Carl Froch recorded a 5th round TKO of Lucian Bute on Saturday at the Nottingham Arena to become the new IBF super middleweight champion.  The IBF super middleweight trinket shouldn’t be the only thing Froch earned in his fight against Bute, he should also have once and for all earned the respect of the boxing public.

“The Cobra” had one of the best resumes in boxing before he dominated Bute in front of his Nottingham fans.  I would put Froch’s recent resume up against that of any fighter’s in the sport today.  Seriously, name another top fighter that has gone eight straight fights without a “tune up” or “stay busy” fight.  “Low risk, high reward” is the name of the game in prize fighting.  However, this phrase seems foreign to Froch.

In case you have memory loss, here’s a list of Froch’s last eight opponents in the past three and a half years; Lucian Bute, Andre Ward, Glen Johnson, Arthur Abraham, Mikkel Kessler, Andre Dirrell, Jermain Taylor and Jean Pascal.  Further complicating Froch’s road to glory is the fact that five out of these eight fights came outside of his home country.  Carl Froch went through this murderer’s row of competition and came out smelling like roses, it takes a special type of fighter to be able to pull that off.

Many modern fight fans would rather brag about fighters who are undefeated and have used their leverage to gain millions of dollars at the expense of inferior opposition.  Not me.  Give me more fighters cut from the cloth of Carl Froch and Miguel Cotto.  Does Froch have losses on his resume?  Yes.  Did Froch take chances that the majority of his peers are afraid to take?  Yes.  Froch’s actions inside of the ring should be celebrated.

Yes, Froch has solidified himself as a future hall of famer.  Yes, his achievements inside of the ring are superior to that of Joe Calzaghe.  Calzaghe was a great fighter who also is a future hall of famer but his resume doesn’t match up with Froch’s.  Calzaghe only fought four times outside of the UK and fought mostly average opposition.  Once again, both fighers should be celebrated but the fighter who took more risks should be celebrated more.

Look at the shark infested waters that Carl Froch had to swim through to earn respect in boxing, he’s earned everything he’s gotten.  Carl Froch is what’s right about boxing.  It’s a breath of fresh air to see a top boxer without a padded record.  Maybe you will appreciate Froch more when your favorite fighter faces TBA in one of  HBO’s or Showtime’s future main events.  Froch went out and earned his success the hard way and we in the boxing public should respect that.