Benn. As good as Froch's chin is, he gets hit faaaaaaaar too easily to survive the Benn onslaught. And Froch doesn't his hard enough to keep Benn honest either IMO MTF
Froch, just. He knows what to do when hurt, he's got a tonne of physical advantages. Benn could be, and was, stopped in his prime, twice at 160, never mind 168. It's awfully close, you could see Benn getting the stoppage if he can pin Froch on the ropes and wail away with the ref not liking what he see's and stepping in accordingly. I think Benn would be surprised by how hard Froch hit- he certainly hits as hard as Eubend, and if Nigel tries to be patient, he gets tagged clean. Froch is proving to be an efficient, sneaky operator. Nicky Piper went 11 rounds with Benn, so its not like Benn was this total utter destroyer. If Froch can last 11, I see him accumulate enough of shots on target to slow Benn right down.
No way does Froch hit as hard as Eubanks mate. Not a chance in hell. Plus prime Benn never lost a fight to a slugger: he lost to a shifty sort in Eubanks and a cutie-oie in Watson. Benn beat sluggers like Froch every time, and better one's than Froch at that (Barkley, McClellan) MTF
There is an element of shrewdness and cuteness to Froch. Froch has a hard to define style. I would reckon him as being Vitali-Lite. He lacks that fine sense of distance that Vitali does and consequently gets clocked with the right hand easier. Apart from that the similarities are there- low left hand, sneaky hook, decent jab, activity and work-rate, good chin and happy going the distance landing sharp hurtful shots as he goes, with an awkward but effective right uppercut. I'm not sure Eubank hit all that hard, he went the distance with guys like Ray Close. Barkley was drained as hell when Benn beat him and McClellan was a former 160lbr who did not make 168 quite when he fought Benn. Also, that Benn-McClellan fight is a unique fight, and cannot be looked at in anything other than a vacuum. It's a real one-off, with McClellan coming in at 166, Benn being OUT of it in the first etc etc.
Froch has an odd style. He knows when to run, when to flurry, when to snake out his jab. He throws and sets up his shots in an odd fashion which is less than orthodox. He seems to win tear-ups over the distance rather than inside them.
I like the Vitali comparison. And perhaps if he enjoyed the height advantage that Vitali usually does, it would be even more pronounced.
That's a fair point, but up until those fights he was and he still can be. When he is hurt he tends to want to trade rather than run. MTF
