By Marcus Sales: This Saturday night is the culmination of the Super Six tournament where the World Boxing Association (WBA) and WBC world titles are on the line along with the coveted Ring Magazine title.
Throughout the last few months I have been overwhelmed by the lack of respect for Carl Froch, it appears nobody gives him a chance against the unbeaten Andre Ward.
Let me first say that I am a big fan of both fighters, the slick skills of Andre Ward define the phrase ‘sweet science.’ He has been mightily impressive in this tournament, I highlight the victory over Mikel Kessler as the point in which he arrived as the real deal. There is no question that he is a superior technical boxer than Carl Froch.
This does not mean however, that Ward is certain to beat Froch, which seems to be the common consensus. Carl Froch is a fighter through and through. He has fought and beaten some of the best fighters in the 168 pound division, including Jean Pascal, Andre Dirrell, Jermaine Taylor, Arthur Abraham and Glen Johnson. Although he lost to Mikel Kessler, the fight was close and there is no shame in losing to Kessler. This CV is extremely impressive, more so than the unbeaten IBF champion Lucian Bute.
If Froch fights like he did against Glen Johnson, I believe he will lose. He was slow to get going and took too many shots. Ward will make him pay time and time again for such mistakes. If the Carl Froch turns up that fought Arthur Abraham however, this will be a very close fight. Having said this I don’t believe the Abraham tactics will work against Ward. I doubt that Froch can outbox Ward and he needs to get inside and drag Ward into his fight. If he can do this we will find out an awful lot about Andre Ward.
It is a fitting finale to a great tournament and I believe that the fight will live up to the billing. Although very different they are both very good fighters, on the cusp of being great even. To dismiss Froch in this fight is foolish, just ask Amir Khan about overlooking opponents.
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