Froch wins biggest fight of his career

Rafael's remarks: It's amazing what one night can do to change the perception of a fighter. On this night, Froch went from underdog considering retirement in the event that he suffered his second loss in a row to the highest of highs after a sensational victory in an excellent fight on an absolutely electric night at the Capital FM Arena in his hometown of Nottingham. The place was packed to the rafters with a sellout crowd of about 9,000 chanting and cheering all night in scene reminiscent of a Ricky Hatton fight and they got what they came for -- an upset knockout victory from Froch, who claimed a 168-pound title for the third time in an explosive performance that will rank up there as one of the best of the year.

Froch, 34, said he would consider retirement if he lost to Bute. After all, Froch was coming off a one-sided loss to Andre Ward in December in the final of the Super Six World Boxing Classic, and another loss to another elite fighter in the division would have been a problem. But Froch fought like a man possessed in the bout carried live by Epix in the United States. He said afterward that he was like an animal in the ring, and he was right.

Bute, 32, a native from Romania who has become a megastar in his adopted hometown of Montreal and throughout Quebec, took the fight with Froch in Nottingham because he wanted to prove that he could still be successful outside of his comfort zone. He even took less money to go to England than he could have by fighting another opponent in Canada -- because Froch, after spending the two years and four fights fighting on the road, was determined to have a hometown fight. With probably about 1,000 or more supporters who made the trips from Canada and Romania, Bute, who was eyeing his 10th title defense, seemed relaxed during the week and fought well in the first round. But then Froch picked up the pace. The expectation was that his jab would be a crucial weapon, but he dispensed with it early and began to just walk toward Bute, a southpaw, looking to land anything, especially his powerful right hand. He began clipping him hard in the third round and nearly knocked him down. Referee Earl Brown could have called a knockdown when it was clear the ropes had held up the dazed Bute. Bute rebounded in the early part of the fourth round to give the fight some very exciting ebb and flow, but Froch began to hammer him late in the round. He had Bute nearly out on his feet and laying on the ropes after landing a series of clean shots near the end of the round. Bute was lucky that the bell sounded because a few more seconds of punishment could have resulted in a knockout. It was academic in the fifth round as Froch continued his assault. Bute, his left eye swelling, was taking massive punishment as Froch's right hand landed nearly at will.

Bute seemed like he had recovered by the start of the fifth round and was trying to box Froch and stay out of his punching range, but it was only a brief respite. Froch backed him into the ropes and landed a massive right hand that sent Bute's heard rolling all over the place. Bute was basically out as Froch smashed him with about eight more shots, including another flush right and a left hand that left Bute falling into the ropes. Brown threw up his hands in a signal that looked to everybody that he was stopping the fight. The crowd went wild, Froch ran across the ring and jumped on the ropes to celebrate and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, dashed into the ring to celebrate with him. However, as it turned out, Brown was administering an eight-count, having ruled a knockdown because the ropes had held Bute up. Hearn went running back out of the ring before Brown could see him -- because Brown was facing Bute -- but it did not matter. Bute's trainer, Stephan Larouche, was coming into the ring to stop the fight and Brown was also stopping the fight, calling it off at 1 minute, 5 seconds, sending the place into pandemonium in what was one of the biggest nights in British boxing history.

For Froch, it was the biggest win of his career, which is saying a lot for a guy who already owns quality wins against Jean Pascal, Jermain Taylor, Andre Dirrell, Arthur Abraham and Glen Johnson (the last three coming in the Super Six). Bute just could not stand up to the pounding he took. Some will say he was exposed, which is not fair, but that's how some will view it. If anything, he deserves credit for having the stones to leave his hometown and take on a serious challenge. But now he also has a decision to make. Bute has the option to exercise an immediate rematch with Froch for a fight that would take place in Canada. Some on his team do not believe he will pick it up after the beat down he suffered, but you never know. If he takes the rematch, it will be a huge fight in Canada. If he doesn't, promoter Jean Bedard of InterBox will likely bring him back in a hometown fight to rebuild his confidence. He's such a great attraction that Bute doesn't need the Froch rematch to make a lucrative living. As for Froch, there is no point to a rematch with Ward, who easily beat him. It seems like his best potential fight, assuming Bute doesn't take the rematch, would be for him to have a rematch with Mikkel Kessler, who is coming off a sensational knockout of Allan Green two weeks ago. Froch lost a title to Kessler in the Super Six in Kessler's hometown of Copenhagen, Denmark, in the best fight of the tournament. A rematch would be a natural.

Rafael's remarks: Northern Ireland's Frampton, 25, known as "The Jackal," is considered one of the United Kingdom's top prospects. He turned pro in 2009 after approximately 160 amateur bouts and plenty of experience in the top European tournaments. He has gotten a lot of attention as a professional in part because he is managed by the revered Barry McGuigan, the former featherweight champion, International Boxing Hall of Famer and Irish icon. McGuigan is moving him quickly as Frampton captured the Commonwealth title in his 11th professional bout. Hirales, 28, of Mexico, was just the kind of fighter who might be able to give Frampton a decent test if he was not in top shape. But Frampton looked like he was in supreme condition and dominated Hirales. Although tough and game, Hirales could not keep up with Frampton's speed, movement and accurate punching. Frampton won virtually every second of the fight even though Hirales stalked him throughout what became an increasingly tactical bout from Frampton, who knew he could do basically as he pleased. Although it was not the most crowd-pleasing affair, Frampton undoubtedly will take away some good lessons from facing a solid opponent as he continues to work his way up the ladder that many believe will end with a world title.

Rafael's remarks: Cote, who will turn 28 on Wednesday, of Quebec City, is one of Canada's brightest prospects even though he did not start boxing until he was 19. But he went on to have a strong amateur career and has displayed a dynamic style, good speed and excellent power in the pro ranks. American fans probably got their first look at him on Showtime in November when he scored a sensational second-round knockout against Jorge Teron, his best opponent to date, on the Lucian Bute-Glen Johnson undercard. Cote, who was born in Colombia, orphaned when he was 8 months old and adopted by a Quebec City couple when he was 18 months old, was supposed to return to Showtime to headline a "ShoBox: The New Generation" card in February. However, Cote withdrew because of illness. No formal announcement was ever made about what his specific ailment was, but his handlers said he was extremely fatigued, had a fast heart rate and that he needed to take some time off.

Returning after the seven-month layoff, Cote looked pretty sharp in the opening bout of the Epix telecast against Lloyd, 36, a tough journeyman from England who did his best to take Cote deep into the fight. But Cote was dominant. He moved well, fired punches almost at will and was never in any remote trouble as Lloyd, a plumber by trade, showed almost no offense. Cote scored two knockdowns in the fifth round, first slamming Lloyd to his backside with a perfectly placed right uppercut. Later in the round, it was a left hook that dropped Lloyd for the second time and Cote showed off his athleticism when he had to leap over Lloyd, who had fallen at his feet. Lloyd was on his feet by the count of eight, but in trouble. Cote chased him around and was firing unanswered shots as he backed Lloyd into the ropes. He was raining punches on him when referee Terry O'Connor stepped in at 2 minutes, 45 seconds. While Lloyd lost his fifth fight in a row, Cote is ready to step up his competition level again. He said he enjoyed his experience of fighting in England and called out some of the U.K.'s best fighters, including former junior welterweight titlist Gavin Rees of Wales, who now holds the European lightweight title.

Rafael's remarks: When former welterweight titlist Antonio Margarito suffered an Achilles injury, Soto Karass, 29, of Mexico, was moved into the main event of Top Rank's Azteca America card to face El Harrak, 24, who is from England but lives in Las Vegas. Soto Karass was in desperate need of a victory, which he got by split decision. He entered the fight 0-4 with a no contest in his previous five fights, including two losses to welterweight contender Mike Jones, the first of which was a controversial decision. But Soto Karass was surprisingly stopped in his last fight when Gabriel Rosado took care of him in five rounds in January. Although one judge gave the nod to El Harrak, Soto Karass turned in a steady performance and appeared to deserve a unanimous nod in a good showing against an inexperienced opponent. Soto Karass was, as always, aggressive and threw enough punches to sway at least two of the judges in a competitive fight.

Rafael's remarks: Benavidez, who turned 20 this month, of Phoenix, is one of boxing's most renowned blue chip prospects. He was only 16 when he became a National Golden Gloves champion, the youngest ever, in 2009. He is so gifted that the Nevada State Athletic Commission gave him a special waiver so he could turn pro at age 17 instead of 18, which is what the rules mandate. But despite the gifts Benavidez has, he also has fragile hands. He has had multiple bumps and bruises to his hands and was out for the past six months because of surgery on his right hand after hurting it in a November fight. Top Rank scheduled him for a fight in February, but he aggravated the hand and that fight was canceled. Making his return since having the operation, Benavidez cruised through six one-sided rounds and got in some work against Sosa, 28, of Leavenworth, Kan., who lost his third consecutive fight. Benavidez won by near shutout. Hopefully, his hands came out of the bout OK so he seems no more disruptions to what should be a very bright future.

Rafael's remarks: Mexico's Cano, 22, got an unexpected last-minute opportunity to challenge Mexican legend Erik Morales for a vacant junior welterweight belt in September on the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Victor Ortiz pay-per-view undercard and, even though Cano was stopped in the 10th round, he put up a brave performance in a crowd-pleasing fight. Cano won his return bout in February and was back again to headline a Golden Boy Promotions card on its new Fox Deportes series against Colombia's Monterrosa, 23. This was a good, tough battle in which Monterrosa provided a solid test for Cano, who got the better of the action throughout the fight. Finally, in the ninth round, Cano landed a crunching body shot that floored Monterrosa, who was unable to beat the count from referee Manolo Alcocer and the fight was called off at 1 minutes, 13 seconds. Monterrosa tried to complain that he had been hit low but the replays showed the shot was above the belt and clean.

Rafael's remarks: On March 31, Thompson scored a major upset by stopping former featherweight and junior lightweight titlist Jorge Linares in the second round to crash the top-10 lightweight rankings. The bout was supposed to be nothing more than a tune-up fight for Linares, who already had a deal in place for a rematch on July 7 against lightweight titleholder Antonio DeMarco, who had stopped Linares in the 11th round to win the vacant belt in October in a fight that Linares had mostly dominated. But Thompson erased that plan with his unexpected victory and was fighting for the first time since. Thompson, 27, was back fighting at home in Cancun, where he had also faced Linares, but dropped down to junior lightweight when he faced Solis, 29, of Argentina. Thompson was extremely aggressive and just too much physically for Solis to deal with. Thompson dropped Solis with a clean right hand in the first round, although Solis rose quickly. Thompson pressured him the entire fight and landed a many thunderous punches. In the fourth round, he was really taking it to Solis. He was landing all kinds of blows when he was credited with a knockdown that came from the combination of a right hand and a push. It could have been ruled a slip. Thompson had another huge round in the fifth as he punished Solis, who took a shellacking but stayed on his feet. As Thompson was teeing off on him, Solis' corner threw in the towel and the fight was called off with 24 seconds left in the round. This was another good performance for the crowd-pleasing Thompson, who could soon find himself in a the picture for a title shot at either lightweight or junior lightweight.

Rafael's remarks: This supposed fight -- all 26 seconds of it -- was an absolute farce. It was a mismatch on paper, to be sure, like all of Wilder's pro fights have been. But no matter how overmatched Oltmanns was, he, Wilder and the fans deserved to see the fight unfold. Instead, referee Manolo Alcocer rendered the bout even more pointless than it was on paper because of his horrid stoppage, one of the worst you will ever see. Wilder, 26, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., whose bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics was the only hardware claimed by the worst team in American Olympic history, has been brought along at an exceptionally slow pace. Golden Boy has matched him with one no-hoper after another and Oltmanns, 36, of Bartonsville, Pa., was just the latest. He was a poor opponent whose previous two losses came via first-round knockout and a decision loss in his last fight to Joseph Rabotte, a sub .500 fighter Wilder had previously knocked out in the first round. So there were no expectations that this fight would be anything to call home about. However, it was even worse than expected as Wilder dropped Oltmanns with the first real punch of the fight. It was a right hand that landed on top of Oltmann's head and he immediately went down. However, he popped right back up and did not appear badly hurt, but it was too late. That is because literally as soon as he went down Alcocer immediately rushed over to him, waived his arms and called off the fight while Oltmanns rightfully complained. Wilder probably would have blown him out anyway, but this was just awful. Golden Boy needs to step Wilder up at least a tad because these mismatches are becoming a joke. Wilder has been a pro for 3½ years and has yet to face anyone with a pulse while scoring 14 knockouts in the first round and going into the fourth round just once. How is he learning anything from these joke fights?

Rafael's remarks: It has been more than 10 years since Harrison became an overnight sensational in his native England by winning an Olympic gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. But he never came close to reaching the top in the professional ranks, despite his promises, boasts and a fat TV contract from BBC to begin his career. He was a huge disappointment who earned the derisive nickname "Fraudley," which never came more into play than in November 2010. That is when Harrison was handed an undeserved opportunity to challenge then-world titleholder and countryman David Haye.

In one of the worst heavyweight title bouts in history, Harrison turned in a pathetic performance. He may not have thrown one legitimate punch in the bout before being knocked out in the third round. It was an embarrassing performance and such a bad fight that England's Sky network decided to stop putting boxing on pay-per-view because of the outrage that followed. Returning 18 months after that forgettable fight with Haye, Harrison, a southpaw, tried to re-launch his career at age 40 against Adams, 30, an Iraqi living in England who figured to be a soft touch based on his very light resume. Harrison, as usual, was tentative for the most part and did a lot more posing that punching, whereas Adams tried to press the action against his bigger opponent and landed some decent shots. However, he did no real damage. Harrison knocked Adams down with a right hand in the fourth round and finished him with a flurry of punches moments later. Harrison, who said he will see a doctor to examine the left shoulder he said he injured in the fight, now would like to face one of the top up-and-coming United Kingdom heavyweights -- Tyson Fury or David Price.

Rafael's remarks: Kim, 25, of South Korea, has become a staple of ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights" for a reason -- because every time he is on, win or lose, he is in a terrific fight. This one with Rahimov, 34, a 2000 Olympian from Uzbekistan, was no different. Kim, who loves nothing other than to get into a war, scored the upset in a bruising, physical fight in which he simply overwhelmed Rahimov with a ridiculous punch output that probably had the CompuBox guys icing down their fingers from punching so many buttons. Kim landed 294 of an absurd 1,225 punches thrown (24 percent) while Rahimov connected on 200 of 624 shots (32 percent). Despite all the constant leather being swapped, neither fighter ever appeared in much trouble, although Rahimov had some swelling around his eyes from early in the fight. They exchanged punches at a fierce pace for most of the fight, including right to the final bell after a very past-paced 10th round. This was an excellent victory for Kim and a setback, no doubt about it, for Rahimov. After Kim suffered back-to-back losses in 2010 (including a first-round knockout to Lenny Zappavigna in a title eliminator), he has now won three fights in a row and probably would test any lightweight in world just based on his sheer aggressiveness. Kim is still limited, make no mistake, but he is so much fun to watch and dangerous because he is fearless, in great condition and loves to wing big right hands that could hurt anyone.