“Cobra” Froch takes a bite at Big Apple

Posted on | April 22, 2009 | No Comments

Carl “The Cobra” Froch will arrive in New York today for the final pre fight press conference ahead of his massive WBC Super Middleweight World title fight with Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor.

Britain’s only current World Champ will make the first defence of his title against former Undisputed Middleweight Champ, Taylor at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut this Saturday night. The two men will finally come face to face today having traded barbs across the Atlantic for the past few months.

Froch is relishing the opportunity to eyeball his challenger and prove to Taylor that he has pretty bad intentions himself with regard to this weekend’s clash.

“I’m looking forward to looking him in the eye and telling him that he better prepare for war,” said Froch. “I hope he’s ready for the fight of his life because I know I am. He wants to know who the Froch is Froch, well I’ve left no stone unturned for this one. This is my chance to make a real statement here in America and believe me after my hand has been raised on Saturday night Jermain Taylor will rue the day he ever heard my name.”

Froch wrapped up his training camp at Niagara Falls in Canada last weekend and has since been familiarising himself with the MGM Grand at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut ahead of the fight on Saturday.

“I’m really fired up for this,” said the Champion. “I’m out of my comfort zone here and in the danger zone but that’s where great fighters thrive. I could have stayed in Nottingham defending the World title but I think that would have blunted my ambition. I want the big fights and the big nights and if I have to travel then so be it. I need to crack the U.S. market and this is the perfect fight for me to do that.”

The bookies have made Taylor a slight favourite but Froch believes he will make a mockery of the underdog tag on Saturday night. “All the hype over here is geared towards Taylor and his ‘Bad Intentions’ and I think people here are expecting him to turn up and look a million dollars but they’ve picked the wrong fall guy and I think deep down, Taylor knows it.”

Froch won the title in Nottingham last December with a thrilling win over Jean Pascal, handing the Canadian the first defeat of his career in the process. He entered that fight nursing a cracked rib, a perforated ear drum and a cut eye but he emerged after a fight of the year candidate with the WBC Super Middleweight belt around his waist.

“People said my fight with Pascal was hard and of course it wasn’t easy, particularly as I had a few niggling injuries to contend with but it was the kind of fight I enjoy,” said Froch. “I relish going into the trenches, looking the other guy in the eye and sorting things out the old fashioned way. Taylor’s a great boxer but I’m a great fighter and when the going gets tough that’s when he wilts and I thrive and that’s going to be the difference between us.”

Froch has renewed acquaintances with Pascal ahead of the fight sparring the Canadian at his Niagara Falls training camp and he feels his former foe has been perfect preparation for Taylor.

“Pascal is very similar in build to Taylor and to be honest I only realised just how much the experience of that fight with Pascal had brought me on when I sparred him in Canada,” revealed Froch.

“I was able to eliminate the little mistakes I’d made in that fight during our spars and I think Pascal could see the difference as well. I’m definitely boxing a lot better now and I think the improvements will be evident on Saturday night.”

British and Irish fight fans can watch the fight live via an online pay per view at frochvtaylor. com from 2am GMT in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The pay per view costs £9.95 (or €11.00 for Irish viewers) and the fight will be available in both 750kb/s and 1mb/s to give fight fans a true quality streaming experience. For further information visit frochvtaylor. com.