‘Carl Froch is an animal’… Ex-world champion tells crazy sparring story about ‘The Cobra’ that left him thinking ‘You’re not well’

EXCLUSIVE: Carl Froch once left a British legend questioning his sanity after the Hall of Famer’s crazy antics during a sparring session.

This former world champion wasn’t quite sure what to make of his countryman’s behaviour.

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Darren Barker reminisces over a wild sparring session with Carl Froch

Darren Barker is an icon of the fight game in the UK, with the retired boxer having famously travelled to Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA, to rip the IBF middleweight world championship from Daniel Geale.

Now, he’s offering his insight as a pundit on DAZN, recently calling the action between Leigh Wood and Josh Warrington in Nottingham, where the hometown hero cruised to victory in a comfortable points decision.

With ‘Leigh-thal’ having now cemented his status as a superstar on these shores, Barker has reflected on the warrior who previously represented the city. And it’s fair to say ‘Dazzling’ had quite the experience sparring with ‘The Cobra’.

In an exclusive interview with Sporf, Barker reminisced: “Carl Froch is an animal, he’s carved out of stone. Back then, if you hit him on the shoulders or the arm, you’d hurt your hand. That man was born to fight — tough as nails. I was one of very few people who could spar 12 rounds with him, more because I could move out of the way. I dreaded getting in the ring with him, I really did. One time, I remember, I was driving to the gym to spar with Carl because we always had to go to his gym; he was the governor, he was the champ. It was always stressful. On the way to getting closer to the gym, I was thinking of ways I could get out of the spar. I’d be thinking, ‘I don’t need this, let’s make out I’ve hurt my arm, my shoulder, my hand or I’m not feeling well’. But being the fighter I am, we all end up getting in there and doing it.

“I remember, Carl met me at the door and went, ‘Soccer AM cameras are here’. I was thinking, ‘This is even worse, I’ve got the cameras here now, he’s going to be double up for this’. Then, he said, ‘Sky cameras are here, we’ll have a nice easy spar, you go, I go, nice and easy, we won’t go 100%’. I thought, ‘Lovely, I’m going to have a nice, easy, 12-round spar with him’.

“Let me tell you now, that was not the case. The bell went, and he has charged towards the centre of the ring, and at one point, he’s grabbing me by the neck almost and wacking me with the right hand. I just looked at him at the end of the first round and went, ‘You’re not well, mate’. But I learnt an awful lot from Carl.”

Darren Barker says what should be next for Leigh Wood

On Saturday evening, Wood proved he’s got lots left in the tank. However, in the eyes of the former 160-pound King, the 2x world champion should take the opportunity to leave the sport with a fairytale ending.

Barker explained: “Leigh Wood has taken the torch from Carl. Now, he’s coming to the closing stages of his career. I thought he boxed very well. He was very disciplined and surprised a lot of people with the way he approached the fight. Wood had to be more proactive than the first fight; he was waiting too long and was too sloppy offensively and defensively last time. He got caught, outworked and outhustled by Josh Warrington.

“But this time around, he was busier; he nullified the work that Josh Warrington was doing by moving his feet, dictating with the jab to head and body, stabbing the left hand straight into the gut of Josh Warrington, and basically had it his own way throughout.

“The Leeds faithful were trying to lift Warrington, and they weren’t able to do so. Although it wasn’t the blood and guts and a dramatic display from two fighters that usually gets the crowd going, I think the Nottingham faithful really buzzed off how good Wood was, so they were raising the decibel levels. It was a fantastic atmosphere, and a performance of old from Wood — it was almost punch-perfect.

“I mentioned Josh Warrington, perhaps retiring off the back of that defeat, and there’s an argument to say, ‘Why not retire if you’re Leigh Wood’? What a way to go out. If you think he lost to Anthony Cacace in the fight before this in the manner in which he did, and then comes back and dominates in the way he has, bearing in mind what he’s been able to achieve as a former world champion who’s had massive nights and made massive money, why not just leave it there and bow out on a high?”

However, with Matchroom Boxing, having signed a five-year extension with DAZN, there could be plenty more opportunities on the horizon for Wood yet.

Darren Barker is a former IBF Middleweight World Champion, Commonwealth, British and European title holder. Darren is now a Commentator & Pundit for DAZN, The Undisputed Global Home of Boxing – Subscribe to DAZN here

Featured Image Credit: Getty