Fights for Froch to consider before retirement

By IggyChow - 06/06/2014 - Comments

froch9993By Iggy Chowdhury: In the build up to the Froch vs Groves rematch I followed all the pre-fight hype (TV and radio interviews, all the sky sports Ringside coverage, the numerous internet articles etc). A lot of the times there was mention of Froch “getting old overnight”. Many pundits said Groves was too quick, had a better defence and would outbox Froch but this quite simply did not happen.

During the first 6 rounds of the fight there was very little separating the two boxers, Froch was much more cautious and judged the distance between himself and Groves very well. He had more success with the jab and established the centre of the ring, something he had failed to do in the first fight.

Froch may not be the best technical boxer but he showed the world that his awkward unorthodox boxing style which is much maligned by the boxing purists is still serving him. There was an incredible amount of pressure on Froch to guard his legacy and he stated on a number of occasions that should be lose to Groves then retirement would be a real consideration. However he also stated that he meticulously keeps a record of all his training times and stats and there is no sign of deterioration. The stats did not lie as Froch went on to KO Groves with one of the most devastating straight rights seen in quite some time.

Having contributed to packing out Wembley Stadium with 80,000 spectators, it is quite clear that Froch has huge support and Eddie Hearn will no doubt want to maximize the profits his cash cow can still bring before retirement. Froch only has a few fights left in him and below I look at the potential fighters for Froch to consider along with their strengths, weaknesses and what I predict the outcome to be:

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr: This was the fight Froch really wanted before the British Boxing Board of Control enforced the Groves rematch within 90 days. Making this fight happen is a top priority for Team Froch and rightly so. JCC Jr is a big name in the Super Middleweight category, brings a huge Mexican following and the prospect of a real 50/50 fight. The fight would be held in Vegas, the fight capital of the world and the place Froch is desperate to showcase his abilities before retirement. Froch wins this by unanimous decision in my opinion, his jab and 12 round work rate will be too much for the Mexican to deal with.

Pros: tall, physically very strong, solid chin, powerful body puncher, dangerous on the inside.

Cons: slow, poor stamina, has issues making weight, easy to hit with the jab, one dimensional.

James De Gale: The Olympic Gold Medalist is the IBF’s mandatory challenger following his win over Brandon Gonzalez. Froch must fight De Gale within the next 12 months or he will be stripped of his belt, of course Froch could opt to voluntarily vacate the belt if he feels there are bigger more lucrative fish to fry. Froch has already stated that De Gale must fight a serious super middleweight to convince him that he deserves a shot at the Champion. De Gale is a very talented fighter previously lost to George Groves by a very close majority decision with the judges scoring the bout 115–115, 115–114, 115–114 in favour of Groves. Since the loss De Gale has fought against a bunch of “nobodies” so hasn’t demonstrated any noticeable improvements. For me, there is nothing between De Gale and Groves and Froch has already demonstrated that he has too much in his artillery for these pretenders to the throne but a future fight is possible is De Gale takes a big scalp in his next fight.

Pros: speed, counter punching, utilizes a variety of punches, technically sound.

Cons: yet to face a real quality opponent, chin is untested, lacks real power because although he has 13 KO’s from 20 fights, has had to go 12 rounds with the likes of Hadillah Mohoumadi, Fulgencio Zúñiga, Piotr Wilczewski and Dyah Davis; Who? Exactly.

Mikkel Kessler: The Viking Warrior was cut from the same cloth as Froch and their two previous fights were both epic brutal battles with the Dane winning in Denmark and the Brit winning in England. Both Kessler and Froch are in their mid-thirties and both have perhaps lost a bit of agility and sharpness but they both still possess the ingredients to warrant a trilogy which would still pack out any arena. Like Froch, Kessler has never been KO’d and has only lost to 2 men other than Froch, the undefeated and retired champion Joe Calzaghe and the undefeated and peerless Andre Ward (the only man to have convincingly beaten both Froch and Kessler). Kessler deserves a 3rd fight because he delivered on his promise to give Froch a rematch after their 1st encounter and for me Froch wins the 3rd fight purely on the basis that age seems to have affected Kessler more than it has Froch. Surely there has to be a decider to determine who of these two is the greater Warrior.

Pros: very strong, granite chin, aggressive, fights for 12 rounds without losing the power he possesses in either hand.

Cons: slow, one dimensional, flat footed and has been inactive since his loss to Froch over a year ago.

Gennady Golovkin: The Kazakh star has split decision amongst fight fans, some say he’s all hype since he has yet to face a world class opponent and others say the world class opponents avoid him like the plague. My personal opinion is that this man is a wrecking machine. True, he has yet to face a genuine world class opponent but his ability to close down the ring can make for a claustrophobic fight for his opponents, he has one punch KO power in both hands and when he does get hit he brushes it off instantly. He is undefeated and has 36 KO’s from 39 fights and the 3 fights he failed to KO his opponents were at the start of his career and all 3 of those fights were 8 rounders. Golovkin vs Macklin is perhaps an indicator of how good Golovkin potentially is. Macklin had previously fought impressively against Felix Sturm, losing by a very questionable split decision. Following on from that fight he fought valiantly against Sergio Martinez but was KO’d in the 11th round. Golovkin absolutely annihilated Macklin and looked several levels above in doing so, as soon as Macklin felt the power he was like a rabbit in the headlights and the 3rd round KO was enough to make people sit up and take notice. A fight between Froch and Golovkin would be sensational, it would be a slug-fest and it would be a real 50/50 fight. My head says Golovkin but my heart says Froch and as The Cobra has proven time and again, heart is sometimes the difference.

Pros: devastating power in both hands, cuts the ring off expertly, technically very good, aggressive from the off.

Cons: seems to have an average defense, has yet to face a world class opponent, perhaps a little one dimensional.

Andre Ward: Undefeated, pound for pound #2 in the world, winner of the super 6 and one of the most controversial fighters of today. His style is based around elusiveness and counter punching, he punches and moves, counter punches and grabs, if you fight him at range his speed and accuracy means he will dominate, in the pocket he is cunning and strong. Yet, this fighter has struggled to find opponents, he does not like to fight away from his hometown and despite being an American Champion has a very small fan base. He has been described as boring, an eyesore, and more a strategist than a pugilist. Unfortunately for Ward, he is one of the most avoided fighters of today because he brings little reward for what will inevitably be a loss for his opponent. The fighters who could test Ward are Golovkin, who isn’t ready to move up in weight, or Kovalev but Ward isn’t ready to move up in weight, so he is stuck in limbo. He would love a Froch rematch because it would make him some money but Froch’s promoter Eddie Hearn does not appear keen to make this fight happen and has stated that “Ward would struggle to fill his own living room let alone a whole stadium”. If the rematch was to happen, Ward would have to accept all the terms that Froch would require as he is the cash cow of the Super Middleweight division. The outcome, a Ward victory again, because as much as I love to watch Froch win I don’t believe he can beat a man who has yet to show any visible weaknesses in his boxing prowess.

Pros: stamina, speed, accuracy, counter punching, inside fighting, movement, defense, pedigree

Cons: hmmm, he won’t be able to KO Froch? Does that count?

Before I close, I think it is only justified to praise the man who defies boxing logic. Carl Froch, an average boxer at best but a world class warrior. A man who has time and time again been criticized for having a non-existent defense, for being slow, technically poor and limited but who has 12 back to back world title fights losing only 2 and avenging 1 of those losses. A man who gave a young up and coming pretender to the throne a chance to prove his worth not once but twice and defeated him both times. A man who has faced all comers and leaves everything in the ring, a modern day Gladiator who despite being 2nd best to Ward, is the main man at Super Middleweight due to the entertainment, blood and glory he brings every time he steps into the ring. Ok enough of my unashamed and biased respect for Froch, here are his merits.

Pros: granite chin, relentless stamina, aggressive, solid puncher, underestimated jab, heart and will power in abundance, consummate professional, pedigree

Cons: poor defense, slow starter, technically not the best



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