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Although Froch was a massive betting favourite before the fight, this was to possibly be Hagues last shot at the big time and so an upset was very much a possibility, at least on paper.
Froch came out in the first round jabbing with great speed and accuracy, he was also looking to use his jab to land power shots. It was obvious however that Hague had come to fight as he began getting behind his own jab. The two fighters styles were very different, Damon Hague seemed fired up, whereas Carl was very relaxed with his left hand held characteristically low.
Froch started throwing some good combinations as Hague took to the canvas for the first time, however referee Mickey Vann correctly ruled it a slip. This seemed to give Froch a boost and he started stepping up the tempo, Hague didn't seem to have an extra gear.
A little left hook left Hague wide open for a crunching right which connected to his temple and sent him down to the mat. He looked shaken, as Froch raised his arms in the air, but the referee ruled him fit to continue.
This was short lived however, as soon as he had re-entered the fray a devastating straight right and a sledgehammer left hook from Froch put him on his seat again. Although it was clear that in his heart Hague still wanted to continue, Mickey Vann couldn't allow it as he could barely stand.
Froch was pleased with his performance, and applauded Hague for having the bottle to step in at late notice, the contest had been offered to both Brian Magee and Matthew Barney, they had both declined to fight the Cobra, Forch said after the fight that ‘There are a lot of people who would love to get in for a British title, it's just unfortunate for him [Hague] he came up against the best in the world.' Furthermore he added ‘This time next year you could be looking at the European soon to be world champion. That's where I'm headed.'
When asked of his future plans, Froch said he would like to defend the British and earn the Lonsdale belt for himself if he could, he was however worried about whether he could get the defences as no one seemed to want to fight him he quipped 'I've got the British belt here, if anyone wants to fight for it come and have a go, but you've seen what might happen to you, so train hard'
A truly excellent performance from Froch, he took the serviceable Hague apart and, if I'm honest was a different class from his opponent. He has a lot of options ahead of him now, fights in Britain, Europe of even America. One thing is for sure, Carl Froch is going to be a big name in the future at Super Middle.
