Michael Watson v Carl Froch

[Roco]

Who do you think would have taken this one?

[Crease]

I'd like to see more of Froch before answering this one.

But I dopn't think Carl gets the credit he deserves.

[Ezzard]

Watson the better boxer. Froch has the physical advantages.

Considering weigh in times and weight difference Watson would start as the under dog here.

[Counter-puncher]

I'm not so sure, Ezzard, Watson was a very very solid 168lber himself, and Froch according to Gomez on the british board doesn't enter the ring or walk around (when fit) weighing much more than 168lbs himself.

i think the style match suits Watson quite well. he won't be bullying Froch about much, but neither will he be there for Froch to bully, just enough movement and way way too much guile/brains. he hasn't got the length of Froch but has a more consistent jab and commits to it more. Watson has the better punch variety and technique, without a doubt in my mind. he's a man that managed to throw an uppercut without bringing it from his toelaces, which is a novelty in a Froch fight. He's got the chin to stand up to Froch's punches for a prolonged period, though i would have to wonder if he could catch one late and get taken out.

i think the key would be whether or not Watson stands and waits on Froch (a la eubank 1). if he does, we've seen Froch impose his will on people who let him back them up. Conversely, the insanely-motivated Watson who put Eubank into a world of hell in the second fight, if he tried to back Froch up with consistent workrate- and, crucially, the debilitating body attack which had Eubank staggering, and with which Kessler took a great deal of Froch's energy- i think he could shade a 7-5 type win.

i think whichever man commits to going forward takes exactly that kind of 7-5 decision and wouldn't count either result out, but Froch is the only man scoring a stoppage here IMO.

nice match

[Ezzard]

I'm not so sure, Ezzard, Watson was a very very solid 168lber himself, and Froch according to Gomez on the british board doesn't enter the ring or walk around (when fit) weighing much more than 168lbs himself.

i think the style match suits Watson quite well. he won't be bullying Froch about much, but neither will he be there for Froch to bully, just enough movement and way way too much guile/brains. he hasn't got the length of Froch but has a more consistent jab and commits to it more. Watson has the better punch variety and technique, without a doubt in my mind. he's a man that managed to throw an uppercut without bringing it from his toelaces, which is a novelty in a Froch fight. He's got the chin to stand up to Froch's punches for a prolonged period, though i would have to wonder if he could catch one late and get taken out.

i think the key would be whether or not Watson stands and waits on Froch (a la eubank 1). if he does, we've seen Froch impose his will on people who let him back them up. Conversely, the insanely-motivated Watson who put Eubank into a world of hell in the second fight, if he tried to back Froch up with consistent workrate- and, crucially, the debilitating body attack which had Eubank staggering, and with which Kessler took a great deal of Froch's energy- i think he could shade a 7-5 type win.

i think whichever man commits to going forward takes exactly that kind of 7-5 decision and wouldn't count either result out, but Froch is the only man scoring a stoppage here IMO.

nice match

Nice assessment. Not sure though that there still isn't a descrepancy on size.

A proper ol school Britsh fight. I imagine Watson winning the rounds but losing the war.


and I agree on the uppercut.

[Bricks]

I'd like to see more of Froch before answering this one.

But I dopn't think Carl gets the credit he deserves.

C'mon mate Froch is nearly 33 how much more of him do we need to see before we know what we are getting.

Froch is a world class operator who sumarrily gets dismissed as slow and lacking in skills by people who dont understand boxing. They forget Froch was a very good amateur he won a world championship bronze medal. His hands and feet are very slow by any standards but he makes up for it with reflexes as sharp as almost any in the sport, and very underrated power and ability to ride with shots and take their power away and counter sharply. His main strength is his adept countering using this style , even when it seems to the layman he is plodding forward. What we know about Froch in a nutshell is he would fit in right away with the Benn-Eubanks-Collins-Watson era both in terms of exciting style and temprament.

Watson sadly had his career ended barely after his 26th birthday. Undoubtedly he would have made as huge a improvement as Benn did after he lost to Eubanks and gone on to be a world champion.

Watson had the kind of clever stand up european boxing style that tends to improve as the fighter reaches his late 20's and gets some added nous to go with it.

But basing this purely on say the Watson of 1990-91 that we did see and the Froch we have seen........a see a war not too disimilar to the eubanks-watson fights, with it possibly going every way in a very close fight. I probably shade Watson to do it.

Forgetting the whats and whys Watson has already shown himself already to be a world champion outside the ring.