ITV special on Froch camp VIDEO

Carl Froch gives Gabriel Clark and interview behind the scenes of his Irish training camp ahead of his Jean Pascal showdown this Saturday December the 6th at the Trent FM arena.

NEW Froch Clothing Range

Team Froch now has a new range of T-shirts designed by Red Corner Apparel.

Red Corner, whom have already created a popular range of T-shirts for Welterweight boss Antonio Margarito, have created two shirts initially with other styles and garments in the pipeline.

To view or order your Froch T-shirt, please click HERE to go to the Red Corner website.

Froch's Chance Is Now Here

29/11/08

Carl Froch has been made to wait for his big chance, but it is hard to imagine a better moment for it to arrive. British boxing is the envy of the world after a month of landmark victories for Joe Calzaghe, Ricky Hatton and David Haye. But the hunt is always on for the next big thing — and Froch thinks he is it.

A week tomorrow, at the Trent FM Arena in his home city of Nottingham, Froch finally gets his chance to box for the WBC super-middleweight title when he faces Jean Pascal, of Canada, for the vacant belt. Both are undefeated, both are hungry, but Froch has had time to build up his appetite.

He has been waiting for his opportunity for a year, until Calzaghe gave up the WBC title he won last year from Mikkel Kessler, denying Froch the all-British showdown he has always craved but giving him his title shot.

“For a long time there was just Joe Calzaghe at the top of the division,” Froch said. “I would have loved that fight, but he was already up there when I turned professional, so I never really expected it. I think his best chance against me would have been 18 months ago, because I’ve improved since then and he was knocked down in his last two fights.

“But I always believe in boxing you should never say never. Until he has retired, there is always a chance it could happen and it is up to me to do a job against Pascal. I’ve got to prove a point, I’ve got to annihilate him.”

At 31, Froch is older than Hatton and Haye, although there are few miles on the clock. He is a contemporary of Haye, the former WBC, WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion who is closing in on a shot at the heavyweight title. In 2001, Froch and Haye were the first two England boxers in history to win medals at the World Amateur Championships.

“We had different career paths, but I think it’s pretty awe-inspiring what he has done and that he’s done it on his own,” Froch said. “I used to spar with him in the England squad. He was very skilful, he used to catch you with a jab and you wouldn’t know where it came from.

“I was surprised at heavyweight that he took so many risks. He could have dominated with his jab, but he went and made it a swing-up. It’s not called fighting, it’s called boxing, the art of pugilism. What I am going to do is beat Pascal at boxing. I’m not planning to stand there and have a battle unless I have to.”

While Froch and Haye developed well in the professional game, others, such as Audley Harrison, did not find the conversion so easy. “I didn’t have a problem adapting because I always had a more professional style in the amateurs,” Froch said. “I was never one of those guys that box like a sword fencer. So my mentality had to change, but my style didn’t really change. A few amateurs find it hard to adapt. Amir Khan did, that’s why he got caught. The scoring system makes amateur boxing a completely different sport. Apart from the Olympics, I won’t watch amateur boxing and sometimes you have to drag me to watch that. Once you turn professional, you don’t look back.”

All that is in front of him now is Pascal, although the possibility of matches against Kessler and Jermain Taylor, the former world middleweight champion, mean that this could be the first of several high-profile bouts for him if he is successful. Pascal, 26, was born in Haiti but lives in Quebec and won a gold medal for Canada in the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. “He’s very skilful, one of those Roy Jones types with quick hands,” Froch said. “He had a good amateur pedigree.

“It’s nice to box in your home town. The crowd could affect him if he’s not strong mentally. I’d rather him fly from Canada to be here a week before the fight rather than me fly to Canada. But when I hit people on the chin, the same thing will happen as happened to my other opponents.”

Froch prepared in a stately home on Ireland’s west coast. “It doesn’t really matter where you train,” he said. “Joe Calzaghe trains in a shed in the middle of a field and look at what he has achieved. I hit the bag hard, I run hard, I hit the pads hard and I spar hard.”

The long wait is nearly over.

Froch talks to Central News

Discuss in forum HERE

Pascal talks about Froch showdown

Jean Pascal talks about his impending fight with Carl Froch.