Carl Froch, the undefeated World Boxing Council (WBC) super middleweight champion from Nottingham, England, came to America determined to make a lasting impression on U.S. fight fans.
And that, to say the least, he did last Saturday night on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING when he rallied in the later rounds to register a dramatic, come-from-behind 12th-round knockout over the universally known and respected challenger Jermain Taylor.
Froch, after getting decked in the third round and being outboxed for much of the match, entered the last round trailing Taylor, a former undisputed middleweight titleholder, by four points on two of the judges’ scorecards.
Froch needed a knockout to avoid a split decision loss and claim victory in only his second professional fight on U.S. soil. To the astonishment of a packed theater at MGM Grand at Foxwoods and surely to everyone watching on SHOWTIME, he got it – in emphatic fashion, too.
The determined Brit dropped Taylor with less than one minute remaining in the 12th. Taylor beat the count and Froch unleashed a furious barrage of finishing punches, forcing referee Michael Ortega to stop the fight with a mere 14 seconds remaining.
The must-see fight will re-air on SHOWTIME 2 on Wednesday, April 29 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The bout will long be remembered for Froch’s final-round heroics, a session that became an instant candidate for “Round of the Year” and “Comeback of the Year.”
photo by Emily Harney