himself or be sold to his audience comparative to a product. Ali said it best: “it’s about putting butts in seats, love you, hate you, it doesn’t matter as long as people pay to watch you!” He was the first to spot that boxing and professional wrestling were not too dissimilar in the sense that they are both personality driven; skill on its own will not make you a superstar in either profession. High ability does not always equate to a high profile, not in the world of boxing. Don’t believe me? Just ask Floyd Mayweather Jr.

British and Commonwealth super-middleweight champion Carl “The Cobra’ Froch (15-0) believes that he has the beating of any man in his division willing to trade blows with him, and has displayed no shyness in making vocal his claims that countrymen Joe Calzaghe and Robin Reid are running scared from him. Apparently not content with a job that permits him to punch jaws for a living, the former world senior amateur championships bronze medalist spends much of his time outside of the ring aiming for the same target, but from an altogether different angle. Instead of using his fists as weapons, he has taken a liking to dropping the jaws of those in earshot of his audacious boasts and cocky quips.

“Brian Magee and Robin Reid, I’d fight them tomorrow. I’d fight them next Friday for the British (title) no problem at all, and Joe Calzaghe for that matter, as long as he doesn’t step up to light-heavyweight.” These kind of brash comments have not done much in the way of adorning him with widespread popularity, but one gets the distinct impression that Froch does not give two hoots about whether he is liked as long as we all know who he is and what he is about. I can safely say mission accomplished on that front. By talking his way into the headlines over the last few weeks, he successfully grabbed our attentions and drummed up a fair bit of international interest in his fifteenth professional bout, which took place in America under the glamorous banner of Golden Boy Promotions. Froch signed to the Los Angeles based promotional company earlier this year, along with Junior Witter, as part of a strategic partnership with Hennessy Sports to co-promote two of the United Kingdom’s brightest stars.

Last Thursday night, “The Cobra’ made a sensational American debut in the headline event of a live HBO Latino broadcast by stopping the highly respected Costa Rican Henry Porras in eight rounds at the Avalon venue in Hollywood. In doing so, Froch officially elevated his status from one of the hottest prospects in world boxing to a legitimate contender in the 168-pound weight class. Porras, though not a top-line operator by any means, is one of those solid fighters lacking the talent to beat the crème of the division, but good enough to give the second-tier guys all the problems they could want; he is a gatekeeper figure of sorts, not necessarily into the elite bracket, but for anyone entertaining world-title aspirations, he is someone that you unquestionably need to be able to get past, hopefully somewhat impressively and with a certain amount of decisiveness. Froch, becoming only the third man to stop him, out-performed seasoned campaigners such as Otis Grant and Danilo Häussler and also made a statement of intent by ending matters a round earlier than current WBC champion Mikkel Kessler did back in 2003.

Froch, never backward in coming forwards, joyously vented after the victory, “I said I was going to make America sit up and take notice and I have done just that.” At this early stage of his young career, beating Porras represents a good scalp on his record and may have signaled his promotion into the premiership if he continues to step up the level of his opposition. I wonder though, are his handlers getting slightly ahead of themselves? So far, they have done a good job of guiding him up the ladder at a brisk but steady pace without chucking him in at the deep end at any point. If they are indeed genuine in their claims that they want to put him in with WBO king Joe Calzaghe as soon as possible, then they will, in my estimation, be making a first and fateful mistake, as their man will not only be in deep water against the Welshman, he will drown. Without at least five or six more fights against the Omar Sheika’s and Syd Vanderpool’s of the division, it is not a fight anyone should realistically be contemplating. Froch is still a novice, a very talented novice, but a novice all the same. He is not the finished article yet. I have no doubt that he wholeheartedly believes that it is a match that he can win right now, but those behind him looking out for his best interests should know better. Froch isn’t ready for Joe, of that I am certain.

In the second part of this edition, I’ll have more on “The Cobra’ and furthermore, I will be bringing Joe Calzaghe and Robin Reid into the scenario to discuss their upcoming world title fights. Stay tuned and have a great week.

Don Caputo can be reached at don_caputo@hotmail.com