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In a superb clash of domestic super middleweights at York Hall on Friday, Carl “The Cobra” Froch sent Brian Magee crashing to the canvas in the 11th round with a chilling right uppercut to retain his British and Commonwealth crowns and keep his dream of winning a world title alive.
The buzz around the York Hall was electric in the build up to this fight and Carl Froch and Brian Magee didn’t disappoint the big crowd. Magee, despite a brave effort to dethrone the trash talking “Cobra” from Nottingham, just didn’t have the extra class or punch power that Froch possessed.
Froch definitely has talent but only seems to show it in glimpses and this performance seemed no exception, as he was tagged repeatedly by Magee’s stinging southpaw left and seemed lazy at times, but when he let his punches go, the quality was there to see.
The talk around the York Hall was that the Irishman was fired up for this one and he certainly was as he came out of the blocks the quicker. Magee had no problems landing his straight left on Froch’s chin and the Cobra’s highly criticised defence again was very leaky.
However with about forty seconds left in the round, Magee walked onto a peach of a right uppercut and was put flat on his back. The Irishman recovered well and didn’t shy away for the remainder of the round but from that moment, the difference in power and quality of shots had become apparent.
Froch continued to unleash the harder shots in the second around and two thumping right hands brought blood from Magee’s nose. But Magee still seemed focused and pressed forward, catching the champion with his left hand.
The action at times became untidy and referee Richie Davies told Magee off for holding, which seemed a bit harsh. Towards the end of the session, a nasty clash of heads opened up a cut under Froch’s right eye, and the fight had already became a bloody spectacle.
The Irishman found his way into the fight in the third round as Froch elected to do more posing than fighting, which Magee took full advantage of as he landed his best shot of the fight so far; a straight left down the pipe to the champion’s unprotected chin. Still, the quality lay with Froch but he simply did not throw enough to win the round.
The Nottingham man again was just relying on single punches in round four and while they looked flashy and more powerful when they landed, it was Magee who was the more focused and consistent with his punches. He must have caught Froch solidly at least six times with the left hand.
The action really heated up in round five and it started with some foul play from Froch, who pushed his shoulder twice into Magee’s face and received a telling off from Richie Davies. Magee quickly punished the champion by pummeling him with five left hands in a row and now looked the boss.
Froch tried firing back but Magee was having the final say in all the exchanges and looked the more focused and controlled. The Cobra did land a strong right hand on the Irishman’s chin but Magee took it well and seemed to have adapted the better of the two.
The sixth was a strange round as the action slowed and Froch resorted to showboating tactics, which included talking to Magee, faking he was hurt when caught by a right hand and winking to various people at ringside.
Maybe a mark of his confidence, but from ringside my first reaction was that this was a nervous response as Froch knew things weren’t going his way and when one is nervous, you sometimes do stupid things. Still, the round was a closer one with Magee landing the occasional left hand and Froch the right hand. Magee went back to his corner with cuts over both eyes caused by nasty head clashes during the round.
The challenger regained control in the seventh as Froch did not do enough work and instead of using his jab as a weapon, he was just flicking it out and paid the price when Magee smashed home a stinging left hand which made the champion’s knees dip.
Froch really neglected his combination punching and the single punches he was landing, athough more eye catching than his the Irishman’s, was simply not enough to win the rounds.
The champion began to put some authority behind his jab to begin round eight and looked as if he now had control of the pace of the fight. But a big left hook followed shortly by two thumping right hands shifted the round in Magee’s favour, despite taking a dangerous uppercut himself.
The fighters were beginning to tire in the ninth and the work of both boxers had become very scrappy. Froch backed Magee to the ropes, landed a body shot and then pushed the challenger to the floor with his left hand.
Referee Richie Davies scored this as a knockdown, which had the fight gone the scorecards, could have had major implications on the result. Still, this seemed to spring Froch into life as he landed a big right and a hurtful left uppercut to end the session.
Round ten produced the least amount of work from both boxers, who were now very tired as one would expect from such a tough grueling fight. The champion however seemed to have that little bit extra and edged the round with the better quality punching.
The eleventh was to prove the last of an eventful fight. Froch started off the round by talking to his corner and seemed to have the more confidence going into the last two rounds. “The Cobra” was looking much the stronger and hurt Magee with a long right hand. Froch quickly followed up and landing a crunching right uppercut which dropped Magee dramatically to the canvas face first.
Richie Davies quite rightly waved the fight off instantly so Magee could receive medical attention. Despite being on the ring apron for a few minutes, Magee returned to his ring stool where he received oxygen and a thunderous cheer from both sets of fans, although it must be said some of Froch’s fans were very disrespectful in the way they continued to cheer when it was unclear whether Magee was seriously hurt or not.
With the win, Froch retained his British and Commonwealth titles but whether or not he can make it on the world stage is still yet to be seen. His defence is very poor but at this level he can get away with because his chin is sturdy and he has that “get out of jail” power. One thing is for sure though, is that “The Cobra” does generate real excitement and interest and if he can back up all his talking on the world stage, then surely that would be a great thing for British boxing.
For Magee, it’s hard to see where he goes from here. His effort against Froch was fantastic but he just seems to lack that world class quality, although I’m sure he could still make and impact at European level.
