By: Christopher Roche

Jermain Taylor had Carl Froch dead to rights tonight, at the MGM Grand Foxwoods, but he could not put the Englishman away.

Taylor opened the bout with vicious right hands that landed at will, and Froch looked out-quicked and overmatched. In the third round, Taylor dropped Froch for the first time in his career, and it looked like an early flight back to Little Rock was going to be had for Taylor.

Froch, who is the WBC champ at 168, often looked off-balance and short on skill. The Champion flailed at Taylor, and he missed while eating hard counters, but Taylor could not put Froch away. Memories of Taylor vs. Pavlik I began creeping into everyone’s head, and it seemed like Taylor was haunted by that bout.

Froch began applying pressure late in the fight, and by the final frame, Taylor’s stamina issues reared their ugly head, and Froch showed his amazing toughness. Froch was chasing Taylor around the ring, and he caught the former middleweight champ with several hard shots. Taylor finally went down, and he looked like he did not want to get up.

Taylor reluctantly rose at the count of nine, but he was in no condition to continue. Froch unloaded at will on Taylor, and the referee halted the bout seconds before the final bell. Taylor was way ahead on two cards, and if he could have survived, then he would have walked away with the WBC belt.

Froch defended his title for the first time, while Taylor lost his third fight out of his last four tries. The bout was televised on Showtime.