I was watching Carl Froch vs Mark Woolnaugh from 2004. It was Froch's 13th fight. The thing is though he looks pretty much like Froch in that fight as in not green. He didn't get a title shot until 2008 against Jean Pascal. Froch was dominating the British domestic circuit for years. Too long in my opinion. He almost slipped under the radar. Imagine if he doesn't get the shot against Pascal for the vacant title? He never enters the super 6. He never fights in front of 80,000 at Wembley like he can't stop saying. Hell, maybe he doesn't even get a title shot and nobody outside Britain knows who he is. Call me crazy, but Froch against Woolnaugh in 2004 literally looks as good if not better than he did for most of his title fights.
I look at Carl Froch's record and it looks like a total bog standard record to me. He seems to of stepped up levels at a steady pace and i would say although he never changed his style the Froch against the likes of Kessler and Ward was a much improved one than when he fought Woolnagh. You get those that rush through their career like a Lomo, Inoue or Anthony Joshua and then you have those that dont rush their career and are still fighting club level fighters when they have already had 25 to 30 fights like a Deontay Wilder. But Froch's resume looks like a bog standard rise throughout.
He was promoted by Hennessy during his early career and there was not much hype around him, most of the "hardcores" thought he was a slow tough plodder. His career was a real surprise to most.
Well yes it seems like it's been normal for guys to get 25 fights or so before stepping up to world class opposition. But with guys turning pro later and later they are now ready with far fewer fights than before. It's one thing to turn pro at 18 and you need to gain experience. But if you're 26 years old like Froch was against Woolnaugh with 13 fights. And you look ready, then you're ready. No sense in wasting time fighting for National level titles for pennies. In the end it all worked out for Froch anyways.