Who is Carl Froch: the legendary boxer who ‘dared’ Jake Paul to call him out

Jake Paul’s latest potential challenge, Carl Froch is a British former boxer. In an interview with TalkSPORT, when asked about the possibility of facing internet celebrities like Jake and Logan Paul, Froch insisted he would “smash them all to bits.”

His professional career began in 2002 and lasted till 2014. He fought in the super-middleweight division. Froch is arguably one of the greatest boxers to belong to Britain.

A 25-year-old Carl Froch made his professional debut in London on March 16, 2002. He faced Michael Pinnock in a six round bout. The fight was a success, as he won via a round four TKO.

He went on to gather eight more victories over the next eighteen months, making his presence loud and clear in the super-middleweight division. He went on to challenge Alan Page for the vacant English Super-Middleweight title.

Carl Froch won the ten round fight via TKO in round seven, picking up the first of many titles. After collecting another win, Froch challenged Ghanian boxer Charles Adamu for the Commonwealth Super-Middleweight title. He won the twelve round bout via decision.

After making his first successful title defense, Carl Froch fought Damon Hague in September 2004 for the British super-middleweight title. In a spectacular performance, Froch pulled a round one KO victory to add the British super-middleweight title to his collection.

Carl Froch then rallied up nine more wins with multiple title defenses and faced Canadian boxer Jean Pascal for the vacant WBC Super-Middleweight title. He won the fight via unanimous decision and secured his first world championship.

Froch defended his WBC title twice before losing it to Mikkel Kessler in April 2010. The Danish boxer beat Froch via unanimous decision at the MCH Arena in Herning, Denmark.

However, Kessler was forced to vacate the title due to injury, and Froch fought Arthur Abraham for the vacant WBC title. He beat the Armenian-German fighter via unanimous decision to regain his belt.

After his fight with Abraham, Froch defended his title once before losing it again. This time, American boxer Andre Ward won via unanimous decision in December 2011.

Nevertheless, Carl Froch bounced back and scooped up the IBF and WBA (unified) super-middleweight titles. He made several defenses and fought five times after his defeat at the hands of Andre Ward. Carl Froch hung up his gloves in 2014, with his last fight being a round eight KO victory in a rematch with George Groves.

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Carl Froch has received various prizes in the course of making his impeccable 33-2 boxing record. In fact, for his last fight, he received the KO of the Year award by The Ring magazine. He was also voted the Fighter of the Year by BoxRec in 2012. He was voted ‘Sportsman of the Year’ in GQ’s UK edition in 2013.

Carl Froch now works as an analyst for Sky Sports.

Published 05 Mar 2021, 19:02 IST