Carl Froch: Reaping The Rewards

Carl Froch is a testament to good sense.

Where his contemporary Ricky Hatton loved to gorge on fried food, greasy takeaways and pots and pots of Guinness, Carl Froch apparently leads a much cleaner, healthier lifestyle.

In the week of this week's fight with the rock-hard American-based Jamaican Glen Johnson he boasted that he was only two pounds above the 168-pound limit.

That's not hard to believe.

While many fighters opt to strip their body of fat then water hydration and eventually muscle to boil down in weight, Froch seems to have a great understanding of sports nutrition and keeps himself close to the fighting weight.

It means when he hits the training camp, supervised by trainer Rob McCracken, he doesn't have to fret about squeezing out the weight. Instead, he can focus on technique and tactics. He's clearly aided by the GB Amateur Boxing Team training alongside him at their base in Sheffield. Having fresh and hungry boxers with mounds of enthusiasm can only be a good thing.

All of this served to help Froch when times got inevitably tough against Johnson on Saturday night. In some respects, within the ring, Froch was the architect of a few glitches by electing to leave himself open to stinging right hands. Yet, his superb chin and excellent conditioning - fuelled by the right diet, the right exercise and the right overall preparation - enabled him to pull away and seize the fight.

Two judges went for 117-111 and 116-112 in Froch's favour, although strangely one judge had it 114-114. Most saw it as a clear but closely-contested victory for Froch.

Glen Johnson, as expected, did himself credit and can have few complaints as he pushed Froch to the limit and asked all the questions he was supposed to. He just lacked that finesse and ring nous to swing the bout in his direction.

Meanwhile, Carl Froch climbs to 28-1 with 20 knockouts. I really think it can not be overstated just what a quality record Froch has compiled with his successive contests.

In closing, here are Froch's previous six opponents: Jean Pascal, Jermain Taylor, Andre Dirrell, Mikkel Kessler, Arthur Abraham and now Glen Johnson. Incredible.

Carl Froch v Glen Johnson: Prediction

Carl Froch looks in tremendous shape ahead of his WBC Super Middleweight defence against the grizzled veteran Glen Johnson.

The man himself, who met with the press at a media workout on Tuesday, claims he's only two pounds over the 168-pound division limit - and that was apparently after a big breakfast and lunch.

Johnson (51-14-2) may be 42 and he may boast 14 defeats on his completely misleading record but he's a tough, strong come-forward driver who looks to walk down his opponent for every minute of every round. Froch will have his hands full in there.

It will be interesting to see what sort of tactics Froch (27-1) chooses to deploy. Will he elect to draw on his underrated boxing skills that allowed him to swoop in and out during his wonderful victory over Arthur Abraham last year? Or will he get drawn into Johnson's sort of fight - a toe-to-toe grind that would demand Froch use his recognised powerful shots?

I would imagine Froch, who has the sensible and calm Robert McCracken in his corner, will try and box his way to a smart victory. He will need to be careful not to get backed up on the ropes too much as Johnson will swarm right all over him if or when that happens. He'll also need to be prepared to throw a lot of shots and not be discouraged by Johnson's excellent chin. He's a tough fighter who doesn't get put off attacking very easily.

Johnson, if he hopes to have success, will be looking to exploit Froch's tendency to drop his hands. It's perhaps easier said than done to catch The Cobra but there's always that opportunity - should Johnson be able to exploit it. Johnson has also mixed with the elite at Light Heavyweight so should not be too fazed by Froch's strength or power. Of course, the issue of weight could be a factor that works against Johnson if he struggles to squeeze himself down to 12 stone. Not always an easy task at the age of 42!

I see Carl Froch, having too much skill and being a lot more comfortable at the Super Middleweight limit, to get a points decision using in-and-out tactics to score, get out of the way and go back in, hitting hard enough to make his point. Against Abraham Froch decided to avoid risking going all out for a stoppage against the heavy hitter and I imagine he'll be just as sensible against Johnson - who is a very, very tough man to stop in the first place.

Prediction: Carl Froch to win on points.