ARTHUR ABRAHAM vs. CARL FROCH SET FOR OCT. 2 IN MONACO

[HS Press]

Pivotal Group Stage 3 Bout Lands On Neutral Ground In Coastal Principality Bordering France

NEW YORK (July 15, 2010)–Following weeks of intense negotiations, SHOWTIME Sports® is proud to announce that Hennessy Sports and Sauerland Event—the promotional outlets for world-class super middleweight boxers Carl Froch and Arthur Abraham—have agreed to a location for their fighters’ crucial Super Six World Boxing Classic bout.

On Saturday, Oct. 2, in the capital city/state of Monaco, Abraham and Froch will meet at the Chapiteau de l’Espace Fontvieille for their pivotal Group Stage 3 match up in the boxing tournament that has ignited the industry. The bout will be televised on SHOWTIME® at 9 p.m. ET/PT (same day delay). The fight will also be televised live on UK TV from approximately 10pm.

Hennessy Sports and Sauerland Event are currently working with Principality officials in Monaco to finalize all the necessary authorizations for this event as they expect it to be one of the biggest fights in the history of the region. The Principality of Monaco is situated on the Mediterranean Sea in the south west area of Europe, some 1,400 km from Abraham’s home in Berlin and over 1,000 km from Froch’s native Nottingham, England.

“The intensity of the selection process for this venue speaks to the enormity of the moment created by the Super Six World Boxing Classic,” said Ken Hershman, Executive Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports. “All the fighters in the tournament have set out to prove that they are the world’s best at 168-pounds by fighting their peers—the most dangerous men in the division—fight after fight. Any perceived advantage or disadvantage has been calculated.

“To the credit of all involved, each hurdle has been cleared and the Super Six World Boxing Classic now marches on toward a thrilling conclusion.”

This bout is the last of the Super Six Group Stage matches. Following Abraham vs. Froch, the four fighters with the highest point totals on the Super Six scoreboard will advance to the semi-finals, tentatively slated for the first quarter 2011.

Froch (26-1, 20 KOs) is coming off a hard-fought unanimous decision loss, the first of his career, to Mikkel Kessler on April 24. That night, during the post-fight press conference, Wilfried, and his son Kalle Sauerland and Mick Hennessy began publicly disputing the venue selection for the Abraham vs. Froch contest. At the time, Abraham (31-1, 25 KOs) held the tournament lead with three points by virtue of his KO win over Jermain Taylor in Group Stage 1, but was out boxed and ultimately disqualified in his Group Stage 2 bout versus Andre Dirrell for the first loss of his career. Froch remains tied at the moment with Kessler and Dirrell at two points.
“I cannot wait to get back in the ring,” said Abraham. “I am thrilled that the date and the venue have been set. I must admit that the disqualification against Dirrell still haunts me. Only a victory over Froch can put my mind at rest. I was ringside when he fought against Kessler and I must say I was impressed with both men. They really fought their hearts out. Froch is a hell of a fighter, but so am I. This will be the biggest, the most important fight of my career, and I will put on a special performance to please the boxing fans in Monaco, France, Germany, England, America and all over the world.”

"I'm training hard already for 'King' Arthur,” said Froch from his training centre in Sheffield. “I respect what the man brings to the table, but I'm going out there to knock Abraham's crown right into Kalle's lap,” he added in response to Sauerland’s bold predictions on the outcome of this fight.

"Make no mistake about it, I fully appreciate the threat that Abraham presents to me in this fight. Whenever two warriors go into battle there will be bloodshed. But there will be only one victor in Monaco and that will be The Cobra," Froch concluded.

The Sauerlands are filled with anticipation. “The Super Six tournament has been outstanding thus far,” said Kalle. “We’ve had so much drama and so many high-class fights. Kessler versus Froch was as good as it gets but believe me, Abraham-Froch will be even better. It’s win or go home! I honestly can’t see this going the distance. I have a lot of respect for Froch as a fighter but I think that his style is tailor-made for Abraham. The King will knock The Cobra out – no doubt about that. The only question is in which round.”

Hennessy also expects a toe-to-toe war and believes the Englishman will come out victorious inside the distance “This is a mouth-watering match up against two of the best and toughest fighters in the game,” Hennessy said. “If you thought Carl’s last fight against Kessler was epic just wait for Froch vs. Abraham. This has all of the ingredients to be the fight of the decade.

“I have a lot of respect for Arthur in and outside of the ring, but unfortunately on the 2nd October he will come up against a highly driven and fully motivated Carl Froch. When Carl’s is in that sort of mode he will prove he is the best of the best and will secure three points for a knockout win, showing the world once again that he is a very special fighter.”

The Super Six World Boxing Classic continues on Saturday, Sept. 25, when SHOWTIME will present a world championship doubleheader to kick off Group Stage 3—the final Group Stage of the round-robin portion of the tournament. First, Kessler will look to lock up a semi-final berth with a win over Allan Green. Kessler is making the first defense of his second world title, the WBC 168-pound strap he wrested from Carl Froch. Green is desperate for a win to have a shot at the semi finals. He may need a knockout and/or help from his fellow competitors to earn one of the four spots.

Immediately following, live on SHOWTIME, Andre Ward will face 2004 U.S. Olympic teammate and friend Andre Dirrell in what promises to be a dramatic affair. Ward has already locked up his semi-final berth as the only contestant to win both of his initial Group Stage matches. But, make no mistake, Ward promises a fierce defense of his WBA world championship belt and undefeated professional record. Dirrell, on the other hand, needs a win to guarantee his place in the semis. Conceivably, Dirrell could get in with two points but he would need help from Green and/or Abraham.

[Coco]

HS have let Froch down badly by not securing home advantage. However it is a great location, I quite fancy the trip,I think it will be a great fight

[Robnorton]

Good compromise venue which will make everyone a lot of money !

[markp]

Glad its set in stone. Froch is up against it here bigtime against arthur. This isnt pascal, dirrell or taylor power. This is another level entirely and abraham will have no problems going to war and will have few problems landing on frochs chin.

[jameswilson]

HS have let Froch down badly by not securing home advantage. However it is a great location, I quite fancy the trip,I think it will be a great fight

HS have done fornicating well to make sure the fight isn't in Germany. The number of eejits who were giving it the 'ohhhh Froch doesnt have a title, Abraham fills billion seat stadiums in Germany the fight will be there blah dee blah' have gone strangely quiet on the venue subject.

This is however going to be an extremely tough fight for Froch. All the jokers who are making out like the loss to Kessler is some huge exposure are over-reacting, these guys were predicting Kessler would thoroughly outbox Froch and some were predicting late stoppages etc. Lets get it right Froch isn't the Worlds greatest ever fighter and as a big fan and vocal supporter of his I'v never said he is that, but what he is, is a World class Supermiddleweight who has convincingly beaten several World class opponents in, at times, difficult circumstances. All of this 'ohhhhh his power isnt that good, his chin isnt that good, his fitness isnt that good' bollocks he lost one fight, didnt take a pounding in it and now has a chance to do something special, if he goes and wins this fight I hope the knockers have the decency to come on and say they were wrong and give Froch his respect, sadly I reckon some will go very quiet.

Abraham is tough as hell but work rate seems to be his weakness, he just sits and covers up for long periods in rounds so it could end up being a case of Froch landing less tidy shots more frequently and Abraham landing the eye catching shots for short periods in each round. Which way it goes Ill be intrigued to see.

[Terrrrry]

Might pop over there for this.

Anybody got any idea of what the ticket prices (for the fight/venue) will be like?

[whiskey]

Might pop over there for this.

Anybody got any idea of what the ticket prices (for the fight/venue) will be like?

http://www.livefight.com/boxingforum/in ... d,3.0.html some Monaco bits at the top.

Luton to Nice is £55 return.

The venue is in the Fontevieille bay area :-

[whicker]

Well, it's an ace venue!!

[Poncey]

However it is a great location, I quite fancy the trip,I think it will be a great fight

x2

[bigjack]

HS have let Froch down badly by not securing home advantage. However it is a great location, I quite fancy the trip,I think it will be a great fight

HS have done effing well to make sure the fight isn't in Germany. The number of eejits who were giving it the 'ohhhh Froch doesnt have a title, Abraham fills billion seat stadiums in Germany the fight will be there blah dee blah' have gone strangely quiet on the venue subject.
This is however going to be an extremely tough fight for Froch. All the jokers who are making out like the loss to Kessler is some huge exposure are over-reacting, these guys were predicting Kessler would thoroughly outbox Froch and some were predicting late stoppages etc. Lets get it right Froch isn't the Worlds greatest ever fighter and as a big fan and vocal supporter of his I'v never said he is that, but what he is, is a World class Supermiddleweight who has convincingly beaten several World class opponents in, at times, difficult circumstances. All of this 'ohhhhh his power isnt that good, his chin isnt that good, his fitness isnt that good' bollocks he lost one fight, didnt take a pounding in it and now has a chance to do something special, if he goes and wins this fight I hope the knockers have the decency to come on and say they were wrong and give Froch his respect, sadly I reckon some will go very quiet.

Abraham is tough as hell but work rate seems to be his weakness, he just sits and covers up for long periods in rounds so it could end up being a case of Froch landing less tidy shots more frequently and Abraham landing the eye catching shots for short periods in each round. Which way it goes Ill be intrigued to see.

He will still cry like a baby when he gets beat and says the fight should have been in Nottingham not abroad

[Coco]

HS have let Froch down badly by not securing home advantage. However it is a great location, I quite fancy the trip,I think it will be a great fight

HS have done effing well to make sure the fight isn't in Germany. The number of eejits who were giving it the 'ohhhh Froch doesnt have a title, Abraham fills billion seat stadiums in Germany the fight will be there blah dee blah' have gone strangely quiet on the venue subject.

This is however going to be an extremely tough fight for Froch. All the jokers who are making out like the loss to Kessler is some huge exposure are over-reacting, these guys were predicting Kessler would thoroughly outbox Froch and some were predicting late stoppages etc. Lets get it right Froch isn't the Worlds greatest ever fighter and as a big fan and vocal supporter of his I'v never said he is that, but what he is, is a World class Supermiddleweight who has convincingly beaten several World class opponents in, at times, difficult circumstances. All of this 'ohhhhh his power isnt that good, his chin isnt that good, his fitness isnt that good' bollocks he lost one fight, didnt take a pounding in it and now has a chance to do something special, if he goes and wins this fight I hope the knockers have the decency to come on and say they were wrong and give Froch his respect, sadly I reckon some will go very quiet.

Abraham is tough as hell but work rate seems to be his weakness, he just sits and covers up for long periods in rounds so it could end up being a case of Froch landing less tidy shots more frequently and Abraham landing the eye catching shots for short periods in each round. Which way it goes Ill be intrigued to see.

Apparently it was a done deal to be in Nottingham before the tournament started untill Hennessy realised a handshake was not a water tight contract.
I have criticised Hennessy many times on this forum but not Froch, his style of fighting along with his willingness to fight all comers, especially when he is not getting the advantages are a breath of fesh air a la Haye

[crusader]

HS have let Froch down badly by not securing home advantage. However it is a great location, I quite fancy the trip,I think it will be a great fight

HS have done effing well to make sure the fight isn't in Germany. The number of eejits who were giving it the 'ohhhh Froch doesnt have a title, Abraham fills billion seat stadiums in Germany the fight will be there blah dee blah' have gone strangely quiet on the venue subject.

This is however going to be an extremely tough fight for Froch. All the jokers who are making out like the loss to Kessler is some huge exposure are over-reacting, these guys were predicting Kessler would thoroughly outbox Froch and some were predicting late stoppages etc. Lets get it right Froch isn't the Worlds greatest ever fighter and as a big fan and vocal supporter of his I'v never said he is that, but what he is, is a World class Supermiddleweight who has convincingly beaten several World class opponents in, at times, difficult circumstances. All of this 'ohhhhh his power isnt that good, his chin isnt that good, his fitness isnt that good' bollocks he lost one fight, didnt take a pounding in it and now has a chance to do something special, if he goes and wins this fight I hope the knockers have the decency to come on and say they were wrong and give Froch his respect, sadly I reckon some will go very quiet.

I doubt it.

There were also many people who thought Froch would beat Kessler and if you search up some old threads, many people predicted he would easily stop Dirrell and Taylor, some people even thought he would win those fights in just two rounds. Froch was very overrated (at least on this board) prior to fighting Kessler and recieved a lot of respect when he was winning.

When a fighter loses people typically overreact and come to early and usually false conclusions ("a fighter is only as good as his last fight"). If Froch beats Abraham, I think we will see many more of the "Froch will smash him" predictions that were so prolific in the past, I don't think most people will go silent if he starts winning again.

[markp]

HS have let Froch down badly by not securing home advantage. However it is a great location, I quite fancy the trip,I think it will be a great fight

HS have done effing well to make sure the fight isn't in Germany. The number of eejits who were giving it the 'ohhhh Froch doesnt have a title, Abraham fills billion seat stadiums in Germany the fight will be there blah dee blah' have gone strangely quiet on the venue subject.

This is however going to be an extremely tough fight for Froch. All the jokers who are making out like the loss to Kessler is some huge exposure are over-reacting, these guys were predicting Kessler would thoroughly outbox Froch and some were predicting late stoppages etc. Lets get it right Froch isn't the Worlds greatest ever fighter and as a big fan and vocal supporter of his I'v never said he is that, but what he is, is a World class Supermiddleweight who has convincingly beaten several World class opponents in, at times, difficult circumstances. All of this 'ohhhhh his power isnt that good, his chin isnt that good, his fitness isnt that good' bollocks he lost one fight, didnt take a pounding in it and now has a chance to do something special, if he goes and wins this fight I hope the knockers have the decency to come on and say they were wrong and give Froch his respect, sadly I reckon some will go very quiet.

I doubt it.

There were also many people who thought Froch would beat Kessler and if you search up some old threads, many people predicted he would easily stop Dirrell and Taylor, some people even thought he would win those fights in just two rounds. Froch was very overrated (at least on this board) prior to fighting Kessler and recieved a lot of respect when he was winning.

When a fighter loses people typically overreact and come to early and usually false conclusions ("a fighter is only as good as his last fight"). If Froch beats Abraham, I think we will see many more of the "Froch will smash him" predictions that were so prolific in the past, I don't think most people will go silent if he starts winning again.

Very true. There is always an overreaction when a fighter loses. I remember on here after Kessler lost to Ward someone (i think mickey1975) posted "Froch will now beat the shell of Kessler".

When fighters lose, it's mostly down to style of fighting. Take Green vs Ward for instance. Green was outclassed for 12 rounds and forced to fight on the inside where he was no match for Ward. Now he gets to fight Kessler and its a completely different ballgame entirely. He can fight from distance and with his massive power, we could quite easily see him beat Kessler.

[mickey1975]

What i meant was,his victory after Ward had hammered him would have been seriously discredited.Kessler did look shot.That means,either Ward is very,very good,Kessler has great "bouncebackability",or,Froch is even worse than the shell of Kessler!

[markp]

What i meant was,his victory after Ward had hammered him would have been seriously discredited.Kessler did look shot.That means,either Ward is very,very good,Kessler has great "bouncebackability",or,Froch is even worse than the shell of Kessler!

Kessler didn't look shot at all. He was beaten by the craftier man who tied him up and made the fight his fight. Ward made sure the fight happened on the inside, which Kessler doesn't like. Ward will do the same to Dirrell. When a fighter loses, it doesn't mean he's "shot".

[whicker]

I have criticised Hennessy many times on this forum but not Froch, his style of fighting along with his willingness to fight all comers, especially when he is not getting the advantages are a breath of fesh air a la Haye

Thats certainly true- Froch hasn't shyed away from tough opponents.

He could have had a long World Title reign if he had been given the sort of opponents guys like Hatton and Calzaghe often faced at "World" level.

[Jesus]

I have criticised Hennessy many times on this forum but not Froch, his style of fighting along with his willingness to fight all comers, especially when he is not getting the advantages are a breath of fesh air a la Haye

Thats certainly true- Froch hasn't shyed away from tough opponents.

He could have had a long World Title reign if he had been given the sort of opponents guys like Hatton and Calzaghe often faced at "World" level.

i have to agree....have hatton or calzaghe had a 4 fight run as tough as frochs last 4 fights? froch has already fought more tougher competition then calzaghe did his entire career....

[jameswilson]

HS have let Froch down badly by not securing home advantage. However it is a great location, I quite fancy the trip,I think it will be a great fight

HS have done effing well to make sure the fight isn't in Germany. The number of eejits who were giving it the 'ohhhh Froch doesnt have a title, Abraham fills billion seat stadiums in Germany the fight will be there blah dee blah' have gone strangely quiet on the venue subject.

This is however going to be an extremely tough fight for Froch. All the jokers who are making out like the loss to Kessler is some huge exposure are over-reacting, these guys were predicting Kessler would thoroughly outbox Froch and some were predicting late stoppages etc. Lets get it right Froch isn't the Worlds greatest ever fighter and as a big fan and vocal supporter of his I'v never said he is that, but what he is, is a World class Supermiddleweight who has convincingly beaten several World class opponents in, at times, difficult circumstances. All of this 'ohhhhh his power isnt that good, his chin isnt that good, his fitness isnt that good' bollocks he lost one fight, didnt take a pounding in it and now has a chance to do something special, if he goes and wins this fight I hope the knockers have the decency to come on and say they were wrong and give Froch his respect, sadly I reckon some will go very quiet.

Abraham is tough as hell but work rate seems to be his weakness, he just sits and covers up for long periods in rounds so it could end up being a case of Froch landing less tidy shots more frequently and Abraham landing the eye catching shots for short periods in each round. Which way it goes Ill be intrigued to see.

Apparently it was a done deal to be in Nottingham before the tournament started untill Hennessy realised a handshake was not a water tight contract.
I have criticised Hennessy many times on this forum but not Froch, his style of fighting along with his willingness to fight all comers, especially when he is not getting the advantages are a breath of fesh air a la Haye

Fair enough, obviously I wasn't pointing the finger at yourself with regards being someone who has over-reacted now Froch has lost. Some good debate going on in this thread so far.

Crusader I think there will be some quiet people. There will be some over-reactions either way, I think it is easy to look at Abraham as some kind of irresistable force, but lets have it right he has his weaknesses. He doesn't work hard right the way through a round and thus I think his fitness late on may be an issue if Carl can pressure him and not get walloped. Carl has been easy to hit but he has been easy to hit by big Supermiddleweights and Abraham is 5ft10 and not long up from Middleweight. There is gonna be some exerting of force from both guys not just 1 in this fight and seeing who deals with it is intriguing me a lot.

[RLewis]

Might pop over there for this.

Anybody got any idea of what the ticket prices (for the fight/venue) will be like?

Venue is just under 4,000 capacity. It's designed like a circus tent.

[chris s]

Might pop over there for this.

Anybody got any idea of what the ticket prices (for the fight/venue) will be like?

Venue is just under 4,000 capacity. It's designed like a circus tent.

won't sell out unless Berlin's armenian population flock there. Great fight but in a place that has no boxing history. So much for the super six being for the fans.

How the f*** can fans afford a weekend in such an expensive place however cheap flights are.

[Deno1986]

My sister lives in Nice so this is a perfect excuse to go visit her. If people are travelling it is much cheaper to fly into and stay in Nice. There is a bus that runs from Nice to Monaco and it is only a few euro. Monaco is far too expensive to be spending a weekend in.

[gobbles]

Actually, in what is essentially out of/late season, there should be plenty of hotels that aren't too expensive, while there are a few towns just outside Monaco that would be a short cab ride away.

[Bomber 1]

Apparently it was a done deal to be in Nottingham before the tournament started untill Hennessy realised a handshake was not a water tight contract.
I have criticised Hennessy many times on this forum but not Froch, his style of fighting along with his willingness to fight all comers, especially when he is not getting the advantages are a breath of fesh air a la Haye

Exactly, A handshake deal is just not good enough when you are representing one of the best super middleweights on the planet!! Ask yourself this, Do you think Goosen,Shaw,Sauerland or Dibella would have dome the same thing???

[orbtastic]

They've staged a fair bit of high profile boxing before in Monaco, no?

[Counter-puncher]

They've staged a fair bit of high profile boxing before in Monaco, no?

Chavez - Rocky Lockridge in 85 or whatever may be the last time though