5 Great Fights in the Career of Carl Froch

Carl Froch celebrates his 38th birthday on July 2, so what better way to celebrate the British boxer than by picking out a few of his career highlights.

The Cobra (33-2, 24 KO) has been IBF, WBA and WBC champion, while he also reached the final of the Super Six World Boxing Classic.

We last saw him in the ring beating fellow Brit George Groves for a second time in May 2014, and we wait to find out if Froch will fight again.

But while there is a serious question over whether he will carry on, there is no doubting the Nottingham-born fighter has been involved in some classic bouts.

Here we've picked out five notable wins (one of which may have been in front of a large crowd at England's national stadium).

Froch claimed the vacant WBC super middleweight belt after coming out on top against Jean Pascal in December 2008.

With home advantage at the Trent Arena in Nottingham, Froch won a unanimous decision on the judges' scorecards after 12 gruelling rounds.

The Canadian proved a tough obstacle to get past, but Froch—who at the time was promoted by Mick Hennessy—was awarded the victory by scores of 118-110, 117-111 and 116-112.

The bout did wonders for the Englishman's reputation, as it was screened on free-to-air channel ITV.

Jermain Taylor seemed all set to make Froch's reign as WBC champion a short one as their fight went into the final minute.

The American had knocked the champion down in the third round and held a comfortable lead on two of the three scorecards. He just had to avoid being stopped in the closing stages.

Froch, however, turned the fight around in a stunning finish.

A right hand opened the door, and the Brit burst right through it. He poured on the pressure as Taylor wilted under fire, eventually slumping to the canvas.

Although Bad Intentions was able to make it back up, he could not survive through to the final bell. Against the odds, Froch had found a way to retain his crown.

He said afterward, per Kevin Mitchell of the Guardian: "I thought Jermain was getting tired [he was], and in the final rounds I wanted to put pressure on him. But he is an unbelievable fighter."

Dethroned by Andre Ward in the final of the Super Six tournament in November 2011, Froch made his comeback against Lucian Bute six months later.

The Englishman seized the chance to become a three-time world champion in style, stopping his opponent in the fifth round to claim the IBF title.

Bute—born in Romania but based in Canada—had arrived in Nottingham with a big reputation, having won all 30 of his professional contests to date.

However, after two slow-burning rounds, Froch blew him away with his aggression and power. Bute's corner eventually pulled him out as he took a standing count.

There was some confusion over when the fight ended, with promoter Eddie Hearn entering the ring in the belief that the referee had waved it off.

He hadn't, instead oddly giving a count despite no knockdown, but Bute's team decided they'd seen enough anyway.

Mikkel Kessler is one of only two fighters who have recorded wins over Froch in the professional ranks.

The Dane got the better of his rival in 2010, taking the WBC super middleweight belt in the process, as he triumphed on points in Copenhagen.

The pair became close after going head-to-head, though they put their friendship to one side for a rematch in 2013.

Froch this time had the benefit of home advantage, and he did just enough to win at the O2 Arena in London.

Per BoxRec, the Brit threw just shy of 1,000 punches, though he could not find a way to knock down Kessler. They fought themselves to a standstill before embracing each other.

The win for Froch saw him add the WBC strap to the IBF one he already had. As of yet, the duo have not decided to write a third chapter to the story of their friendly rivalry.

The ending of the first fight between Froch and George Groves had been unsatisfactory.

The Cobra had rallied from being sensationally dropped to the canvas in the opening round, and he had his compatriot in serious trouble in the ninth.

However, the decision of referee Howard Foster to step in and call a halt to proceedings came too soon.

Groves pushed hard for a rematch and duly got his wish in May 2014. Such was the desire to see it happen that the first 60,000 tickets for the bout at Wembley sold out in about an hour.

The eventual capacity was 80,000, making it the biggest fight attendance in Britain since World War II.

If there was any dispute over the finish to the previous bout, no one could argue with the way Froch finished Groves off the second time around.

A huge right knocked his rival out in the eighth round. All referee Charlie Fitch had to do was quickly wave the fight off and check on the condition of the beaten Saint.