By Scott Gilfoid: Photo: Casino/Showtime – In looking at some of the recent training video and pictures of WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch, I must say he looks in tip top shape ready to go for his Super Six tournament finals bout against WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward on December 17th. If only that’s all it took for Froch to win, he’d be a lock to get the ‘W’ against Ward.

Unfortunately you got to have T-A-L-E-N-T in abundance to beat Ward, and I hate to drizzle all over Froch’s parade but he’s tad inadequate in that area. Ward is born with hand speed that Froch can’t get from working himself like a plow horse in training camp with trainer Rob McCracken. You have to be born with. Froch’s training also won’t give him cat-like reflexes like Ward either.

Ward can almost sense a punch coming at him and move his head just enough for the punch to go sailing by. You can throw the same punches thrown at Froch land regrettably to his head rather than being dodged or picked off. Froch doesn’t help himself by choosing to fight with his arms dangling uselessly down by his sides when he fights, as if daring opponents to tag him in the face.

I guess Froch used to get away with this kind of thing while fighting domestic level opposition in England. But in the Super Six tournament, Froch has been getting nailed with vicious shots in every fight. I just don’t know how McCracken hasn’t altered Froch’s style by teaching him to put his gloves up cover up his noggin rather counting on him to block punches with his face. I know Froch must have been able to succeed with this style defensively earlier in his career, but he’s not adapted and retooled to learn new skills since he started facing quality opposition in the Super Six tournament.

This inability to adapt will cost Froch in the finals against Ward, because he’s going to be getting cleanly all night long on December 17th. You don’t fight with your hands down by your sides against a sharp shooter like Ward, not if you don’t want your head taken off. But do you think Froch will change for this fight by keeping his guard up? Nope! He’ll be the same old Froch and will come out with his grasshopper stance, arms hanging like overripe bananas uselessly by his sides, and Ward will have a field day punching holes in his head like it’s a giant piñata. Heck, it won’t even be sporting.