Carl Froch is probably the most celebrated sports personality to come out of Nottingham since Torvill and Dean - although the celebrations have been largely domestic.

The WBC super-middleweight champion himself admits he is hardly a household name north or south of the Trent, understated and relatively unsung despite being unbeaten over 26 fights with a 76 per cent ko record and a catchy nom-de-guerre, "The Cobra".

Until now, 32-year-old Froch has been a product of the provinces, hailed as a hero in his home town though his name has never been one that springs readily to lips of anyone but the genuine cognoscenti  of the thick ear trade elsewhere.
 
The US promoter Lou di Bella famously asked last year: "Who the froch is Froch?" He quickly found out when The Cobra sensationally crushed his man Jermaine Taylor to retain his title in boxing's Super Six series which is designed to unite the various titles in the division.    

Froch is some way from your archetypal pug. Tall, ruggedly handsome and articulate, he is university educated with sports science degree from Loughborough after studying business and finance at college. A good, clinical fighter who can box and bang, which is why he is such a good role model for Britain’s elite amateur boxing squad with whom he has been training at their English Institute of Sport HQ in Sheffield  in preparation for his next Super Sixs showdown  with, Mikkel Kessler in Herning, Denmark on  Saturday week (April 24).

Froch has been a regular visitor to Sheffield since his trainer, Rob McCracken, took over as the GB Performance Director for the amateur squad and head coach. I met him there last week when he was working with McCracken and sparring with some of the squad - something that would have given The Blazers apoplexy in the days. not so long ago, when amateurs weren’t even allowed in the same room as pros, let alone the same ring.

Froch told me: "It's been like a natural progression for me to come here because of Rob's new job and everyone seems happy about it and because it helps me and I hope it helps the boys.

"The facilities are fantastic and there are some good young boxers I can spar with, especially the bigger lads like Frank Buglioni and Steve Simmons. The talent and enthusiasm is amazing - they are a proper sound bunch of lads. They are eager to get to the Olympics and they are looking to me as a world champion to inspire them. They are happy to pick my brains and I am happy to pick theirs.

"It’s also handy to have a running track at the Institute and Rob is here so it is perfect for me to get in shape for this fight. 

"It’s quite a lot different from my own amateur days - then we were at Crystal Palace which was a bit dilapidated but we had a ring and a few bags which you felt was all you needed.  Here they’ve got everything on tap- state-of-the-art equipment, steam room, ice bath, coaches, physios. a psychologist and instant replay videos all over the place.

"We never had anything like that when I was an amateur but  boxing is being funded properly now and this will give the lads the best possible chance for 2012. And the great thing for them about Rob is that he’s boxed both as an amateur and professional."

Froch (pictured) is something of a late bloomer, having turned pro only eight years ago after an outstanding amateur career which culminated in him winning a bronze medal in the 2001 World Championships.

So he is able to tell those in the squad who may be thinking of a pro career after the Olympics that having as decent grounding in vest and headguards is essential.

"Had I not had a good amateur pedigree who knows whether I would be where I am now.

"I think having a long amateur career [he boxed over 40 times for England] taught me how to handle pressure and the roller-coaster of emotions  boxing brings. It builds your character. You become accustomed to what a ruthless world it is out there. You learn to believe in yourself."

Having seen the splendid Sheffield set-up I can vouch for Froch’s view that it is among the finest in world boxing - amateur or pro. Much of the credit for this must go to British Amateur Boxing Association chairman Derek Mapp, the former Sport England chief who will admit he knew little about boxing until he became an instant fan of the sport after being introduced too it by ABA chief executive Paul King and myself a couple of years ago.

A multi-millionaire who made his money largely from a chain of pubs and nurseries, he says: “I am a businessman and as such I apply business principles to my role. I leave the boxing side to Rob."

Bringing in McCracken, after the controversial axing of Terry Edwards and the brief sojourn of Kevin Hickey, has so far proved a master-stroke by Mapp. The proof of the pudding is in the punching and there have been some, excellent results in recent international tournaments: Ten medals, including four gold, in the Commonwealth Federation Championships in Delhi (achieved without several of GB’s leading boxers), and four (two golds, a silver and a bronze) in the highly competitive Prime Ministry tournament in Ankara, Turkey, last week.

The golds were won by flyweight Khalid Yafai, one of the two remaining members of the Beijing team, and middleweight Savannah Marshall, aka The Silent Assassin, the shy, unbeaten Hartlepool teenager who is my tip to be one of he stars when women’s boxing makes its Olympic debut in London.

This was the first time GB had sent a mixed team to an overseas tournament – and mixing it seems to be a McCracken philosophy - in every sense. For not only has he  brought in pro champ Froch to work with the amateurs but he also plans to have the male and female squads sparring with each other in the run-up to 2012.

Meantime you can be sure that Froch’s new fans among the  appreciate amateurs will be rooting for him as he tackles Denmark’s Kessler, a former double world champion who gave Froch’s predecessor Joe Calzaghe such a hard fight. Carl Who? He may be to many, but The Cobra has certainly made a name for himself in Sheffield.   

Alan Hubbard is an award-winning sports columnist for The Independent on Sunday, and a former sports editor of The Observer. He has covered 11 summer Olympics and scores of world title fights from Atlanta to Zaire. Froch v Kessler can be seen on Primetime TV (Sky customers call 0871 200 444 or go to www.primetimelive.co.uk)