Aside from the terrible stoppage, three things have emerged from this fight which I am surprised have really not been jumped on enough: 1. The scorecards. Two judges had it 4-4 (less the extra point for first round knockdown). How was this conceivably the score?! 2. No punch stats. Sky normally do punchstats. Was the Hearn influence enough to see them removed from the graphics early on when it was clear froch was getting outworked and outlanded. 3. How bad is Froch's technique? Good puncher, durable etc. but during the knockdown, his right foot was actually infront of his left foot....and he is an orthodox fighter!? So square on is asking for trouble. Perhaps stepping into his punches with his right hand is how some of the power is generated...but the flaws have been brutally exposed. He also tried to lead off with that right hand without setting it up with the jab. This worked against Bute, but froch is not fast and Groves obviously studied this as he ducked the punch on countless occasions. I think Froch may decide to call it a day on a dubious win rather then face Groves, or Ward. Health could suffer and what McCraken said was quite stunning, but brutally honest in that he did not want the fight as he had seen the two spar...
Good call on the punch stats, can't recall seeing them either actually. Would be very interesting to see them.
Just very fishy for a fight of that magnitude...they normally have them for the smaller profile fights on sky...
1..scorecards- once again i find myself saying ' incompetent at best/corrupt at worst' 2..stats - not really an issue as we all seen every heavy shot was thrown by Groves... 3..Frochs legs were gone BEFORE the knock down.maybe it was nerves or age has caught up with him but i remember saying before that right hander that he could not seem to move his heavy legs
The point re the punchstats was that they were conspicuous by their absence, rather than looking for some data to support the view Groves was winning the fight comfortably (which was self evident) In regards to Froch's feet, it is a fundamental flaw that someone with Groves boxing IQ was obviously able to pick up on. He literally steps into the punch which leaves him extremely square on. Interestingly, going back to the punch stats, it raises the whole points scoring debate. If for instance Groves outlanded Froch 30-10 in punches in four rounds, and Froch edged the other four rounds (not withstanding the knockdown) then the score would be even. Obviously other factors come into play i.e ring generalship, quality of shots etc. but I am referring to these variables being equal in a hypothetical sense. Is there any other way to score more accurately!?
He was definitely buzzed by the glancing right hand by groves a few seconds before he walked on to the big right hand. He was turning away from shots the whole fight, which makes the eventual stoppage even more ridiculous. Also worth saying is that a lot of Carl's punches were open hand cuffs, telegraphed open hand cuffs at that. George really fought the wrong fight after the halfway point, if he had fought calmer he should have evaded the larger part of what Froch was throwing. Which of course wouldn't have mattered anyway, as GG would have been ****ed over on the cards.
Just another fight that demonstrates how poor refs and judges are. As good as Froch mental/physical strength is, his technique is bad. Froch without his mental and physical strength (durability etc) loses to Dirrell, Taylor, Pascal, Groves at least. Of course you can do that to any fighter but it's a HUGE factor in Frochs game.
