Carl Froch challenged the best super middleweights of his day during a hugely successful career.
‘The Cobra’ is one of the best the division has ever produced in this country and he retired back in 2014 with a record of 33 wins, 24 by knockout and just two losses.
His final fight might just have been his best as he knocked out bitter rival George Groves in front of 80, 000 people at Wembley Stadium with a clean right hand.
The first fight between the two the previous year was hugely controversial. It started with Froch being surprisingly put down hard in the first round, only to rally and get a stoppage of his own in the late-rounds that many fans believe came too early.
Speaking to The Ring Magazine for their ‘Best I Faced’ feature, he didn’t hesitate to name his greatest opponent, and it wasn’t Andre Ward, the only man to beat him that wasn’t later avenged, instead he went with Mikkel Kessler.
“Kessler: He’s the best all-rounder. He can box, punch, fight up close, and his jab is excellent. The reason his jab is so effective is because he’s left-handed but fights orthodox. Kessler has good defence, but he’ll stand there and have a fight with you.
He is one very tough man and took great shots from me in both our fights.”
Across the rest of his career, former unified world champion Froch had beaten the likes of Jermain Taylor in dramatic fashion in the dying seconds of their 12-round fight in the US.
He also stopped Lucian Bute and beat Andre Dirrell over 12 rounds before retiring and becoming an outspoken pundit.
