By Ian S. Palmer
England’s Carl Froch will be defending his IBF Super Middleweight Championship at home in Nottingham on Sat. Nov. 17 when he takes on veteran Yusaf Mack of Philadelphia.
The 32-year-old Mack is a solid veteran who turned pro back in 2000, but he’s actually three years younger than Froch. This isn’t his first shot at a world title as he took on IBF light-heavyweight king Tavoris Cloud in June of 2011 and was stopped by the champion in the eighth round. He will climb through the ropes with a record of 31-4-2 with 17 KOs with his losses coming against pretty good opponents in Cloud, Librado Andrade, Alejandro Berrio, and Glen Johnson. The problem with the losses though, was that he was stopped all four times.
Froch is a solid champion with a record of 29-2 with 21 KOs and his losses have come against undefeated world champion Andre Ward and former champion Mikkel Kessler. Both losses were by unanimous decisions. His last bout was a highly-impressive fifth-round TKO over former titleholder Lucian Bute back in May. Froch is also a former British, Commonwealth, and WBC world champion who turned pro in 2002.
To beat him, Mack is going to have to be at his absolute best and even if he is it’s going to still be a tall order. He said he’s confident and in great shape and wants to prove to the world that he’s of championship calibre. He’s won two bouts since being stopped by cloud with his last fight being a six-round unanimous decision over Sabou Ballogou on July 7. His fight before that was a unanimous decision over Omar Sheika and he captured the USBA light-heavyweight title with the win in April.
Mack has been fighting as a light heavyweight for the last five years, so it’s a bit odd that Froch chose him as an opponent. This could also be a disadvantage to the naturally heavier man, but it’s worth the effort since he’ll be making the biggest payday of his pro boxing career against Froch. Mack is motivated for this bout since he knows it’s probably going to be the last time he ever gets a crack at a world championship belt. He’s got some skill, but his chin has betrayed him in big fights in the past.
Froch will be tough to beat because of his awkward style and stopping him will take a super human effort from Mack. His best chance will be to try and neutralize the champion’s effective jabs and right hands. Mack will also have to establish his own jab at the same time as Froch’s defence is really a good offence. Mack will also have to throw more punches than Froch if he hopes to win on points. He’s going to have to throw everything he has at him to keep him off balance.
Prediction
The key to this fight is Mack’s boxing skills and his chin. If he can take Froch’s shots it’s possible that he could outbox him. However, I don’t really see that happening and expect Froch to retain his title with a stoppage in the second half of the bout.
