by Johnny Walker
Super middleweight king Carl “The Cobra” Froch wasted no time in putting away overmatched American challenger Yusaf Mack tonight at the Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, England, retaining his IBF super middleweight world title in the process.
Froch (30-2, 22 KOs) dominated the match from the outset, putting Mack on the canvas in round one with two hard left hooks to the head. Mack regained his equilibrium in round two, but was again shaken near the end of the round, his gum-shield flying out of his mouth after a hard head shot from Froch.
It was evident as Froch continued to dominate in round three that the end of this fight was drawing near, and sure enough, Froch hurt Mack badly with a hard right to the midsection, followed by cannon-fire lefts to the midsection and head. Mack slowly crumpled to the canvas and stayed on all fours, unable or unwilling to continue.
“I was a bit cautious early on,” Froch said following the fight. “And then I found my range. Mack didn’t have much of a chance … I’m a level above.”
Next for Froch is a rematch in early 2013 with Canada’s Lucian Bute, who looked shaky at times in his recent comeback win over Denis Grachev. Bute will need every advantage he can glean from fighting in his hometown of Montreal if he is to have any chance against a fighter who seems better than ever in Carl “The Cobra” Froch.
