The Progeny Of The Cobra: DeGale, Jack & Groves Truly Showcase The Ghoulish State Of SMW

good thread!
though I wonder why mikkel Kessler's name hasn't been thrown into the mix, considering he and froch are 1-1 head-to-head?
neither froch nor Kessler had terrific skillsets (have to disagree with your summation on froch there), but what they both did have in spades was tenacity and resilience
they were both the 'best of the rest', neither were legit world champions, but if one or both came out of retirement their styles aren't conducive to longevity in the ring.

if anything, I think age would level the playing field for the likes of groves, degale and co.

 

I get the analogy however thanks for clarifying.

There's no denying the Edwards loss becomes a huge determining factor when running your Froch/Jack matchup algorithm but it still doesn't cloud the fact that these two bring a formula to the ring that would produce an awesome fight. Jermaine wasn't a huge hitter at middleweight sorry and he had Froch doing Elvis gyrations that Elvis stole from chuck berry.....I'm sure Jacks chin is good enough to handle a good part of Froch's power while simultaneously dishing out hurt on him as well. If Jack can counter Groves and Degale (two guys with more refined fast twitch muscles when compared to Froch) then he shouldnt have an issue countering in this matchup.

Of course we are speculating here because this will never happen, just like Joe Calz vs Froch....always confused me why they never fought even though I'd favor slappy to completely outclass him down the stretch it still would have been a good well organized event.

 

All hail our Lord and Savior, David Benavidez.

Good write up, 168 is all milk and no cream, but all said and done I still like to follow the division. As you said there are a lot of decent fighters but no great ones right now. It's certainly overrated when regarding talent but not when considering competitiveness and entertainment.

 

What are your thoughts on Ramirez or Eubank Jr stepping up in weight? Cheers.

 

I don't understand why people says that GGG is hiding from the 168 monsters, despite the fact that Ward isn't coming back I don't see a reason for him to move up.
DeGale: I think that he's a top talent but takes too many rounds off and can't keep the pace.
Jack: Tough, hard working guy, nothing special.
Groves: Tough guy, hard puncher, nothing special.
Dirrells: One doesn't have heart, the other isn't nothing special.
Smith: The family is full of tough guys and good body punchers, but they aren't top talents despite Callum being the best of them.
Ramirez: Overrated, hasn't won an impressive fight in the division.
Bute: He managed to give top guys problems despite having his heart ripped by Froch so many years ago.

Then you have the real saviour of the division: David Benavidez.
Benavidez is a top talent, only 20 (most prospects of his age wouldn't face a fighter like Porky in at least three years), he better takes care of the Division.

The sad thing is that i see a fighter like Badou Jack, arguably the best in the division, being destroyed by anyone in the top 5 (maybe top 10) if he moves up, i can't say the same for anyone in the other divisions (Crawford, Rigo, Loma, GGG, Usyk, Kova or Ward, etc...).

 

Ghoulish?
Don't tell me Rigo is moving up to 168 next

 

Agreed division is pretty weak right now. The fact that Groves even holds a title having failed so many times before tells you this. Prime Froch and Kessler would beat all the title holders. Prime Calzaghe would have looked like the 2nd coming of SRR, lol. I can't even imagine what RJJ would of done to this division.

 

DeGale's soul is now officially in possession of Jack, but there are still some attractive match-ups that don't involve them. Any combination of Zurdo, Benevidez, Groves, CEJ, Smith and the shrunken master that is Juergen Braehmer is likely to produce an intriguing match-up.

 

Calzaghe or Froch would breeze through this lot in 2nd gear. It' usually a stacked division prob worst I've ever seen it since I've watched boxing