Froch: I have to cement my superstardom

Excerpt from conference call prior to the Kessler Froch fight:

Carl Froch:
“It’s good to fight a proud man like Mikkel Kessler. It’s a great opportunity for me. I’m already very established on a world-class level so I don’t have much to prove. I’ve beaten Jean Pascal, Jermain Taylor and then Andre Dirrell, and we all saw what Dirrell did to Arthur Abraham. I think I’m already established as a world-class fighter so I don’t have to give myself any accolades. It’s already there. I just have to deal with Mikkel Kessler, cement my super stardom and do what I have to do on April 24, cement my lead in the Super Six World Boxing Classic, which is a fantastic tournament and I’m proud to be a part of it.
“You have six super elite fighters in this tournament and so far all the fights have been pretty close, and in some you could not even pick a winner. None of the results have totally shocked me to be honest. I can take the lead in this but Andre Ward still has another fight. I think (Allan) Green can win that fight. He’s obviously got the punching power. But I’ve obviously got the ability to be a front-runner in this tournament.
“We’re both two proud athletes at the top of our game and we know what’s on the line here, so one thing is for sure, you’re not going to get any cheap talk from either of us. And I think Mikkel will back me up on that.”
Can you get motivated to fight a guy that you generally seem to like?
“Of course. I’ve boxed friends before. I boxed a guy named Damon Hague (in 2004) for the British title and I almost decapitated him in the first round and I won the fight with a knockout. One week later I was at his house having dinner with him so that’s not going to be a problem, I can assure you.
What makes you a better boxer than Mikkel Kessler?
“Stronger, quicker, a champion, undefeated, taller, more elusive. That’s it. There’s your answer.
“I don’t feel like I need the knockout. I don’t need to look for the knockout. I’m a big puncher. If the knockout comes it comes, but I don’t feel like I need a knockout to win. I’m the WBC champion. It’s an honorable title and an honorable governing body and I don’t go into any fight expecting to have to knock someone out.
“I don’t think you can really put a finger on a puncher’s power. It’s just something you’re born with like a good chin. There obviously are some technical issues going on. I’ve got little chicken legs and a very big back so I have to land my punches accurately and correctly and with a lot of force behind them. My dad was strong and my granddad was very strong. I think it was just past down through the genes.
“I really don’t need the fan support. It’s obviously a great feeling to have people follow you all around the world to watch you fight, but at the end of the day when the bell goes you don’t hear too much anyway. You’re just so concentrated on your opponent. If the crowd is cheering against me that is fine. The Danes that I have met have been great so I’m not expecting any kind of animosity at all.
“This fight has nothing to do with Dirrell and everything to do with Kessler. The fight with Dirrell was close because Dirrell didn’t want the fight. He was running and holding and he got points deducted because of it. He was bitching and moaning and looking to the referee for help against Abraham. That my fight with him was close is totally irrelevant because we both spent the whole fight running around the ring trying to make the fight happen. It was an unfortunate set of circumstance what happened to Arthur Abraham. I don’t think Arthur knew what had happened and accidentally punched him in the face when he was on the floor not realizing he was down. That’s my opinion. Arthur Abraham is an honorable man in my opinion and not a cheat. But that’s just my opinion and everyone has their own opinion of it. But that’s got nothing to do with myself or Mikkel Kessler.”
Did you get used to having the SHOWTIME guys around during the filming of Fight Camp 360?
“It’s not I like it or dislike it. The guys who do it are perfect gentleman, they really are. And they don’t do anything without asking you first. I let them come into the house and I let them come over to the hotel. The SHOWTIME crew are all gentlemen and I have to say I quite enjoy it. I can’t say I’d do it next week, but I don’t mind doing it. They’re just so professional. You get a little bit about the other fighters watching it, but it’s not what these guys do out of the ring that’s important but what they do in the ring.
I don’t really draw too much from it, but it is compelling viewing.
“Mikkel Kessler doesn’t run around the ring. I do expect fireworks and I know Kalle reckons there will be fireworks. Mikkel Kessler is going to have to box and move and keep out of the way. If he does that I might even try to jab and move. Styles make fights and I think it’s going to be an all-out fight. It’s going to be a totally different fight than I had with Andre Dirrell.
“My undefeated record means everything to me. Some people look at knockout ratios but I fight to win. An unblemished record is very important to me.”

Source:

http://www.boxen.com/en/news-archive/news-details/article/k/23.html

 

A good call hopefully :good

 

He had his trouble with Dirrel, but Dirrel was being overly negative in that fight.
Kessler is not a slick fighter and Jimmy Montoya will not have changed that. Froch is meeting Abraham next and he is not the slick type either. So right know Froch does not have to worry about that.

 

It's Froch man. He described himself as a combination of the fab four. Don't take it to seriously