WBC Super Middleweight champion Carl Froch will make his first title defense at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut on Saturday against #1 contender Jermain Taylor. Three days before the fight Froch looked and sounded, as he put it himself, “immensely” confident. Read on to learn what Froch is concerned about in Taylor, why he expects to score the KO, what he saw in Taylor’s eyes during the heated staredown and much more…
BoxingInsider: What are your expectations from Taylor?
Carl Froch: I’m expecting him to come and try and beat me. Well, I’m expecting him to get knocked out as well.
BoxingInsider: What is something you plan to take advantage about Taylor?
Carl Froch: The fact that he’s been beat. He’s mentally broke down. He’s a middleweight, he’s not a super middleweight. Well, he’s a super middleweight now but most of his career has been at 160 pounds, a weight I could never make. You’d have to chop my arm off me to make that weight.
BoxingInsider: You expect to knock out Taylor?
Carl Froch: Yeah definitely, if I hit anybody on the chin enough times, they’ll go over. I’ve only been the distance five times out of 24 fights and a lot of them were early in my career when the guys were 22 pounds heavier than me, holding on for their dear life over six rounds. Obviously my last fight went 12 rounds. Jean Pascal is one helluva tough kid.
BoxingInsider: Taylor says you have no defense, that your head is your defense, your comment?
Carl Froch: He’s basing it on my last fight with Jean Pascal. I probably got hit by more punches than I should have, what happened was I still stood up in round 12 and I felt like I could go another 12 rounds. So he’s got a problem, doesn’t he?
BoxingInsider: Are you concerned with the jab or Taylor, he has a great jab.
Carl Froch: I didn’t know he had a good jab. So I’m certainly not concerned about it. I didn’t realize he had a good jab. I’ve not seen anything special. Roy Jones Jr. had a great jab but I wouldn’t say Taylor’s got a good jab. He jabs from the hip, he keeps his left arm quite low, he puts his chin out to draw him up close. I’ll take it away from him early anyway, I’ll defend against the jab, counter punch him.
BoxingInsider: After the conference you and Taylor had an intense staredown. What did you see in his eyes there?
Carl Froch: I didn’t see a man who looked really confident. He’s talking himself up and he’s trying to be a little flashy, joke and laughing – I think that’s a sign of nerves. But I don’t look into the psychology too much of a fighter. You can underestimate a fighter if you do that, you really can. But I feel so confident in myself that I look past anything that he says or anything that he does. But when I stood there and looked in his eyes, he didn’t look like a man who thought he was gonna be the new champion. When I said what I said there and I looked at him, he looked worried. And he swallowed as well. (Froch was referring to his speech when he said, “I’m the champion of the world at super middleweight – and I will remain champion of the world at super middleweight. Sunday I’ll be taking that belt home to me to England. From the sounds of the way Jermain Taylor’s talking he’s gonna be very, very disappointed Sunday morning. He really is. I think he knows, deep down, he’s in deep trouble.”)
Like I said, I don’t look to see little signs or anything like that. Although I pick up on a few little bits. To me, he doesn’t look like a confident man, he really doesn’t. And he shouldn’t be. He should not be confident. 160 pounds he’s fought most of his career at. I can’t make 160, it’s impossible. I used to do 164 when I was amateur, when I was 17 or 18. And I used to struggle to make 164.
He’s made 160 most of his career. So he’s a smaller, weaker man than me. I’m not saying he’s small and he’s weak but I’m bigger and I’m stronger. I’m tough, punch hard, and I punch with accuracy. And I’ve got a granite jaw. I can’t be hurt, I’ve been hit with heavy shots.
BoxingInsider: You have never been down or hurt?
Carl Froch: Never been down, never been hurt. I’m touching wood. Not in my whole career. So Jermain Taylor has gone the distance the last four years and he’s boxing middleweight to light middleweight. Kassim Ouma, Cory Spinks – he hasn’t been able to hurt them. How’s he gonna hurt me? So the confidence I’m bringing into this fight is immense. And when I look over at Jermain Taylor I’m not concerned, I’m really not.
Tickets for this super clash are still available, mostly at $75.