Carl Froch has been discussing who was the most challenging opponent he ever faced in a boxing ring, and it was a rather surprising answer from ‘The Cobra.’
The former world super middleweight champion went toe to toe with some of the greatest fighters in his division, including pound-for-pound legend Andre Ward, domestic rival George Groves, and Danish warrior Mikkel Kessler.
But an earlier opponent in his career is the one that Froch feels stands out above most, listing Charles Adamu as the one that pushed him hardest.
The two men met back in 2004, and the 46-year-old has been discussing the bout on his YouTube channel Froch On Fighting.
“Marcus McDonnell was the referee, and it was 116-113. It was one of them fights – in my first 12 rounder – where by about round seven I was absolutely blowing.
“I was thinking, this guy, I can’t hurt him; I’d hit him with my best shots and he just stood there. He was a solid, solid geezer from Ghana, solid as a rock, like a tree actually, a big oak tree.
“I was hitting him with shots and he just wouldn’t budge. I was tiring, starting to doubt myself, he was coming on strong as well and, in round eight, Rob McCracken said to me ‘go back at him; when you’ve done your attack, go again.’
“I threw a double-jab right-hand after I’d already attacked him and dropped him, so he went down on one knee. It was like the Rocky 4 moment when he cut Ivan Drago.”
While the Cobra is well known for his bitter rivalry with Groves – who became the second man to drop the Nottingham fighter – and his two tightly-contested bouts with Kessler, Adamu was perhaps closest to beating him inside the distance.
Known for his granite chin, Froch was able to tough it out in most of his professional contests but, against Adamu, it seems that going to the well may have sparked something within him, as he bit down on his gumshield and, eventually, got the job done.