Some people don't read alot into common opponents but I do, and in this instance it doesn't look very good for Froch, regardless of Wards cheating
Froch won almost all of the second part of the Taylor fight; the judges who had Froch rounds behind were a shambles. Championship fights last 12 rounds, not five. Dirrell ran for his life and deserved a life ban from the sport for that disgusting non-performance. His pussification was confirmed by his shameful nonsense in the fight with Abraham. The Kessler fight? Froch lost a close decision, away from home, against a guy whose style is a perfect match-up in a very entertaining fight. No shame there. MTF
I don't like Dirrell because he's a little bitch and friends with that ginger Chelsea cunt who gets dodgy decisions over future legends, but I had him beating Froch
Firstly, if Froch-Kessler was in Nottingham, rather than Herning, Froch gets the decision if the fight plays out the same. It was a very close fight (as I said, I scored it a draw at the time and have no complaints really about the result with some tough rounds to score) but the home fighter usual gets those type of decision. It is important to note, though, that Kessler IS all of Ward's resume. He has almost nothing else of note to mention. Maybe Kessler had an off-night, maybe he was butt-hurt by all the, well, butting, maybe he was complacent- who knows? We will know more about Ward after Saturday, that is for sure. Froch, on the other hand, we know lots about, because he has had lots of tough, well matched fights with numerous different styles. He is a known commodity, whilst everything about Ward comes really from one big fight. That said, secondly, I agree that the Kessler result may mean a great deal in this upcoming fight. It is one of the (several) reasons I think Froch will lose. MTF
Then you are an enemy of the sport of boxing. It is that simple. Oh, and you had DeGale beating Groves, which speaks volumes about your scoring prowess... MTF :nana:
Dirty tactics are allowed here in A.C. I liked watching Froch and his grit last fight and am not a fan of Ward, so I hope other folks in the crowd from N.J. other than me are rooting Froch. Having said that he will lose a dirty decision. GS
I do and I don't, it's kind of unpredictable. If it's consistent with different common opponents then yeah it's very hard to ignore one fighter doing much better, but it often varies. For example Frock lost a close one to Kessler and Ward absolutely dominated, but Arabham is another common opponent, and Frock absolutely dominated him, and was more impressive than Ward was against him. So it's tricky, it's never that simple. Also I do believe the pumped up hometown Kessler that fought Frock would do a lot better Vs Ward, and without the hometown ref that would let Ward headbutt Kessler into bolivian. He wouldn't win, or even come close to winning, but he would be more competitive.
See, the thing is, great fight though it was, I thought Kessler won quite clearly and there wasn't really much of a case to be made for Froch winning the fight.
Same, well kind of the same. IMO it was very close, but clear at the same time. Kessler deserved to win. Which yeah, doesn't really bode that well for Frock, especially seeing as I've never seen Kessler as a great fighter. Frock did look particularly listless that night though, and I think it was the best version of Kessler we've seen since getting schooled by Slappy Joe. I expect a better Frock to show up on Saturday.
I feel like a row :: I'm pumped for this fight. Froch needs to take command from the off and get nasty. I'm hoping Ward's straight right doesn't tell the story in this one. Kessler was coming in straight lines against Ward, so I presume Froch needs to be adventurous and use angles, to cut off the ring and bully Ward.
Because Frock is kind of like an 18th century, agricultural version of Roy Jones, I expect him to use more angles than Mikkelhausen.
Also, I didn't realise Frock has a FIVE inch reach advantage. Not that surprised though, I've always thought Ward looked to have shortish arms for his height, and Frock decent sized. Ward has a 71 inch reach, which is only a 5'11 inch reach, less than Floyd's funnily enough. If he can get his timing down and work behind his jab, that could be significant.
The reach works for and against him. He jabs then brings it back to his waist. Ward could easily counter over it then get inside and work from there. On the inside I think Froch is at a disadvantage. Those gangly arms will be easy to work inside on. I think Froch is better served throwing hard, stiff jabs then a few rounds in purposely jab short hoping Ward will bite then sit on an uppercut and catch him coming in. If Froch fucks around and throws an uppercut from too far away we're potentally looking at a Buster Douglas-Evander Holyfield type KO.
Good point, he'll have to be pretty disciplined. He's sloppy at the best of times, and yeah, it should be easy enough for Ward to get inside a sloppy jab and do some damage. He's a much better inside fighter. The uppercut after feint jab is a good idea. One good thing about long arms is the punches can more easily come from awkward angles, he could catch Ward with an uppercut he doesn't see coming. This is a hard fight to envisage, odd style matchup. I can usually picture in my mind what a fight looks like in a way, but not this one. I think a slow pace favours Frock, if he can make use of the reach. A fast pace almost always favours the guy that's better inside, and the faster fighter.
I've always liked guys who create traps and walk guys into punches. I wouldn't use the short jab/uppercut too early simply because Ward should expect it. Wait a few rounds, let Ward think he's got your timing figured out then surprise him with it. It's really no different than how Lemmon KO'd Rahman. That was a beautiful sequence. Lemmon purposely threw the lefthook short to blind Rahman then BOOM...the right hand came immediately behind it and Rahman never saw it.
I do, too. Although I am picking Ward via decision and don't expect it to be all that close, it is the Abraham fight that I think indicates Froch has a real chance and it's not just wishful thinking on the part of his supporters. The Kessler fight indicates that Froch could be just as competitive as Kessler was (fairly competitive), but the Abraham fight indicates Froch has capability to adapt his style. That's not something I really noticed in his other fights.
I'm picking Ward by boring-boxing-by-numbers-because-thats-what-all-modern-day-boxers-do-anyway points over 12. I'm hoping, Froch gets out the traps like a greyhound, and blasts Ward senseless in 5...
Not too much of a stretch really, Jermain Taylor buzzed your boy pretty good and he's not a puncher at all. Ward is bigger better and stronger in every way.
