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IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch steam-rolled West Philly's Yusaf Mack in their world title fight in Nottingham, England. World-class Froch floored Mack in the first round, hurt him again before the round ended, staggered him near the close of the second and finished the job at 2:30 of round three. The swift victory by Froch retained his title and set up a possible rematch with Lucian Bute. Yusaf Mack was not expected to win in this the biggest fight of his career. He was set as a 9-1 underdog in the bout. However he went to England in great shape and knowing that the formidable Froch might be looking past him. The possibility that he might be taken lightly, was his best chance of pulling the near-impossible upset. However in the end, Froch did not have the off night and lack of focus that Mack needed to produce a shocker. Carl Froch, 30-2 (22 KOs), was ready and in top form for the match, and put on a flawless show for the 10,000 fans that packed his hometown venue, the Capital FM Arena in Nottingham. It was another impressive showing for Froch who now looks forward to an eventful 2013. Froch's plan is to fight three rematches during the year - Lucian Bute, and the only two men who've beaten him, Mikkel Kessler, and Andre Ward. It should be a good year. For Yusaf Mack, 31-5-2 (17 KOs), the future is uncertain. The affable and able fighter who has won numerous regional titles in both the super middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, and fallen short in his two tries for world title belts, has plenty of gas left in his 32 year old tank, but he will have to do much rebuilding before given another major assignment. It may be hard for Mack, who's fought two title fights in the past 18 months, to settle for the smaller offers likely to come his way now. But at heart, Yusaf is a working class fighter, and there are many winnable fights out there for him at both the local and regional levels. It is likely that he will fight on, keep winning and see what comes his way in the future. That is the way of the working class fighter. Mack is good, just not as good as Carl Froch. And in the end, that is no sin. Yusaf grabbed a golden opportunity against one of the best fighters in the world, prepared well, took his shot, but came up short. Everyone loves an underdog, but in the real world, this is the way these stories usually end. |
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