Froch v Golovkin - Keys to victory

Froch would get countered worse than in the 1st round of his 1st fight with Groves if he tries to swarm vs the timing and counterpunching of GGG

 

It seems people are already taking GGG victory away by saying Froch was shot if that happens. That tells you something about how intelligent crowd we have here.. Let them fight. Froch has proved his graft already. If GGG gets the win, he really deserves it, if not he fights a HOF division above his. Respect both of them taking the fight.

 

For Froch it is a simple case of maintaining range and a hot pace. Rinse n' repeat. Golovkin will be looking to get close behind a double jab so Carl must try, in that sloppy yet resilient way, to get things back on his terms when pressed. The problem is footwork. Golovkin's is much better and he knows how to get you off balance in close like Ward did to Carl, manipulate you, nudge you off and punch in the same movement. The man from Nottingham is strong but not very savvy in these situations. If Golovkin can pin him down relatively easily Carl has problems.

The fight rests on unknowns. Intangibles. Froch's game plan has never been nuanced because it's always relied on fitness and grit. Those who pick Carl insist the Kazakh will be, eventually, bullied. Everyone who picks Gennady (the probable favourite) feels that the hype stems more from reality than romanticism.

It is something of a leap of faith, but given their career trajectories Golovkin's patient pressure would likely secure victory before the final bell. Groves shot his bolt in their first fight which Golovkin wouldn't do.

 

You are over thinking this. It comes down to the Chin. 99% of fights come down to who has the better Chin. You either can take a punch or you can't. Those with Iron Chins are there late in the fight with a chance to win.

 

It's a tough one to call. How much does Froch have left and how good is GGG?

People are talking about GGG being easy to hit and that he is another Abraham. Firstly, if you think GGG and AA are the same then I really don't know where to start. They have completely different styles and AA's punchers are telegraphed so you can see them coming and take some of the sting out of them. GGG is a lot cuter.

As for GGG being easy to hit; he is no Mayweather, but, he does role with punchers well. When he feels nothing of significance is coming back (like in his last fight) he will just soak up the shots, but he has shown in the past a willingness to avoid and roll with shots. Against the bigger man and hardest puncher he has faced, GGG will try to box at his best. He won't just stand there, chin down and gloves up attempting to block Froch's shots and stand up to any that get through.

As the OP pointed out, this fight will be won and lost by ring positioning. Whoever can gain command of the centre of the ring will have a huge advantage as both guys aren't back foot fighters and both like to control distance and tempo.

Froch's jab is paramount. When he fights to a game plan and takes control of centre ring and sticks out a powerful, authoritative jab, that is when he looks at his best (AA, Kessler II, Groves II). A good strong jab will help Froch control the pace and distance of the fight and will also allow him to set up his right (which should be straight and not looping) and push GGG back. It will also effect the timing and rhythm of GGG, which is vital as GGG is a rhythm fighter.

Mentally, Froch needs to do what he done in the AA fight; stick to his trainers game plan and not let bravado take over. McCracken is the ideal trainer for Froch. He has a way of devising a game plan that helps Froch compete at a very high level despite his many flaws, athletically and technically. When Froch has stuck meticulously to McCraken's game plan, that is when he has performed to his best and when he has gone away from it (Groves I, Dirrell) that is when he has looked awful.

As for GGG, as stated at the top, he has to try to box and not just stand there in front of Froch as he has done against some of his more recent opponents.

It doesn't take a lot to befuddle Froch. GGG may not have the quick feet of Ward, Dirrell, Taylor or Groves that showed up Froch's athletic limitations, but, a bit of head movement and some feints can show up Froch's technical limitations and help stop Froch establishing his jab and a rhythm.

GGG will also need to use his jab more, something which he appears to have abandoned in recent times. He can't win this fight by pawing out his jab in a Kostya Tszyu range finder fashion, as he seems to do these days. This won't be effective against a bigger guy with a longer reach and a good jab.

As Froch is slow and can telegraph his punchers at times, throwing when Froch throws will also be a good Tactic for GGG. Especially if Froch throws out a lazy jab as he has a tendency to do every now and then or if his punchers are looping, another bad trait of Froch's at times.

I like both of these guys, but being a Brit i'll be rooting for Froch on this one. However, Froch's age and his year out of the ring will hamper him. Plus, I see something, not quite special, but very good and most importantly, effective in GGG. GGG has shown many things in the ring during his career but he has not shown them all in one fight due to a lack of competition. Against Froch, I can see GGG putting it all together and showing us all his true potential.

I think GGG wins this one by late stoppage in a tough, back and forth, brutal fight. It won't be an all out action fight as both guys like to fight at their own pace and there will be some slow parts in the fight as both guys do like to fight tactically, but when they let their shots go there will be fireworks. Probably not fight of the year, but it should be a contender.

 

I forgot to say, apologies for the essay.

 

oh, froch is going to get countered all-right. that's for sure. does ggg carry his power up from middleweight? that's a definite maybe. we'll have to see, won't we?

this fight never even occurred to me until it was brought up this past week. last i heard, gennady was calling out canelo, cotto and ward. but this is the fight boxing needs. satisfaction guaranteed (just like you knew pryor-arguello was going to be a can't miss).

 

Oh, dear.

For a start, chin is not something that can be graded on one value. Ability to take a certain level of power of a punch is one thing, but, the ability to take less powerful, but sustained punishment is also a factor. Punch resistance is probably a longer but better term for it.

Secondly, there is more to boxing than punch resistance, or chin, for your benefit, Rico.

You can have a weak chin, but if you can protect that chin then it really doesn't matter. Just look at Wlad.

Boxing is littered with fighters who had iron jaws but not much else, and most of them didn't achieve a hell of a lot at the very top levels of the sport.

 

golovkin-froch has potential fight of the year written all over it (notice i didn't say fight of the century).

they really should do this. great, can't miss fights don't come along too often. c'mon, carl.. i know you read this message board (hats off to you for a great, memorable career, too).. make a true historical fight happen. ez for me to say, gettin ready to grab another beer.. but this is how fighters become beloved for all history