“Iron sharpens iron. It was a good 12 rounds with you. You made me a better fighter.” ~ Andre Ward to Carl Froch
Nearly 14 years after they shared 12 of the most-watched rounds of the Super Six era, two-time Hall of Famer Andre Ward sits down with four-time super middleweight world champion and 2023 IBHOF inductee Carl “The Cobra” Froch (33-2, 24 KOs) on the latest episode of ART OF WARD.
It’s a reunion few thought would ever happen, brokered by their mutual friend David Haye over a dinner in Miami, and it doesn’t disappoint. Across a wide-ranging conversation, Ward and Froch revisit the rivalry that defined a generation of super middleweights, settle long-standing scores, and look ahead to what’s next for both fighters off the canvas.
The interview dives deep into:
• The complete behind-the-scenes story of their 2011 Super Six final, including the now-infamous moment Froch bit Ward’s shoulder mid-fight, and Ward’s reaction in real time.
• Froch’s unconventional path to boxing: starting at age 8 in Nottingham, walking away at 15 for pub life, and returning at 19 to win back-to-back ABA national titles.
• Coach Rob McCracken, the meticulous training journals, and the discipline Ward says he had to game-plan around.
• Froch’s 2008 WBC title win over Jean Pascal and the dramatic 12th-round stoppage of Jermaine Taylor in his first defense.
• The Mikkel Kessler rivalry, Andre Dirrell drama, and the politics of travel inside the Super Six tournament.
• Ward’s honest take on the bite, the body shots that lingered for a week, and what made Froch one of the only opponents who ever bounced back to championship form
• The two George Groves fights, from the controversial first-fight TKO to the 80,000-fan Wembley Stadium knockout that Froch calls his “mic-drop moment.”
• Walking away in 2015, building a property portfolio, leaving Sky Sports, and launching his YouTube channel “Froch on Fighting.”
• Why he’s relocating his family to Dubai, and what it would take to bring him back for an exhibition with Ward.
Ward on Froch’s resilience:
“A lot of times when I fight guys that are elite, they’re not the same after… You’re one of the only guys that bounced back. I always watched that about you.”
Froch on chasing legacy over money:
“I never boxed for money. It’s all part of the journey… it made me who I was.”
Froch on his Wembley Stadium farewell:
“80,000 fans, little fake check-up right hand, got him looking unconscious. That was a mic drop for me. That was like, I’m done.”
Ward closing the loop:
“Iron sharpens iron. You made me a better fighter, and I like to think you became a better fighter, too.”
Throughout the episode, Ward and Froch model the rare kind of post-career conversation that combat sports fans don’t see often enough: candid, complicated, and genuinely respectful, with both men finally giving each other their flowers, and teasing what could be a future inside the ropes one more time.
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