Froch article in Britishboxing.net

Courtesy of http://www.britishboxing.net

by Luke Chance

Carl Froch 22(18)-0-0 knows he is knocking on the door of Super Middleweight
stardom as he prepares for his WBC final eliminator with highly rated
undefeated Russian Denis Inkin 32(24)-0-0 on May 10th.

Should Froch defeat Inkin he is well aware big fights and the chance to prove himself as the true
heir to Joe Calzaghe's soon to be vacated throne could present themselves.

I caught up with "The Cobra" to see how he is feeling about his
showdown with Inkin.

LC: So Carl, last time out you retired Robin Reid in fine style. You must
have been delighted to get a good win under your belt after your successful
knee surgery.

CF: Yeah definitely, it was a bit of a worry that knee. Getting it fixed was
a big decision and obviously the rehabilitation of the knee has been quite a
long, frustrating process. To get that win six months after the operation, it
was a great win.

He was very tough and very strong, he's proved that throughout his whole
career. Obviously he was a bit past his best, but he was trained up for the
fight and he turned up and had a go.

LC: Let's talk about your next opponent, Denis Inkin, he's undefeated, he's
got a good amateur record and he'll be coming to win. Do you see this as the
toughest fight of your career?

CF: Possibly yeah, it possibly could be. I've had a couple of tough fights,
against Brian Magee and Charles Adamu fo rthe Commonwealth title. It does
appear, on paper, to be probably my hardest challenge but styles make fights,
and I could make easy work of this guy believe it or not.

I've seen him get caught with quite a few right hands straight down the
middle, and he's hit the deck as well. I dropped him as an amateur. He's got a
points win over me of course, and I'm not banking on it, but I just think he
might be a little bit suspect around the chin. He might not be, he might be
tough and maybe he just got caught cold in that last fight, I just think
because I punch so hard as soon as we start going toe to toe he's going to be
in trouble.

You never know until you get in there, on paper he's 32-0-0 with 24
knockouts, and I certainly won't be taking him lighly.

LC: As you've said he holds a win over you as an amateur, is that a spur for
you to go out and really try and do a job on him?

CF: Yeah, it gives it that bit of extra spice, but it was nine years ago, a
long long time ago. I was part time, working in an office doing bits and bobs
and I was at college as well and he was a full time marine cadet so I'm not
going to take too much negative from that loss and there are positives to take
from it. Revenge will be sweet, but it was just so long ago. It's a different
game now though, in the professional ranks.

LC: The fight has been delayed once Carl, does that sort of delay affect
your training at all, or does it in fact help you as you have longer to
prepare.

CF: It does affect things, you have to take your foot off the gas for a week
or ten days, I was sparring well with Andrew Lowe and Darren Barker. I did a
bit of training out in Tenerife. To be told when I got back from Tenerife that
he'd pulled out, mentally it was a bit of a downer and physically i wouldn't
have been able to hold my sharpness where it was for seven weeks. So I had ten
days off, had a little breather and then got back into it.

When you get back into it after a break you have to be careful because you
can start picking up injuries or illnesses. Luckily the weathers changed for
the better now. It's given me more time to build the leg up too, and get the
muscle back in the leg. It will be to his detriment that he has given me an
extra six weeks.

LC: Inkin's been in with a couple of decent names, and boasts a perfect
record but he's been down as an amateur and down as a pro. How do you think he
will cope with your power?

CF: I don't think he's going to cope with them to be honest, looking at him
in his last fight. I'm not banking on it thinking "He can't take my shots
I'm going to go in there and chin him" but I'm just thinking he's not been
in with anyone that punches like me. I've been in with big punchers and I know
what it's like to be hit, when Robin Reid hit me in my last fight I could just
take it and walk through it. But I've been out of my comfort zone, Henry Porras
was a big big puncher. He hit me with a shot and I thought "bloody hell,
this guy can hit". I thought "I can't take too many of them",
not because he hurt me, but simply because I'm human! I think if he hit Inkin
on the chin it would be all over.

LC: I was delighted to learn that this one was going out on ITV, its been a
while since th whole country has been able to see you, you must be thrilled to
have that platform to operate on again Carl.

CF: It's a massive boost because obviously I'm going out to a wider audience
and it's good that ITV are backing me, and my promoter as well. Mick Hennessy
has done a fantastic job, and my career has been done properly. I've not had
easy fights and that's the reason I am where I am. If I'd had 22 easy fights
I'd be going in with Inkin now thinking "Bloody hell, I've got to fight
someone now" but my matches have been made properly, I've fought the right
people at the right time and I've done the job, but Micks got to take a lot of
credit, taking me out to America when there was a slack period, when the BBC
pulled out of boxing because of Fraudley.

So now I'm in the position of being WBC No.1 fighting the No.2 in a genuine
proper eliminator, but I'm ready for it.

LC: This is obviously a final eliminator, it looks likely you'll be fighting
for a vacant title should you beat Inkin. Have you got any preferences over who
you'd like to face? There are some big names about, Jermain Taylor, Edison
Miranda, Jurgen Braehmer to name a few.

CF: Yeah there are a few of them aren't there. I know they're all there, but
I never look past a fight. There's no one that really stands out but I have
been talking to Mick Hennessy about the Taylor fight because that's something
that interests me. He's a big name in America and this fight is getting shown
on Shobox as well. It's a big publicity fight, and probably a big money fight
as well. Obviously the main ones Calzaghe, but I don't want to harp on about
him, I want him to do well against Hopkins and then maybe he'll come back down
and defend his belt against me, you never know.

LC: There have been rumblings that Mikkel Kessler may Anthony Mundine for
the WBA strap, should you be able at some point down the line land the WBC is
Mikkel Kessler a part of your future plans?

CF: He is yeah, he's a big name Kessler. Calzaghe did well to beat him. I
think Kessler was a little bit dead at the weight or something, he seemed to
just fade off. He was catching Calzaghe and putting him under a lot of pressure
then he just sort of took his foot off the gas. Why he did that I don't know,
whether he was injured or whether he was just knackered at the weight, because
he is a big super middleweight.

That's someone I'd definitely like to face. Well, I wouldn't say like to
face, he's a very tough opponent! He's very good, but I know I could do a
number on him, and he's obviously a big name. I want to get Inkin out the way,
because things have dragged on, I'm just ready to get in there and put a
whooping on Inkin and get in there and show the world that I'm the best at
super middleweight and I'm looking at taking over the world!

There are some good fighters out there but nobody who I'd be afraid to face.

LC: I know you arent the sort of fighter to look past things Carl, but if I
were to come back to you in 12 months time, where do you think I will find you?

CF: This is a final eliminator as you know, so once I beat Inkin I'll either
be WBC champion by default if Calzaghe vacates or I'm going to be defending the
title against a big name. I'm going to be well established in 12 months as the
best in the world, I'll be dominating the world really. I'm on the fringe of
going massive. If they give me the world title I've got to defend it against a
big name to establish myself.

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