After last night's fight, I feel The Cobra will look back and realise that he could have boxed a bit smarter than he did. A lot was made of his style going into the fight and personally I think Kessler benefitted from the fact that Froch kept his hands low throughout and made the Dane's job a whole lot easier. I'm not wanting criticise a man who went undefeated for his first 26 fights, and i'm also a massive fan of Carls, but I think it may be time for him to change his approach. With his hands being so low, he telegraphed a lot of his punches and gaved Kessler time to block and avoid a lot of his heavier shots. When he did get the mits up and come forward in a more orthadox manner I feel he caused Kessler more problems, particularly in the 5th round. Sometimes an undefeated fighter can get comfortable and even a little stubborn. Going into the fight, Carl took the attitude of "if it aint broke don't fix it" and he reiterated that he wouldn't be adopting a more cautious approach because he'd always had success in the past. For me his low guard is not only dangerous defensively, but it also puts him at disadvantage when on the attack. Will this defeat show Froch that perhaps it's time to change his style, especially with another hard hitter in Abraham on the horizon, or will The Cobra continue to box with a low guard?
That's a massive overhaul for a guy at his stage of his career you're talking about. His low guard is one of the reasons he IS so effective. His punches come from awkward angles. He let Kessler dictate the fight. Kessler brought the pressure. Froch just forgot to fight his fight. All he has to do is rewatch this fight and he'll see it was a case of bad effort. Froch isn't a cerebral type of fighter. He's best when he's attacking. The one major change I noticed in him last night was he seemed more focused on defense and not getting tagged. He actually did pretty good at that early on but that's not him. He ended up giving up his body and rounds early on. What Froch needs to do is go back fully to what got him to the pinnacle of the sport. Awkward, attacking, and imposing his physical stength. He's a tough guy with good whiskers that tried to be a stylist. It ain't his game.
Froch needed a good critical look at his boxing but it wasn't happening. Jermain Taylor was comfortably beating him before he managed to get a stoppage with only seconds to spare. The Dirrell fight was very scrappy and the decision could have gone against him in the US. What Froch needs is a good strategist (there's a considerable difference between guys like Roach/Nazim/Nacho and domestic trainers). When you fight at the very top you need to be prepared to raise your game and this means working with the very best. A good trainer will teach him how to use his strengths effectively and prepare him well for his fights. Froch made a good start to the fight last night, but lacked two things: -the finishing. Kessler was ready to go in the championship rounds, especially after he got a cut in the 9th (?) -the stamina. Both fighters were out of it in the last two rounds, and a fitter man would have taken both of them out.
He doesn't believe he lost, so i can't see him changing too much. Every Froch fight McCracken is in the corner giving him really sound advice round after round, and round after round he fails to follow it. I think he's a bit ****ed in the head or something.
That's interesting what you said about stamina. Froch always seems to have great stamina but I thought Kessler was able to slow him down by hammering to the body early and often(something a lot of Froch's opponents haven't done).
I can´t really see what makes Froch good? If he didn´t have a great chin and power he would not win a single fight. Why not hold your hands up?
Froch will not change and he's not getting better. He can't. He's the same old Froch from the Taylor fight. What you see is what you get with him.
Nah, hasn't got the talent. He could probably make a few minor adjustments, throw a few more punches at critical moments but overall there aren't going to be huge lessons to be learnt because Froch is incapable of implementing big change. He's not going to get faster and he's not going to get a better defence at 32 years old. He can't throw too much more, he was out on his feet at the end but he could perhaps take advantage of key moments better.
