News Archive
October 2007
News Archive
25.10.08 Pavlik gave up the ghost !
They originally fancied Winky Wright or Paul Williams, but the money available for those two by TV was insufficient.
Allegedly Pavlik earned a couple of million dollars to give away all his natural advantages at middleweight and trade in his unbeaten record. But was it worth it?
Their fight really was a clash of styles. Was Kelly, 17 years younger, a better offensive-minded fighter than the defence-minded Hopkins?
Well at middleweight he possibly is. On the night though Hopkins weighed around 14lb or so more, which obviously told us that Bernard has now well and truly grown into the weight division.
Hopkins was simply faster and slicker than the popular Ohio man, which goes to underline my comment the other week that 'age is just a number' in boxing nowadays.
The crowd really got behind Hopkins when they began to realise the boxing master-class he was giving the younger Pavlik, and chanted his name loudly.
It was reminiscent of the hiding that Hopkins dished out on another popular, yet straight-upright offensive puncher in Felix Trinidad back in 2001, when Hopkins was a young 35!
Back on the subject of Pavlik, Steve Bunce asked Kelly's trainer Jack Lowe during his boxing-hour TV show if a fight with Froch was on their radar and I suppose after Saturday's fight Kelly's radar is now switched off for the time being.
Hopefully he can take his lumps and get back to his proper division – middleweight where he can still do the business, hopefully.
It seems that Antonio Tarver's magic has finally faded and there is now a new force to be reckoned with in Chad Dawson in the light-heavyweight division.
Tarver was the favourite in many people's eyes and given that 26-year-old Dawson didn't look like a world beater in his last fight it only added to the speculation.
But Chad fought well, using his speed, and his younger years gave him the edge over the 39-year-old.
Floyd Mayweather reckons that Chad is now the pound-for-pound No1. I certainly wouldn't go that far, but credit to both guys for putting their titles on the line and fighting each other. Perhaps now Chad can finally get it on with his long-term mandatory, Adrian Diaconu, who many say he is ducking like the plague.
But I get the sneaky feeling that there will be a re-match clause.. and we will get another helping of Taver v Dawson. Although it was enjoyable for spells, I sincerely hope not.
Domestically, it would seem that our own light-heavyweight division has had a change of ranking. Dean Francis leapfrogged the rugged Tony Oakey by KO and is looking at a shot at the WBO champion Zsolt Erdei next year in Germany. Good luck Dean – with those German officials, you'll need it.
Nathan Cleverly versus Tony Oakey sprung some surprises. Many still felt Oakey had too much experience for the young kid from Wales. For a guy the same age as Amir Khan, he has done well to get in there with a tough opponent like Oakey. Despite not looking like a big puncher, he did show some good skills and is one to watch in the future.
Finally, it would seem like Denis Inkin says 'Froch is jealous' of him now he has become the WBO champion.
He won that title on the undercard of another fight – I gave up undercards four years ago.
I gave Inkin the chance to become part of boxing folklore, to be stretched out in front of millions of ITV viewers by the division's No1, and yet he pulled out. Twice.
Apparently it was a visa problem and an injury to not one, but both of his hands.
Perhaps he's fit enough now to meet me in the ring.
17.10.08 Froch on Central News
Carl Froch discusses his training , especially running regime to to the Central news team.
Click HERE to view the interview (player needs to be viewed with Internet Explorer - not Firefox)
12.10.08 Froch talks to ITV's new boxing show
Carl talks exclusively to ITV's Gabriel Clarke with regards his impending World Boxing Council title fight at the Nottingham Arena on December the 6th.
11.10.09 Froch: Age is just a number
Saturday, October 11, 2008, 08:00
Hopefully you will have seen the first of many excellent shows put together by Hennessy Sports at the weekend for ITV.
The event was held at Norwich, also the home of the new European Boxing Union champion, Jon Thaxton, who put on a superb display of switch hitting to befuddle his Spanish opponent, Juan Carlos Diaz Melero, who was challenging Jon for the vacant EBU title.
Many people thought – me included – that Jon had maybe too many miles on the clock, been involved in too many brutal thrillers over the years. That the visiting Spaniard was too young, too fresh and too fast for him.
I admit I was swayed by the talk from my boxing peers and when I was asked who I thought would win by Barry 'Cyclone' McGuigan I put a fiver on the outcome: That Melero would be too fresh for Thaxton.
Within a minute of the first round I could sense that I was going to be five quid poorer as Thaxton set about his work with the vigour of a man ten years younger.
Using his southpaw stance he landed power shots to head and body. Then during the third round Thaxton had Melero cut above the eye and on the back foot.
Moments later, Thaxton landed a crunching right hook which had Melero out for the count. Jon fought superbly and, for once, I was glad to lose a bet. Fortunately for me, Barry forgot to ask for his fiver and I slipped off before he remembered.
But the weekend's events served as yet another reminder that in boxing, age is just a number. Improvements in diet, supplements and training have advanced a fighter's career to the point now where we have the likes of 39-year-old Antonio Tarver defending his IBF title against the younger, unbeaten 26-year old Chad Dawson.
Dawson was lucky to have beaten another 39-year-old fighter in Glen Johnson in his previous fight, with many observers feeling that the older man won. Glen, who holds a points win over Tarver, famously KO'd Roy Jones four years ago.
Prior to that knockout win, Johnson was supposed to participate several times in a Calzaghe showdown. Yet, after numerous training camps and numerous postponements allegedly due to 'injury' on Calzaghe's part, the fight never happened.
A fed-up Johnson allegedly told Joe to stick his fight after it was supposedly postponed yet another time.
Speaking of Calzaghe, his forthcoming 'money' fight with Roy Jones is nearly upon us. Many believe that the fight is happening several years too late. It's been at least a year since Calzaghe declared that he would prove nothing by being the third person to knock out Roy Jones in his autobio- graphy.
Joe declared that only a stoppage win over Hopkins would do – and we know how lucky he was to get the win in that fight.
Now he has seemingly set the tone for the Jones fight too by saying that in his book.
I believe that Calzaghe doesn't have the one-punch power to knock out even a 40-year old version of Jones. In fact, if Roy can produce even 50% of the magic that he used to have, then he can possibly steal the fight with eye-catching movement and combinations.
But the bookies will rightly favour the unbeaten, fresher man in Calzaghe.
After all, the same year Roy Jones out-pointed Bernard Hopkins for the IBF middleweight title in 1993, is the same year that Calzaghe made his debut in the Cardiff. Back then Roy Jones dominated a 27-years young Hopkins and we all know what the 43-year old version did to Joe.
Needless to say, it's not a fight I will be betting on. But I would bet that Joe will seek a smaller or older opponent after Jones, as he looks to cash in one more time. If only I was ten years older!
ITV4 launch a new magazine programme The Big Fight Round 2 tonight (7.15pm) featuring Carl Froch.
02.10.08 Tickets going on sale !
The Carl Froch vs Jean Pascal fight tickets go on sale on Friday 3rd October.
Please click the following link to go to the Trent FM arena :-