Froch to bring curtain down on Reaperman's career by Tom Podmore Nov 8th 2007

Nottingham's Carl ‘The Cobra' Froch defends his British twelve-stone title against former WBC champion Robin Reid at the Nottingham Arena on Friday (November 9) with the knowledge he's only a handful of wins away from a shot at a world title. This intriguing super-middleweight twelve-rounder tops Hennessy Sports and GoldenPalace.net's latest offering in the East Midlands city, which also sees an English and two Midland Area title fights on the action-packed undercard. Sky Sports televise. The fight, originally scheduled at this venue a week earlier (November 2), was moved so that Froch could be aware of the winner of the WBC, WBA and WBO unification clash between Mikkel Kessler and Joe Calzaghe – won by Calzaghe on a unanimous decision – before he stepped into the ring. Carl has recently been made mandatory challenger for former WBC champ Christian Sanavia's European title, but has to keep his eyes firmly locked on the dangerous former world champion from Runcorn. The self-styled ‘Reaperman', 36, who announced earlier in the week that this, regardless of the result, would be his last professional outing, laughs off claims that he hasn't a prayer against the world-ranked Midlander. Rob said: “Those who think this fight will be one-sided don't really know anything about professional boxing. “Froch may be shouting his mouth off about world title shots and fights against Joe Calzaghe but he'll have to beat me first. I'm not coming to Nottingham to lose.” But he does start this fight as the 13/2 betting underdog. Froch, never short of a word and making the fourth defence of the Lonsdale belt he won outright a year ago, is equally confident of win number 22 in his home-city this Friday night. He said: “I've seen what Reid has been saying in the press. Now he's got a problem; he has to come good on his words and back it all up. Instead he's going to get knocked out like he's never been knocked out before. “Robin Reid brings a lot of experience, a lot of talent and a lot of threats to the table,” continued the unbeaten Rob McCracken-trained Nottingham Forest supporter. “He fought Joe Calzaghe and a lot of people thought he won that one, I thought he won but he lost on a split decision. “So Reid will be strong, determined and won't turn up out of shape to fight Carl Froch. He will see me as a big name and a chance to make some money but I am fully aware of that. “I'm giving Reid respect where respect is due. He is a good operator and he's going to come to my hometown to mean business and burst the Carl Froch bubble. “But, and you've got my personal guarantee on this one, he's not going to burst the bubble. “I know that I have what it takes to beat absolutely anybody in world at super-middleweight. People are starting to believe in me a lot more after my last couple of displays. “I'm not looking past this fight, but I'm aiming for big things. I'll probably be fighting for a world title next year and I will bring those belts back to Britain and to my home fans in Nottingham.” Both protagonists can crack (44 stoppages between them), though the local champion is probably the harder one-punch banger – halting eight of his last ten opponents inside the distance. Robin is without a stoppage since 2003, six fights ago. And the Cobra's lethal bite had never looked as venomous as it did on his last outing at the city centre venue in March. Taking on IBF top ten-rated Sergey Tatevosyan, a slippery southpaw who'd never been stopped, Froch hurt the Russian early, decked him with a whipping uppercut in the early stages of the second and trapped him on the ropes for a stoppage moments later. When you consider that Sergey had taken flush punches from mallet-fisted Lucian Bute and former European champions Howard Eastman, David Gogiya and Rudy Markussen without folding then the Englishman's win looks even more impressive. “Tatevosyan told me after we boxed in March that I'm better and stronger than Bute (the new IBF super-middleweight boss) and shouldn't be too concerned about fighting him,” boasted the impressive local. Reid's last performance, by way of contrast, was less-than-stellar. He did, however, show there was still something left in the tank to take an eight-round unanimous decision over decent American Jesse Brinkley on the UK v US Contender card. Neither could find any real rhythm but Brinkley, famed for his appearance on the first series of The Contender, was the fighter on the end of the most stick and had to survive a torrid final three minutes, with ring-rusty Robin getting through with an almighty right uppercut. It wasn't a vintage Reid showing – after all, he only spent six days in the gym for it and his timing was a off – but it was still good enough to chalk win number 39 onto his stellar ledger. Now the anvil-chinned Cheshire-based boxer, three inches shorter at 5'11, has to whip his body into shape for the job against the ultra-confident puncher from the Midlands. Is it an assignment too far for the 1992 Olympic bronze medallist? Froch is, after all, tall for the weight, has a good range of weapons to call upon and punches extremely hard. He also possesses a fast set of hands and displays good reflexes, so is an all-round fighter with an iron jaw. The lithe, loose-limbed double ABA champ and World amateur bronze medallist was born with a gift – long arms. His long torso and the way he strikes with the jab, as it whips up from the waist to the head, has earned him the nickname of ‘The Cobra'. And the 30-year-old eased through the domestic ratings, beating then-Midland Area champion Mike Duffield in fight five, winning the English strap in fight ten, Commonwealth in twelve and the British in fourteen. The common denominator, Belfast's Brian Magee, who hit the deck four times and lost his unbeaten record on points to Reid, was brutally knocked unconscious by a Froch right uppercut in eleven in defence of his British and Commonwealth belts at the York Hall last year. Former undefeated British champion Tony Dodson, the Liverpudlian who'd chased Froch for over three years, was knocked out in three with a crunching left hook to the body at this venue in November of last year. And lets not forget Carl's top-class wins over Charles Adamu – a bamboo-tough Ghanaian with Olympic pedigree – durable world-rated Puerto Rican Henry Porras, awkward former British and WBU champ Matthew Barney, Ruben Groenewald and Canadian portsider Mark Woolnough. But Brian Hughes-trained Reid has only tasted defeat to men who were, or would later become, recognised world champions (WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO). He certainly isn't short of decent wins or performances. He famously flattened Vincenzo Nardiello for the WBC title in a cauldron-like arena in Italy in 1996, boxed beautifully to outpoint Henry Wharton in a title defence, decisioned Hacine Cherifi – who would win the WBC middleweight tile in his next fight – and outscored former two-time WBA champion Julio Cesar Vasquez. Remember his career-best performance against Joe Calzaghe? Pushing the Welshman to a split decision in a WBO title challenge in 1999. Or the farcical fight against Sven Ottke in Germany, when Reid was pulled up for any infringement, including punching, and robbed of a chance of becoming two-time world champion. But then there have been the tepid showings against ‘Sugar Boy' Malinga – losing his WBC crown – Silvio Branco, a future WBA light-heavy boss, and the one-sided retirement defeat against Jeff Lacy, who decked the Englishman four times (the first time he'd been off his feet as an amateur or pro). He can't afford to put in another sloppy performance against the WBC number two-rated twelve-stoner, also positioned at five in the WBO's rankings, eleven in the WBA's and third in the IBF's. The question for many is not if iron-fisted Froch will win, as he is heavy favourite to do so, but if he'll have the power to force a stoppage against the durable scrapper from the North West, 39-5-1 (27). But when you consider Reid's experience, his rock-like chin, powerful right, Froch's low left hand, how he prefers opponents to come to him and that the greater the task the better he tends to perform, a victory isn't an outlandish suggestion. That said, Reid has never been the hardest fighter to fathom. To beat him, make Robin come forward and counter. Obviously, only the very best can do this, but lesser men have made him look very ordinary. He drew with Danny Juma, a tough but limited journeyman, in one of his early outings. Reid outpointed him in a rematch, but struggled once more. World-class pair Silvio Branco and Thulane Malinga defeated Robin by boxing intelligently, making the former world champion do all the running and picking him off. To take the fight to BBN number three-rated Reid – like Calzaghe did at the Telewest Arena in Newcastle over eight-and-a-half years ago – is asking for trouble. Froch may want to take note, though I'm not going to insult anyone's intelligence by saying that Reid is still the same force he was against the legendary Welsh southpaw in 1999. Robin can box off the back foot or stand and slug it out, although his chin was finally dented against American Lacy in an IBF title challenge a couple of years ago. He can switch stance effortlessly and fight effectively as a southpaw. And experience is always telling for fighters still in excellent physical condition – as Reid, challenging for the British title for the first time in a 45-fight, 14-year pro career, always is. But how much does he want this? Moreover, how much does he have left to give? Although he has a history of hand trouble, Carl's long, fast, powerful punches could cause real damage if Lacy has dented Reid's once granite-like chin for good. Carl, 21-0 (17), is a born winner, has an excellent engine and an exceptional snake-like reach. He cuts off the ring well and owns a cunning ring brain – almost like a chess player, thinking two or three moves ahead. The Loughborough University graduate controls a fight well. One feels Froch's whipping uppercuts will cause the former WBC, WBF and IBO champion trouble throughout and force the referee to make an intervention around the seven or eight-round mark – thus ending Reid's fine career on a sour note. The East Midlander should then be ready for an all-out assault on European and world honours in 2008.

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