Mack strips naked to make weight

Yusaf Mack stripped naked to make weight for his super-middleweight title fight against Carl Froch. Now, the heavy American underdog is planning to strip the champion of his IBF belt.

After coming in just over the limit, Mack had to remove his underpants to make the 168-pound mark with only a towel held by his trainer shielding the challenger at Friday's weigh-in in Nottingham, central England.

Mack has moved down from light-heavyweight for the first time in five years to fight Froch, who is a big favorite after stopping previously undefeated Lucian Bute in the fifth round to become world champion for the third time.

''I am ready to rumble,'' Mack said. ''I've been the underdog all my life. I am ready. I've been training hard. He says he is fit, but I am fitter and stronger.''

The 32-year-old Mack, who was born and lives in Philadelphia, has lost four of his 37 fights and isn't being given much of a hope after Froch's brutal win over Bute in May, which also came in his hometown of Nottingham.

''I shocked the world that night,'' said Froch, one of Britain's top boxers. ''People know what to expect and I`m expecting a fantastic night.''

If Froch retains his title in his first defense, he will take on Bute again — this time in Canada — because of a guaranteed two-match agreement the two fighters came to. His ultimate aim is secure rematches against Mikkel Kessler and Andre Ward, the only two men to beat him in a 31-fight career, but Mack has to be dispatched first.

''I`m not going to be complacent or lackadaisical, to take my eye off Yusaf Mack,'' Froch said. ''I know I`ve got a job to do and I know that job could be a difficult one.

''I feel like a young 35. I feel in my prime, at my peak.''