My first time rewatching this fight. It's a bit of a snoozer which is why I never really bothered to watch it again until now. What were your thoughts on this fight? Froch just couldn't hit him. Ward came inside and he's pretty strong on the inside, he has good physical strength despite not having much power. And Froch was unable to wrestle him around because of Ward's short reach, savvy and strength. And then on the outside Ward was just too damn fast, accurate and skilled. I guess the solution would have been for Froch to time him and cut off the ring, but Froch has never been that type of fighter. Other slow guys like Monzon and GGG utilized that to neutralize speed, but Froch just didn't have that in him. Froch won the 11th and 12th rounds to prevent a really wide decision loss. I scored it 116-112. They say that Ward is known for his stamina, but this is one guy who had better stamina than Ward. Froch's fitness is legendary, but I wonder if Ward took his foot off the gas because he knew he was winning. Or maybe Ward was paying the price for making the weight. He was a massive SMW and won a gold medal at 178 pounds years ago. I doubt I'll ever watch it again, but I got to say it's an extremely frustrating fight to watch. I'm a big Froch fan and Ward bores me. It wasn't a very manly performance from Ward. It felt like prevent defense. Aggressors win rounds, unless you find a pure defensive masterpiece and you just can't hit him and he lands just enough to start stealing every round with snoozer jabs and pitty pats.
As a huge Froch fan I hated it, it frustrated the hell out of me, I scored it 116-112 as well, granted I was looking for every possible round I could to give to the Cobra. I got really pumped in the last two though, I had my fingers crossed for a last minute Taylor like KO. I've seen it three times, I don't find it all that boring.
There was nothing Froch could do. He wasn't taking any punishment. He just kept hitting air and found Wards head in his chest. And then Ward was gone and then wrestled around a little. And it was a rinse repeat process that just kept going on and on.
However, Froch came off that defeat and went on to paddle Bute's ass something awful. Many thought Bute would win that fight but holy hell he got destroyed
At the time i really wanted Froch to win, as the years have passed ive grew towards Ward and i appreciate his talent. Only once have i really wanted Froch to lose and that was Froch vs Groves 1, the arrogance and cockiness in the build up really brought out a dislike in Froch.
Before I state my case let it be known that I dislike Carl Froch a whole bunch. Carl Froch was a classic old school British attrition fighter. He would be getting hit and dropped but he just kept coming for more. Ward had more will power than any man in boxing which is his greatest weapon and that's why Carl loss to him, but Froch has always had the guts to out fight his opponents. He just doesn't quit. This content is protected This content is protected
I was so tempted to join this forum back then to mock all the people on here for believing that. I never even considered it an option for Bute to win that.
Even some of those late rounds everyone thought Froch won I thought Ward clearly outlanded him and wasnt been got to by much of what Carl was throwing. Ward adopted Froch that night. For that night, inside the confines of that ring he legally became his father.
Funny thing is that they almost robbed Ward of that win. I dont know how one could give Froch 5 rounds that night.
I remember watching it and every time it looked like a fight was about to break out ward would octopus him, he didn't want to actually trade with froch or fight him fairly. Never watched it again and never will. Like most Andre ward fights they were unwatchable and dirty. When he goes to the hall of fame the highlight reel will be a complete joke ' and Andre won his first world title when he headbutted the **** out of some Danish guy , he then went on to become the number one 168 fighter in the world when he hugged from English guy all night. He then solidified his hall of fame place by moving up to 175 and punching a russian guy in the nuts until he said no mas' In between these big fight he took on legends of the sport like Paul ' worldclass' smith
I did too about 7 or 8 months ago, if you go back and check I posted a new post at the end of it saying something to a similar effect.
Good post , but minor nitpick - Ward took the foot off the gas offensively in the late rounds due to a serious hand injury but he never actually slowed down and had plenty of stamina in him to put the foot on the gas defensively. Froch couldn't get anywhere near him in the last few rounds and he's exactly the type of guy you don't want to be gassed out against late on so that kinda debunks the myth that Ward was gassed out. Also Ward was a very average sized SMW. No bigger than Froch who said he was too small for LHW. Doesn't matter what he won in the Amateurs , different weight classes and the SMW division in non-existent. Shawn Porter was a Middle in the amateurs , he's a small Welter in the pro's.