CHRISTMAS came early for Carl Froch at the Capital FM Arena on Saturday night as he crushed tough American Yusaf Mack inside three rounds to retain his IBF super-middleweight world title.
Those critics who said Froch was in for an early, easy night, were proved right in the end. But don't begrudge him that. After all, he was due one after all his punishing battles on the road in Denmark, Finland and America.
To be fair, I can't think many true boxing fans went home feeling short-changed after Froch's three-round demolition job on the man who had come all the way from Philadelphia to take a beating.
It was still a spectacle. The atmosphere inside the packed Arena was, as they say, 'electric'. Only 60 tickets were returned on the night and they were quickly snapped up as Froch fever gripped the city – perhaps for the very last time.
There were unsporting boos for the challenger as he made his entrance at the back of the hall at 10.50pm, followed by the obligatory chants of "Who are yer? Who are yer?" and "Nottingham, Nottingham, Nottingham".
Mack, so reserved in the lead up to the fight, seemed to soak it all up. He was smiling, dancing on the spot and even orchestrating the crowd at one stage.
Then the master of ceremonies John McDonald led the 10-9-8 countdown to Froch's appearance. His name came up in lights, the 'Hall of Fame' ring entrance music blared out and the shadow-boxing Cobra appeared to a huge roar.
He soaked up the atmosphere and adulation, milked it if you like, and then slowly made his way to the ring for the pre-fight formalities.
Then a moment of comedy. McDonald called for quiet and respect while the national anthems were played. Everyone stood for a couple of minutes in silence. Nothing happened. Technical hitch. Never mind. On with the show.
"This is Nottingham, England" bellowed McDonald, relishing the occasion, as the fight went live round the world.
Froch, looking incredibly relaxed, got last-minute instructions from his guru, GB coach Robert McCracken, while Mack, who had been pacing the ring like a caged tiger, looked apprehensive and with good reason.
But it only takes one punch and Froch, with his belt and future at stake, was taking no chances.
He made a cautious start, but landed the first meaningful blows.
There were pre-fight question marks over whether Mack would be drained after coming down from light-heavyweight. Whether he would have the power to trouble the champion. He may have been stepping down in weight, but he was stepping up in class.
Froch, just crowned Britain's Boxer of the Year, answered those questions in emphatic style.
Mack had to strip naked to make the weight and Froch laid him bare again with a devastating display.
He had Mack down with a head shot that caught him stumbling back. It didn't catch him cleanly, but he still took a count of eight.
Mack looked shell-shocked, the proverbial rabbit in the headlights as the crowd chanted "Easy, Easy".
Mack survived. But it was only a brief respite. Froch opened the second round with stiff jabs and then piled into Mack on the ropes, but left it too late to finish him off.
But the 9,500 crowd didn't have to wait long for the big finish, however. A two-fisted attack had the challenger in trouble again.
Then, Froch unleashed a classic right to the jaw and a punishing blow to the ribs. It was all over bar the counting.
Mack was counted out on his knees, forehead touching the floor.
To be fair, Mack, with a posse of kids back home to feed, didn't come to roll over.
But that's just what he did in the end, left wincing with pain and gasping for breath after just 2:30 of the third round. Paramedics jumped in but Mack recovered quite quickly.
Froch's team and family also jumped into the ring to celebrate with a beaming Cobra and the Arena went wild.
"The crowd in Nottingham is unbelievable," said Froch.
"I was a bit cautious at first but I soon found my range. There's always a chance in a two-horse race but Mack never had much chance.
"If he had got any success early on, he would have soon gained in confidence. I took the fight away from him straight away; I was catching him with some heavy shots.
"He stayed in range and didn't move as much as I thought he would. You can't say he was just here to survive because if you look at his previous 37 fights, he has only lost to world champions.
"So I had to prepare as meticulously for this fight, as I do for anybody else."
Earlier, Liverpool light-heavyweight Tony Bellew cleverly nursed an horrendous cut above his right eye to outpoint Roberto Bolonti 120-106, 119-107, 120-106 and take the WBC Silver light-heavyweight belt. The brave Argentinian. ranked No.5 by the WBC, was down twice.
But Bellew had top cuts man Mick Williamson to thank, because some referees would have stopped the fight. The gash was that bad.
Bellew fancies a crack at Chad Dawson next, but he will have to wait because the cut, caused by a short, slashing hook, will require plastic surgery.
Another Liverpudlian, Callum Smith, recorded a win on his professional debut.
The classy super-middleweight easily brushed aside Dan Blackwell 40-36 and looks to have a bright future.
It's probably a good job that Strelley's Jason Booth turned down a fight with unbeaten Kal Yafai, who stopped poor Pio Nettuno with a rib shot after just 52 seconds.
The Italian complained but there is no point jumping up after the count of ten has finished.
How Miguel Aguilar survived eight rounds against Scotty Cardle remains a mystery, but survive he did.
Aguilar was twice deducted points by referee Shaun Messer for holding – he was actually clinging to the ropes like a limpet and had to be prised off – and use of the elbow.
Try as he might the unbeaten Cardle had to settle for a shut-out 80-70 points victory in the end.
Other results: Martin J Ward bt Dan Carr 40-36; Kerry Hope bt Norbert Szekeres 60-53; Konrad Dabrowski bt Kristain Laight 39-38.
