| 27 November 2010
Steve Albert and Steve Farhood are calling the action tonight on Showtime as the Super Six World Boxing Classic rolls on. The tournament has been battered and bloodied but is still rolling on with one of its most compelling matchups as Carl Froch does battle with Arthur Abraham.
Helsinki, Finland is the site as both fighters attempt to bounce back from their first career defeats. Froch dropped a decision to Mikkel Kessler last time out, while Abraham was disqualified from his bout with Andre Dirrell for landing a vicious shot after Dirrell was already on the mat.
The weather is cold and the feelings between the two fighters were a bit frosty during the past few weeks. Both men are assured of making the semifinals of the tourney, but the winner can avoid facing Andre Ward until the final.
The tale of the tape shows that Froch is three years older, but he has a definite height and reach advantage. Abraham weighed in a tad heavier yesterday and is expected to be about four pounds heavier than Froch tonight.
King Arthur makes his ring walk first. The former IBF middleweight titleholder is dressed in all white and has some German and Armenian supporters in the crowd.
Froch seems to have some of his fans in attendance as well. The Cobra made no bones about the fact that he talked a lot of trash leading up to the fight to try to get in Abraham's head.
Froch is 26-1 with 20 KOs, while Abraham is 31-1 with 25 knockout wins. Jimmy Lennon Jr. handles the fighter introductions, and we are all set for a scheduled 12 rounds of boxing for the vacant WBC super middleweight world title.
Round 1
Froch starts out cautiously flicking out jabs. Carl reaches to the body from range. King Arthur rushes in with a wild miss. He's stalking and Froch is backing up for the moment. Abraham charges in again for a glancing right, followed by a jab. A Froch flurry is mostly blocked. Carl keeps the jab constantly working. He gets in a decent flurry in the closing seconds.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Froch
Round 2
More stalking without throwing by King Arthur. Froch doubles the jab and follows with the right. Arthur rushes in with a hook and gets tied up. Abraham touches the body as Froch's girlfriend is very audible in the background. Nice left hook by Abraham scores. Froch barely avoids another wide left along the ropes. Carl flurries to the body and head while Arthur turtles.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Froch
Round 3
Abraham is already showing some wear on his cheeks. He's still advancing but Froch is controlling the distance well. Carl winds up the right hand but it is mostly blocked. Abraham tries a lunging one-two. He lets a three-punch combo go as well. Right hook and a straight right are fended off by Froch. The Cobra throws two body shots and gets some breathing room.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Froch
Round 4
It's not unusual for Abraham to drop early rounds, but this is playing with fire. Froch is staying much busier and not letting him get set. Abraham misses with two swings as Froch backpedals. Carl's jab is the only consistent scoring punch right now. Froch throws combos off his jab with no return fire. King Arthur gets his head snapped back by a jab as they trade. Abraham flurries but mostly catches air.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Froch
Round 5
Abraham's corner was imploring him to do more between rounds, but this frame looks much like the previous four so far. Carl is letting his hands go, and even though he's hitting gloves a lot, at least he's working. Nice hooks by Froch around the guard. A bit of a brawl breaks out in the final 30 seconds, but Froch evades most of the big shots coming his way.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Froch
Round 6
Size does matter, because Abraham has few answers for Froch's height and length right now. Carl is throwing tons of jabs as he moves around. Abraham ducks a big right. Froch patiently looks for openings. Right hook around the guard again by The Cobra, and he looks to the body right after that. Abraham scores with two jabs but can't put anything with them. Froch gets the better of a flurry along the ropes. Abraham touches the mat but it is correctly called a slip.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Froch
Round 7
It's amazing how Froch is making the normally accurate Abraham miss so badly so often. Farhood has given every round to Carl so far. The ref steps in to break up a rare clinch. Froch seems to be coasting a bit in this frame, but he steps on the gas and batters his foe back to the ropes. He lands a left hook and Abraham seems like he may have a small cut. More jabs land for Froch in the middle of the ring. Arthur moves in for a big right but misses.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Froch
Round 8
Abraham's corner is really giving it to him again, though I can't tell what they are saying. Hopefully they told him he is way behind on the cards. Froch is still doing all the work right now. Abraham rushes in and is quickly tied up. A Froch flurries drives Abraham back again. Arthur waves Carl in, and the ref warns him for a forearm shot on the inside. Froch keeps his cool and goes back to popping shots from range. One-two combo by Abraham before a clinch. He lands a left hook in the closing seconds.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Froch
Round 9
This time King Arthur's trainer was telling him to use his jab, but it may be too late for that. Froch throws repeated jabs without much of an answer. He mixes in an occasional body shot too. Froch misses with two wild swings, but comes back with a short hook. An Arthur hook is answered by two counter shots by The Cobra. Left-right by Froch makes his man move back. Abraham scores with a right at the very last second.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Froch
Round 10
Abraham is looking very discouraged and he's running out of time. Froch has thrown almost twice as many punches, landing at a higher percentage as well. He makes Abraham wince a bit with a hook to the body. There's another vicious body shot in the corner. Abraham turns it up a bit but can't find the target. Big miss by King Arthur, then a fairly solid right at the bell.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Froch
Round 11
You'd think that Froch has this unless he gets careless. His trainer is giving him sound advice. Jabs fly both ways early on. Froch batters his way forward with both hands. Abraham wants to come forward but can't get through the jab. Nice right hand by Froch. A very low shot by Froch hits Abraham below the belt. Carl goes right back to work with hooks. Abraham swings for the fences but can't connect. One-two by Froch before he circles away.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Froch
Round 12
This is all over barring something truly shocking. Abraham does try some early rushes in this frame. Froch complains to the ref about holding and hitting. Froch is still working. Arthur lands a right and is quickly clinched. Froch throws about four or five shots to the body. Arthur comes in and is tied up again. Froch is cautious but throwing plenty of punches so he won't lose this round either. Abraham makes another wild rush but he's running out of time. Arthur lands a right hand but it's much too late; there's the final bell.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Froch
Tylwalk: 120-108 Froch
The judges score it 119-109 and 120-108 twice, all for the winner... and two-time WBC super middleweight titleholder... Carl "The Cobra" Froch.
