Monday 25 May 2015 12:40, UK
A relieved Carl Froch believes James DeGale did just enough to make history.
The super-middleweight was crowned IBF champion after beating Andre Dirrell on points to add the world title to his Olympic gold.
DeGale scored two knockdowns in the second round and won by unanimous decision, although with two scorecards giving it by two points, Froch admits he was worried his compatriot was not going to bring his old title back to Britain.
He was a worthy winner, don’t get me wrong. He is a world champion, so fair play to him.
"It was a great win. I was very concerned from [round] four or five onwards," he said.
"I was concerned he would chuck it away and couldn't come back enough to me, letting Dirrell take the centre of the ring and look like he was in control.
"It was difficult to score because not much was landing either way but I saw the fight slipping away from him. I wanted more from DeGale.
"I was disappointed with the fact he didn’t throw enough shots or look like he wanted the world title. But he did enough. He just did enough on my card."
Froch was also impressed by Dirrell, who had pushed him all the way when they fought back in 2009.
'The Cobra' had questioned the American's mental approach in the run-up and feared the worst when he was floored early on.
But Dirrell got up and even though he lost his second world title attempt, his former opponent was delighted to be proved wrong.
“He showed he has got that mental side sorted, he really dug in because he was in trouble in the second round, with those two knockdowns,” Froch said.
“The second one wasn’t a knockdown, more of a push, but he went over twice and his legs were wobbling.
“DeGale went to finish him off but his powers of recovery were great. He stuck to his boxig, stuck to his jab and looking at my scorecard, he was bossing the middle and late rounds.
“He just wasn’t doing enough work for me.”
Froch also admitted he has no interest in fighting DeGale regardless of whether he won the title or not, but was happy for the new IBF champion to have the last words.
“He was a worthy winner, don’t get me wrong,” he said. “He is a world champion, so fair play to him.”
