Carl Froch has revealed that one man hit him noticeably harder than anyone else across his 35-fight career.
Nottingham man Froch was known for his granite chin, unwillingness to ever take a step back and desire to fight everyone.
He debuted in 2002 and won the vacant WBC super-middleweight title in 2008 when he beat Jean Pascal. He defended against Jermain Taylor, Andre Dirrell and took just two losses, the first against Mikkel Kessler, which he later avenged, and the second against Andre Ward.
He also beat the likes of Lucian Bute and Arthur Abraham, as well as having two famous fights with George Groves. The first saw him get a controversial stoppage win after being put down hard in round one, and the rematch ended with a much cleaner one-punch knockout from Froch.
Speaking to The Ring Magazine, however, ‘The Cobra’ admitted that fellow Brit Robin Reid was the man whose punches left the biggest impression on him.
“[Reid] hurt me the most with a single shot. I can’t say George Groves because he caught me square on in the first fight, when I left my feet behind me. That was a heavy knockdown made worse by my balance being off.
Also, after his fast start dwindled, I came on strong, so I can’t say Groves. I remember Reid hitting me and saying, ‘F—ing hell, that hurt.’ Jermain Taylor had me down, but that was more of a sharp shot.
Robin Reid could really bang, and in my opinion he deserved the win over Joe Calzaghe in their fight. That said, Calzaghe had to be tough to walk through the right hands he took from Reid.”
The pair fought back in 2007 for the British title. Despite the onslaught of heavy punches from Reid, who was a former Olympic medalist and held the the WBC super-middleweight world title from 1996 to 97, Froch weathered the storm and forced the corner to retire their man.
Reid retired in 2012, while Froch didn’t hang up his gloves until he walked away as reining WBA and IBF champion in 2014 following the win over Groves, though he has consistently said he would come out of retirement to fight John Fury.
