what would Froch have to improve...

I don't think Froch has anything more than a puncher's chance. He only landed a few good, solid shots in the first fight. One thing that did surprise me was the end of round 5, where he was able to catch Ward coming in, and hit him with a good hook. He couldn't do that consistently though, and Ward is just the faster, more skilled fighter.

I remember Froch saying something like 'he was either too close or too far away' after their fight, and that was a good summary of the situation -- Ward is better on the inside than Froch, in that he can smother/spoil well and has tighter, more compact shots. On the outside, he's much quicker and can dart in with jabs and left hooks. Froch has a decent, long jab, but that's not enough to deal with Ward. Even when Froch wins his fights, he often looks quite clumsy and awkward. In the rematch with Kessler there were times when Kessler slipped shots and Froch sailed right past him, open for a counter. He really throws himself into his attacks, which can be intimidating, but someone like Ward (who has the reflexes and skill to avoid most of the shots) will exploit that.

I'm not sure what Froch can do, aside from hoping to land a big punch that hurts Ward. I did think Ward slowed down a bit in the last few rounds of their fight, but by that point he was ahead on the cards anyway.

 

In an ideal world, I think the best sparring partner would be Hopkins. I think Hop would give Froch a lot of the same looks and problems that Ward would.

Whether he could use that to make the necessary adjustments and impose himself on Ward, I'm doubtful. Ward just seems to be all wrong for him.

 

Didnt Pong Wongjamkam stop a guy in 30 seconds and lose the rematch, I think it was Naito

Patterson after the first Johansson fight where he went down numerous times

if that fight happened today ESB would say Patterson is a no chin hype job who couldnt win a rematch let alone a series

 

Patterson against Johansson. (He wasn't really outclassed, but blown out).
Pacquiao against Morales, to an extent.
Jersey Joe Walcott against Ezzard Charles.

Those come to mind, John.

 

The problem with this thread is that Andre Ward is the one with true upside. If Froch was going to beat him, it would have been in the first fight.

 

Are you sure?

Andre Ward looked top class against Chad Dawson, but has remained inactive and has been plagued by injuries since. Froch has been rather active.

 

Andre Ward is the one most likely to improve from the first fight.

 

Although I'd agree that with Andre Wards hand injury, he's likely to produce something of excellence in a rematch with Froch.

But he has been inactive and he has had surgery on his shoulder. And some fighters never come back to a hundred percent after shoulder injuries.

 

I think Froch will continue to be Froch. He's set in his ways, and nothing's wrong with that, he keeps winning.. But the only thing i can see him doing is working on conditioning. He's never gonna outbox Ward, not in a million years. But Ward is willing to get down and dirty, he's shown us that willingness over and over. He needs to pick up his work rate and aggression, only chance he has at all. 12 hard balls to the wall rounds, only way I see him having even a glimmer of hope..