Right guys just thought i'd try and predict who is going to win this fight. Andre Ward is the favourite in this fight and the only reason he is the favourite is because of Mikkel Kessler. I have seen both Froch v Kessler and Ward v Kessler and the night Froch fought Kessler in Denmark Kessler was a different fighter. You could clearly see how much more comfortable Kessler was at home. The questions I ask myself are could Ward of beaten Kessler that night in Herning? Probably not. Could Froch of beaten Kessler the night Ward beat Kessler in Oakland? Probably yes. So to use Kessler as the bench mark for these 2 fighters is wrong I personally thought Froch handled Arthur Abraham better than what Ward did. Also another thing that I have noticed is how much Froch has improved since his loss to Kessler and how much Ward has stagnated since his win over Kessler. I honestly think that Froch will win this fight if he keeps behind his long jab and throw 3/4 punch combinations when given the chance to. Ward isn't as quick as Dirrell and doesn't punch as hard as Kessler, Abraham or Johnson so this makes me think that Froch could handle him easier than what people think. I can't see Froch stopping Ward but a points decision could be his for the taking if he keeps behind his long jab and uses his underrated boxing skills.
He's a lot more well rounded then Dirrell. I'm gonna watch the Bika fight fully i just watched rounds 1 and 2 and like the AA fight he struggles to find range with the jab and spends most of the rounds mauling with Bika. Which is promising for Froch. When watching these rounds i felt Froch needs to make his mark in these early stages to try rattle Ward and get foothold into fight. This is gonna be a scrap if Froch has any ambitions of winning. One thing i've picked up on is when Ward initiates the clinch Froch must punch his way out and make Ward work. Ward if you notice falls in if Jab hasn't landed i feel this is due to fact he likes to balance himself off the jab and also feel's that he's not in great position defensively. So he scrambles for the clinch for me that's him out of his comfort zone so Froch cannot allow him to get the ref to break them and then reset. I will be back with more analysis maybe today or tomorrow.
Where to start with this... 'Could Ward have beat Kessler in Herning' being a particular highlight atsch
Maybe he thinks Ward being half 'brotha' may have struggled with the colder conditions as well as time difference.
Ward is boring and cant punch hard. He also cant fight away from his back garden. War Froch and lets have done with this US hypejob
Theres too much biased ******ation going on to really bother. I mean for a start, Could Ward have beat Kessler in Herning...Probably not. Could Froch have beat Kessler in Oakland...Probably yes. What the ****? Want to put some clothes on those probabilities mate? Not much substance behind this post or any reasoned analysis for the conclusions that are being drawn, hence why I just think its most influenced by bias.
Simply reading the post shows it's biased. It makes wild assumptions based on personal preference rather than analysis. That said, if Ward had been in Denmark, he'd have likely had points docked and been DQ'd for his constant use of the head.
Well yeah, being so extremely in favor of Froch I do believe you need to have some sort of bias considering the skillsets involved, but thats okay if you bring something with substance and reason for the conclusions. But there are no real talking points here, its just assumptions and colouring book type thinking.
i was only messing mate. I only flicked through the OP and saw the bit about not having Dirrell's speed and posted. Reading the full post and yep it's poor..
Going by this Kessler would have comfortably beaten Joe C had the fight been in Denmark. He didnt look quite so uncomfortable fighting over here as he did in Oakland. There could be a few reasons for this, but the simple "rabbit in the headlights when fighting away from home" wont explain it.
Im only thinking out loud on this but does anyone think Ward has a chance of stopping Froch? TKO maybe?
Its a hard one to call. I don't think Froch is gonna knock him out, he may hurt him yes and have him in trouble but Ward is so well rounded he won't get caught from anything that he shouldn't. Froch can't let Ward get set, can't let him think. Like Mandanda said Froch has to punch outta the clinch, just hit him, arms, kidneys, anything to make him tire. I just can't envisage Ward bullying Froch up close, if he does ill give him his fair dues but i don't think his inside game is this science that he and Hunter think it is. He has basically been imposing his will on fighters who aren't as mentally strong as him, thats testament to Ward of course but Froch is mentally very strong. Froch can't do a Taylor though, he has to be on this from the off.
