Froch: We knew that Froch wasnt the best technician or the best defensive fighter out there. But yesterday showed a terrible side of him. We know now that Frochs chin, stamina and power isnt all that it has been made up to be and that he can only win fights if he wears people down or by the lucky punch (or by help from a drunk ref and bad scoring!). Extremely unimpressive perfomance by Froch and Kessler must be a huge favourite when they face off in Copenhagen. I really had expected a whole lot more from him and I tipped him to TKO Dirrell in the second half of the fight. But no. Dirrell: I knew almost nothing about Dirrell before the fight and I must admit im quite impressed by his skills. I mean - switching back and forth between southpaw and orthodox THAT fluently is indeed impressive along with his speed, precision and very good defensive skills. I think he is a force in this tournament although he seemed way too scared and ran too much against Froch. Taylor: Fought a good fight untill he got rocked in the 9th round. But I am one of those who think that Jermain NEEDS to quit boxing now. He has lost 4 out his latest 5 fights by KO and that cannot continue. He is a good technician with good skills but nowadays he has got no punch resistance. I hope he doesnt get to fight against Kessler. That would be too risky imho. Abraham: Yeah - we knew he had the strenght and the punch and yesterday showed that he indeed has p4p top 3 power and strenght. He is just extremely strong and he reads his opponents well. But - he is way too passive and fighers like Kessler, Ward or Dirrell could easily outbox him. Unless of course they run in to that cracking power. Anyone who gets hit clean by AA gets at least stunned - and maybe looses their game because of it. But I had scored a Jermain win untill the 9th round - and maybe AA was lucky that he was fighting a shot Jermain. I think so. All in all Dirrell impressed me the most. He should have won the fight or at least got the draw. Dirrel could go far - also when the super six is over. :thumbsup
I wouldn't give Dirrell any hope of beating AA mate. If Froch can win rounds off you then it will be far worse against the less limited AA. Dirrell would be hitting nothing but gloves I'd imagine.
Agreed on Direll, even though you understated his holding and other dirty stuff (not that Froch fought much cleaner - but still) On Taylor: I thought he was losing the fight on points. Depending on how the Kessler Ward fight goes, he should consider staying in the tournement, since fighting Ward might be a possible task for him. He did not look too much over the hill. On Froch: can't wait for him to get punished by Kessler and later Abraham. I have not made my mind up on Ward, but so far is who I WANT to see in the Quarterfinals: Kessler Abraham Direll Taylor/Ward
Froch As I predicted before this series started, he will only feature in the final four because of the way other fighters fight, not how he himself fights. Froch will charge in like a bull all night and unless you do what Kessler did to Andrade, it will be hard to beat him by being on the backfoot. I think he'll make the finals, solely because I think Dirrell will not get points against any other fighter but Froch, which leaves Taylor, Ward and Dirrell fighting for the scraps. Taylor: Fought like a cursed fighter. Did not commit with the right hand and while spirited in the fight, showed that the idea that he was the best boxer with questionable stamina is wrong, as Abraham was outboxing him quite comprehensively before the stoppage. Dirrell: From Rounds 1 to 10 - I wasn't that impressed. The guy was in there against someone who was clueless against his left hook and could not see which angle the punches were coming from. He didn't capitalise on this. His idol Roy Jones Jr would stomp any opponent that gave him such clear opportunities to hit, but Dirrell seemed more fixated on stealing a win rather than earning a win. 11 and 12 - if he fights like that for the rest of the tournament, he should pick up the points from Ward and find himself in the final. Abraham: Somehow underrated before the fight and despite a convincing boxing performance which had the exclamation point tagged onto the end with the KO, he's under-rated afterwards. Yes, he takes rounds off. Yes, he spends lots of minutes tucked in behind that turtle guard without really trying to hit. Yes, he leaves himself open to counter punching when he comes out of that guard. But ultimately, the guy will be very hard for any of these fighters to beat. He possesses solid world class power, he possesses relatively good handspeed, an iron chin and defense that means if he does get hurt, he won't allow many to capitalise on it. I think he beats anyone not named Kessler in this tournament and even then, Kessler vs Abraham will be the fight of the tournament.
Id imagine that too - but if AA doesnt connect and Dirrell clearly is the busier fighter? The Dirrell should win it. Although I still doubt he wouldnt get caught by something...
Froch-Dirrell was indeed ugly as hell, but Froch connected with more rabbit punches than with regular punches. That says a whole lot imo. Dirrell spoiled Frochs game totally by holding etc. But he wasnt doing as much foul stuff as Froch. You can be right with Jermain though. But it was pretty close.
