Froch fighting to finish on a high

The left hand crashed square into Lucien Bute’s face, snapping his head back at the neck, but it was the preceding right, thrown from Carl Froch’s hip, which sent the most disturbing shudder through the young Canadian’s body.

It was the final, violent blow of five whirlwind rounds from the Nottingham super-middleweight and it sent a resounding message through the world of boxing: This man is not finished yet.

That emphatic victory two years ago this week was Froch’s unequivocal response to the previous calls for him to retire. And, until now, it was the last time his career hung genuinely in the balance.

That fight, against the previously unbeaten Bute, came less than six months after a wide points defeat by the American stylist Andre Ward. It was suggested that a second straight loss would force Froch to hang up the gloves. He hit back, quite literally, in style.

Although he may not choose to admit it, Froch finds himself back at those crossroads tonight, when he faces George Groves in the hugely-anticipated rematch for his WBA and IBF world titles.

A damaging defeat here could spell the end, but win and the bright lights of Las Vegas, a venue still missing from his stacked CV, will emerge on the horizon.

Groves, for his part, is oozing confidence, safe in the knowledge he completely outfought Froch for six rounds, arguably more, in Manchester back in November before the controversial stoppage in the ninth. In fact, so controversial was referee Howard Foster’s decision that Groves was in no fit state to continue, that the IBF reinstated the Londoner as Froch’s mandatory challenger and ordered an immediate rematch.

The explanation from the Froch camp is a simple one. His trainer, Rob McCracken, said: “Carl probably underestimated him. But make no mistake, he has reinvented himself.”

Froch added: “I take a lot of confidence from the fact my worst performance beats his best performance.”

It is difficult to argue with that assessment when put so bluntly. Froch was little short of horrendous in the early rounds at the Phones4u Arena. He was sluggish, stiff and beaten to every punch. The situation was laid bare within two minutes when his younger foe decked him with an inch-perfect right.

It was as Groves had predicted. “I will meet you in the centre of the ring, win the jab exchanges, and hit you with two right hands” — and he did what he promised.

This time he has made another ominous warning, telling Froch he will finish the contest with a left hook, one of the lesser weapons in his armoury.

Froch, the senior by nine years, responded with a smirk: “I better keep my right hand up by my ear then.”

It was the only time the champion has shown any emotion in the build-up this time around. Up in the north of England six months ago, Froch sneered at almost everything Groves had to say, shaken by the lack of respect from a challenger who had never even been in with a world champion.

It is different Froch this time round. He has consulted a sports psychologist as part of his preparation, although he insists the sessions are not spent simply talking about flame-haired Groves and those dynamite fists.

It speaks volumes of Froch’s current situation. He spent many of his professional years flying under the radar despite incredible accomplishments inside the ring. But he has since ascended to the status of, as he once put it, “an international superstar”, who will bank an estimated €12.5m from tonight’s affair in front of nearly 80,000 at Wembley.

Groves’ €2.5m earnings, meanwhile, will make this €15m fight the most valuable on British soil for some years. Groves and his Swindon trainer Paddy Fitzpatrick have both insisted they will treat tonight like any other fight. Froch, meanwhile, sees it differently. “It is without doubt the biggest of my career, on such a big stage.

“People remember you for the end of your career, how your last few fights went. It’s a shame. So I want to finish it on a high, that’s what I want to do. It’s very important that I perform on Saturday night.”

Which brings us back to Bute and Nottingham. Perhaps Groves would do well to re-watch that relentless reminder of what Froch produced when the idea of a life without prizefighting last loomed.

With a shrug, Groves said: “You only have to look back through his old fights. It is always desperation with Carl, always backs against the wall stuff. This is his retirement and it will be a sad occasion.”