By Scott Gilfoid: WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (27-0, 14 KO’s) would like nothing better than to get a second fight against IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch (32-2, 23 KO’s) to prove that his first victory over him from 2011 wasn’t a fluke, but Ward has some real concerns about him having to go over to the UK to fight Froch.
Ward saw how Froch’s fight went last Saturday night with George Groves with the fight being stopped in the 9th round while Groves was still battling, and Ward obviously has memories of watching fellow American talent Andre Dirrell go over to the UK and fight Froch in his own backyard in Nottingham in 2009 and ending up losing that fight by a controversial 12 round split decision. Ward doesn’t want to potentially fall victim of poor judging or a referee that is asleep at the wheel, letting countless fouls to occur like the ones we saw in the Froch-Groves and Froch-Dirrell fights.
The 29-year-old told BBC Radio 5 live “I’m not concerned about fighting in front of his fans, but it is about not getting a fair shake. I’ve realistic concerns. It’s not my legacy at stake if he didn’t beat me, but if something happens like in the Groves fight, then that is tough to live down.”
Yes, I totally agree with Ward. It would be a tragedy if Ward were to go over to the UK and end up getting royally jobbed, because there’s no way he could get the loss overturned. If Groves and Dirrell were stuck with their losses, it’s doubtful that Ward would be any different. Ward would have a controversial defeat and Froch could move on with Ward’s scalp on his resume.
With the way that Froch feels that he deserved his wins over both Dirrell and Groves, I don’t see Froch arguing with the judging if he wins a controversial decision. I mean, it’s possible but coming events casts their shadows before, and I think Froch will do exactly what he’s done in the past if he’s given a highly controversial win over Ward by saying he deserved the victory.
At this point I think the Froch-Ward rematch will never take place as long as Froch insists that Ward have to fight him in the UK. Froch needs to see this from Ward’s perspective if he really wants the rematch. Of course, if Froch is just name dropping and not serious about wanting a rematch with Ward, then by all means he should keep saying that Ward doesn’t want fight him in the UK and that’s why the fight can’t take place. But if Froch is serious about wanting to fight Ward again, he should look at his two questionable wins over Groves and Dirrell and see that as the sole reasons why Ward doesn’t want to come over to the UK and risk his unbeaten record. That’s only issue Ward has with fighting Froch again, because he knows he can whip him again without any problems due to Froch’s slow hand speed, poor defense and an inability to fight on the inside.
Comments are closed.