Well what an eventful two weeks and more importantly what a disappointing way to end the year as a British fight fan. After the controversy of Amir Khan’s loss to home town hero Lamont Peterson last week in Washington, it was the turn of the hard punching warrior from Nottingham to put his WBC title on the line.
Carl Froch met fellow Super Middleweight champion Andre Ward at the Boardwalk hall in Atlantic city. Prior to the fight Froch had been confident about his ability to hunt Ward down and punish him, at the weigh in he was noticeably more relaxed than Ward who appeared very uptight. Even up to the ring walk Carl had the aura of a man who thought he was going to win. However once the first bell rang it was all Andre Ward! I really respect Carl Froch as a fight and he has that warrior spirit which is rare in an era of holding and complaining to the referee, Ward though simply outclassed him. He was able to pick his shots and confused Froch with his blinding hand speed. From about the third round onwards Ward was roughing up Froch on the inside, a tactic usually employed by Froch himself. The pattern of the fight continued with Ward outworking Froch and bullying him up close. In the later rounds Ward began to look tired but Froch could not capitalise on this and instead he continued to plod after his opponent in a one dimensional fashion. The shots he did throw were telegraphed and failed to land cleanly. As the bell rang for the final round Carl finally showed signs of urgency and upped his work rate on the now tired American. Unfortunately though his efforts were too little too late and when the final bell sounded a dejected Carl Froch knew that it was all over.
The frustrating thing as a Carl Froch fan is that at times his work rate is just so low and he does not seem to be able to adapt to differing fight situations. Up until this point in his career he has been able to survive with a combination of power and determination, but I am afraid to say that at elite level these are not enough. I think that if he fought the remaining title holder Lucien Bute then we would see a very similar result to the one in Atlantic city. Froch just simply cannot deal with slick fighters in a way that makes him look good, I think it really is an adapt or fail conundrum for the future of his career from here on.
As for Andre Ward, there are those who are now touting him as one of the best Super Middleweights ever. I think this is far too soon to be proclaiming him as one of the all time greats as he has a long way to go. Anyone with a good knowledge of boxing could have predicted that his style would nullify Froch, I think that possibly after a Bute unification fight and another stern test then we will be in a better position to judge his abilities. One thing is clear in my mind and that is that a prime Joe Calzaghe would have been more than a match for any of the current crop of Super Middleweights.
And now there is one champion left on these shores, lets hope that Nathan Cleverly can hold onto his title a little while longer yet! Roll on 2012
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