NOTTINGHAM, England -- Carl Froch survived the big right hands of Jean Pascal and a tendency to indulge in a wild-swinging brawl to capture the WBC super-middleweight title on Saturday night.
In an all-action fight short on finesse, Froch won a unanimous decision before 7,000 fans in his home city. The judges scored it 118-110, 117-111 and 116-112 for the British fighter.
"He came here to have a go. He didn't come here to lie down," Froch said. "I caught him with some really hard, accurate shots and I hurt my hand on the top of his head."
Pascal said he tried to deliver a knockout blow near the end of the fight but conceded Froch won the decision.
"I thought that the fight was a little bit closer but the better guy won today," Pascal said. "I was strong. I thought maybe at the end I could win, but Carl stayed strong and did what he had to do to win the fight."
It was a big win for Froch (24-0), who still hopes to persuade undefeated Welsh superstar Joe Calzaghe to drop back to 168 pounds and fight him. Calzaghe vacated his super-middleweight belts earlier this year when he fought Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. at light heavyweight.
Calzaghe announced his retirement following the Jones fight, but has hinted he may return.
"We want to take over the world and bring the unified belts back here again," Froch said.
Froch waded in with combinations from the opening bell, forcing Pascal (21-1) to cover up in the corner, but the Canadian came back with two overhand rights that clipped Froch's head.
Pascal landed two left hooks against the more static Froch in the second, and both fighters threw big shots later in the round. Froch landed a series of jabs and left hooks, while Pascal kept connecting with his right hand.
The action continued unabated in the fourth round, and Pascal survived three right hands from Froch to come back with one of his own that jolted the British boxer.
At the end of a quieter fifth, the two fighters exchanged several blows after the bell and Froch opted to rely on his jab from the sixth round on to build a big lead on the score cards.
Froch caused damage below Pascal's right eye with his controlled jabs, but the fighter from Montreal replied with three right hands and a left hook in the eighth that opened a cut above Froch's left eye.
Froch appeared to wobble Pascal with a left-right combination 20 seconds from the end of round nine, and the two tiring fighters continued to swing wildly even while the final bell sounded.
"I felt I caught him cold in the first round, but I didn't want to blow a gasket in the first round, so I kept my composure and used my experience," Froch said.