Froch Would Come Back For Calzaghe

Carl Froch once again declared that only one man could lure him out of retirement: Joe Calzaghe. 

Froch, 48, has been out of the ring since his knockout victory over George Groves in May 2014. He has recently been linked with a fight against MMA fighter Darren Till, but Froch has shut that down, saying it is not big enough. 

The opportunity to face Calzaghe presented itself in 2008 when Froch earned the position of mandatory challenger for Calzaghe’s WBC Super Middleweight Title. However, Calzaghe, who retired undefeated in November 2011 after beating Roy Jones Jr., made a strategic decision to bypass the challenge.

Instead, he chose to step up to the light-heavyweight division to secure career-defining fights against Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. Despite the passage of time—Froch is 48 and Calzaghe is now 53—”The Cobra” maintains a willingness to put on the gloves for this bout. 

“It’d be good to get a little move around with JC [Joe Calzaghe] if he fancies it, we’ll see. That’s the problem with the Till fight, it’s not big enough, he’s not done anything. He’s an ex-UFC fighter but in terms of boxing people are not ar*ed. But if JC came back in, that would be big, the nostalgia, that would be wicked,” Froch said 

The Approach

Froch’s goal would be to absorb the flurries from Calzaghe while stalking forward to land his single, power shots, particularly the right hand and the looping left hook. An example of his focus would be targeting Calzaghe’s body early, knowing that sustained body work is the most reliable way to slow down a high-volume opponent. If Froch could catch Calzaghe cleanly, particularly given the extra years of wear-and-tear on Calzaghe’s chin, the fight could end dramatically.

Conversely, Calzaghe’s tactical objective would be to fight fire with lots of activity, relying on movement and angles. Calzaghe’s greatest weapon was his hand speed and high-volume punching, which consistently overwhelmed and confused opponents. His best chance of victory, even in his 50s, would be to use superior footwork to circle away from Froch’s straight lines of attack, denying “The Cobra” the clean, square target he needs for his power shots.