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'I'd smash Inkin to bits with one leg and thrash Reid and Catley' - Froch
Good Cobra interview www.britishboxing.net
Carl ‘The Cobra' Froch, 21(17)-0-0, has been known to British boxing fans for some time, and has made his presence felt on a world level by rising through the rankings to European mandatory contender, WBC No. 1, WBO No. 4 and IBF No. 4 (1 and 2 not rated). In March he really announced his arrival on the world scene demolishing fellow contender teak-tough Sergey Tatevosyan 26(14)-8-0.
Froch was widely tipped to outpoint Tatevosyan over twelve rounds as Howard Eastman (42(35)-4-0) and top ranked contender Lucian Bute (19(16)-0-0) had done before. Instead ‘The Cobra' gave him a taste of power like Tatevosyan had never felt. Despite having never previously been stopped, the Russian proved easy work for Froch.
Recently there has been talk of a bout with WBO king Joe Calzaghe (43(32)-0-0). However, as is more often the case than not these days, that fight fell through.
I caught up with Carl to see how's he's been getting on, and what turn his career will take next.
LC : Let's start with your last fight Carl, a stunning second round knockout victory, you must have been delighted with that performance.
CF : In terms of names on records, and meaningful fights that was a very meaningful fight and a fight that people were taking great note of because of the calibre of the opposition.
He's been in with some good contenders over the last few years, Howard Eastman, and Lucian Bute. He's also beaten the former European champion [David Gogiya 17(4)-1-0] so his record speaks for itself, and for me to go in there and annihilate him in two rounds, I can take a lot of confidence in that and I can take a lot of positives from that.
LC: You've always been a big puncher, but the last few fights you seem to have been more destructive than ever. Have you been concentrating on power in training?
CF : I've always been very strong and I don't think you can work on power if I'm honest. You can't say ‘Right, I'm going to turn myself into a puncher'. But what I am doing now is sitting down on my punches, I'm relaxing a lot more, I'm not looking for the big shots. If I'm watching the opponent and thinking ‘I'm gonna chin him, I'm gonna hit him hard' Then you throw shots, you're out of range, someone will come in and catch you. It's boxing, it's an art. You've got to be relaxed and confident, and know your own style and your range. I'm learning all the time and I'll be learning until I retire.
I think I am coming into my own now. My reach is there, my techniques bang on because I'm settling down now. I'm hitting people with these big, devastating shots and I'm so relaxed I feel like I'm hitting the pads. I think my last few fights have shown that. I broke my hand in round two of Brian Magee [Froch went on to win KO 11], I mean that fight would have gone four or five rounds at the most. When I bust my hand, I had to take the foot off the gas because I was in agony.
LC : You have just had an operation on your knee haven't you Carl, a ligament problem I believe?
CF : The operation went really well, I've had one of the countries best surgeons to do it. I'm very friendly with Nottingham Forest F.C. and I know people who have had the same surgery done.
I actually damaged it in sparring four years ago, I was told then I'd got some damage to the ligaments, but that it may heal naturally so I just took a break. But it never fully went away and it's always been there hindering, tweaking and giving me little bits of pain. Confidence wise it's hard, when you're sprinting and running and sometimes there may be a tweak there.
This particular time I was doing the bleep test, and there's a lot of stopping and turning and my leg went like it did four years ago. But these things happen for a reason, and maybe it's a blessing in disguise. I decided to get it sorted out once and for all.
Obviously with the nature of the surgery it's quite a time consuming one because the tendon has to take to the bone. When I come back I'll be stronger and fitter than ever, because I won't have that in the back of my mind.
LC : Let's talk about Joe Calzaghe because I have read in certain places that Joe Calzaghe doesn't want to fight Denis Inkin (30(23)-0-0) and may vacate his IBF belt. That could mean you and he are mandated to fight for it. Do you fancy that one?
CF : Oh yeah definitely, too right. I owe him one anyway because he beat me as an amateur. Only just though, and I had him down in the last round. He's not a bad fighter, a bit ordinary and a bit basic. He plods a little bit. Yeah I'd go in there and smash him to bits with one leg to be honest. If Mick Hennessy can sort that out then I'll be in there and I'll have Calzaghe's belt, that he gave up rather than fight me.
LC : Now let's move on to Glenn Catley (29(21)-7-0) and Robin Reid (39(27)-5-1). Two former world champions - do you see either of them providing you with a test?
CF : Well, Reid's past his best, and I've not seen much of Catley. He was a WBC champion, but you know he is what he is, and I wouldn't lose sleep over either of them. Catley's made a comeback, but he's obviously a shadow of his former self, making a comeback this late in his career. But they obviously want a bite of the cherry, they want to try and do something within the sport and make a bit of money, and if that means challenging me for my British title and that's what satisfies them then I'm happy to oblige by jumping in there and giving them a thrashing to be honest.
Unfortuantely at the moment politics has made it impossible for me to fight Joe Calzaghe. Frank Warren was offering what I see as silly deals and it was clear to me that they didn't want the fight. Mick Hennessy made a very generous offer to them and it was turned down flat.
LC : There's talk about Jermain Taylor starting to struggle with middleweight and being prepared to move up to super-middleweight. If you keep winning you may be destined for a showdown with him in the future, maybe in America, would that excite you?
CF : I relish the opportunity to fight any big name because obviously the name is what defines fighters. I don't want to spend my career like I think Calzaghe has done; not fighting the best and not being involved in the big fights with big names. You'll just stagnate, and be still relatively unknown and he's been around years. For me to fight Calzaghe, it's a big name, it's a domestic tear up. It's a fight that's going to put my name on the map, on the tips of tongues in Britain and overseas.
It would be brilliant if Jermain Taylor would step up to super-middleweight, and he's a good fighter, he's a big name and he's a dangerous fighter, and he'll probably be even more dangerous at super-middle if he's struggling to do middleweight then that's half his fire gone out of him. He might be a phenomenal super middle. That would be excellent if I can get off in year or so.
LC : I think that would make a good fight, I'd like to see that.
CF : Yeah, that would be a great fight. I'd like to sit and watch that to be honest, because he's a good fighter and he fires, he let's his shots go. He means business and he's in there to win. They're the fights the British public want, and they're the fights that are good for boxing. I'll get the world title then we'll see what happens, we'll see some proper fights.
LC : What are your long term goals in the sport, Carl? Would you be happy to defend one title like Calzaghe? Are you looking at unification or maybe being a two weight world champ?
CF : I want to achieve as much as possible to be honest. The more I can achieve in boxing the more satisfied I'll be. I realise I'm involved in a short term career, and the more I can get out of it the better, and I'm not talking financial gain, that'll come anyway with the titles, big titles the WBA, the WBC and the likes of Mikkel Kessler. If I can't do super-middleweight as comfortably as I can now then I could easily step up to light-heavyweight. I'm six feet tall, I've got long arms and the right frame.
LC : When can we expect to see you in the ring again Carl?
CF: Well, I'll be boxing a minimum of once before Christmas. I won't need too long to get my fitness back, I'm always in shape, just because I've done my leg doesn't mean I can't punch a bag, it doesn't mean I can't do my press ups, and my pull ups and my sit ups.
As soon as I can get my fitness back I'm back in the ring, straight into a meaningful fight, I'd be happy to face Reid or European champion Christian Sanavia. I am his mandatory now.
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Good read 
Carl is underated by the likes of Calzaghi and Kessler, Cos he is a fringe fighter knocking on the door without a key, the big fights, are difficult for team Froch to make, cos his name is not well known, and at this stage in Carls career, the big names will not risk being beat, for less money,when they can get richer rewards fighting higher profile names with less risk, 
Originally Posted by Smashup
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