Carl Froch, the former super middleweight champion, has stirred up controversy by claiming Joe Calzaghe shouldn't have retired with an unbeaten record. Froch believes Robin Reid deserved to win their 1999 fight.
The 'Pride of Wales' Calzaghe retired in 2008 with a perfect 46-0 record. He dominated the super-middleweight division for over a decade, scoring notable wins against Chris Eubank, Jeff Lacy, Roy Jones Jr, and Bernard Hopkins. Calzaghe's quick hands and exceptional endurance made him a formidable opponent.
Froch, known as 'The Cobra', hung up his gloves in 2014 with a 33-2 record. He held multiple super-middleweight titles and is remembered for his iron chin and will to win. His career highlights include avenging his loss to Mikkel Kessler and two famous stoppage victories over George Groves.
Despite never facing each other in the ring, Froch and Calzaghe have maintained a long-standing rivalry. Their hypothetical matchup continues to spark debates among boxing fans.
In a recent interview with Ring Magazine, Froch made a bold claim about Calzaghe's 1999 fight with Robin Reid:
"Robin Reid could really bang, and in my opinion he deserved the win over Joe Calzaghe in their fight."
The fight in question was indeed controversial. Two judges scored it 116-111 for Calzaghe, while one had it 116-111 for Reid. The wide discrepancy in the scorecards raised eyebrows among boxing fans and pundits.
Reid himself has maintained that he won the fight. He told Boxing247:
"Yep, I believe to this day that I won. The more I've looked at tapes of the fight the more convinced I am. I won by at least two rounds and that includes the point [I was] deducted for a low blow. I went home, watched the tape, and it confirmed to me that I won. We were both as dirty (in the fight) as each other. The difference was the referee always seemed to be on my case."
Froch's opinion carries weight, as he faced Reid himself in 2007. In that bout, Froch won when Reid retired on his stool at the end of the fifth round.
This latest claim from Froch adds another chapter to the ongoing debate about Calzaghe's legacy and the hypothetical matchup between these two British boxing legends.
