Will Ward be able to rough up Froch?

[whiskey]

It's not dirty.

I think many will disagree, just look at Kessler's face and not one wound was caused by a fist - Just like when he got caught red handed throwing an elbow into Bika's face Tony during a replay.

[ShadrachSimmo]

Is Ward getting away with all these dirty tactics just because he's fighting at home? The state of Kesslers face is a disgrace no wonder he needed eye surgery!

[mrbassie]

It's not dirty and this is were people get it wrong! It's inside fighting of the highest level! Hopkins was labelled dirty for years but it's just great inside fighting!

Hopkins is a master at getting away with fouls. He is a good inside fighter but that doesn't mean he's not dirty. Ward appears much the same.

[hurlock]

i agree it is not dirty :!:

it is clever to duck & dip exposing the top of your head for an opponent to run on to. i hate how hopkins throws his arms round a fighter then puts in sneaky punches it is far from corageous imo.

[charlieb]

The Kessler fight was a shameful display of intentional fouling and limp-wristed refereeing.

3 fights later, Ward appears to have matured into a really nasty piece of work, and I don't just mean in the sense that he's a dirty bugger, although he's certainly still that. I mean, he showed a real killer instinct against Abraham. Froch gave him the blueprint, but Ward did more than just outpoint him while neutralising his outbursts. Ward simply beat him up. It's the first time I've seen Abraham looking a truly beaten man.

If someone as technically proficient as Kessler, who could barely land a shot on him, was mugged, someone as intimidating and dangerous as Abraham was battered and someone as dirty as Bika was beaten at his own game, I struggle to see where Froch bucks the trend.

I think Ward's coming into his own, the disdain he fought Abraham with makes me worry for Froch, especially if he decides to make a fight of it. If that's the way it plays out I don't think there'll be many who still regard Ward as a light puncher. That is, unless Froch manages to catch Ward with something spiteful early enough in a round for him to just go mental ala Taylor, and get the stoppage.

I actually don't think Froch will have to worry all that much about the dirty stuff, he will if he's able to hurt Ward, but overall I'd say he needs to be more worried about Ward's offence than the rough stuff.

[IRLangmaid25]

It's not dirty and this is were people get it wrong! It's inside fighting of the highest level! Hopkins was labelled dirty for years but it's just great inside fighting! I really admire Carl Froch and have done for a long time!

I've always sung his praises and his resume is the best of any British fighter in our era! He is a tremendous fighter, however I feel the Ward fight is a step too far, I think he'll lose on points, I hope I'm wrong but styles make fights and Ward is all wrong for Froch IMHO, like I said I hope I'm wrong..

I picked Ward at the announcement of this tournament and I expected him to be in the final of it all against AA but he got found out to be a bully fighter who has no plan B were as Carl has shown more strings to his bow and really come of age, like I said though I'm gutted he's bumping into a modern dah version of B-Hop in Ward! If you watch him long enough you'll see he has been studying Hopkins and has a style based on his

Do you think it will be a tight points decision loss that Froch suffers similar to his fight with Mikkel Kessler or a wide one that Carl Froch will suffer then in AC then Bomber should your prediction come true then?.

[ALI]

It's not dirty.

I think many will disagree, just look at Kessler's face and not one wound was caused by a fist - Just like when he got caught red handed throwing an elbow into Bika's face Tony during a replay.

Not one wound caused by a fist? i dont know what fight you watched. It was like target practice for 10 rounds, Ward battering him from start to finish. Headbuts or no headbuts, the result would have been the same every time! Give the man his due and stop trying to construe the facts.

[hurlock]

anothr intresting fact is that ward is working close with the in famous victor conte.

[Asterix]

It's not dirty and this is were people get it wrong! It's inside fighting of the highest level!

No. You are wrong. Ward has clearly intentionally fouled his opponents before. You look at the slow motion replays and there's no other conclusion.

[hurlock]

It's not dirty and this is were people get it wrong! It's inside fighting of the highest level!

No. You are wrong. Ward has clearly intentionally fouled his opponents before. You look at the slow motion replays and there's no other conclusion.

so if it wasnt for his use of the head he wouldnt be were he is today????

did he win a olympic gold medal with his head

[whiskey]

I actually don't think Froch will have to worry all that much about the dirty stuff, he will if he's able to hurt Ward, but overall I'd say he needs to be more worried about Ward's offence than the rough stuff.

I didnt rate him against Abraham and he looked out gunned in the first couple of rounds.

I think Froch, then Dirrell did a better number on Abraham, who afterwards said Ward "couldn't punch for sh*t"

Not one wound caused by a fist? i dont know what fight you watched. It was like target practice for 10 rounds, Ward battering him from start to finish. Headbuts or no headbuts, the result would have been the same every time! Give the man his due and stop trying to construe the facts.

Give over. That fight occured anywhere outside of Oakland he's have been DQ'd. The referee was appalling - and of course Kessler aint gonna be at his best with two gaping holes leaking adrenalin ointment and blood into his vision.

They were not shaving cuts Ali, they burst his eyes open... both of them. For anyone to say he's a clever inside fighter is utter tosh.

He's a dirty SOB and as someone who has watched the lion's share of his career prior to the Super Six, I can confirm he was doing it back then also.. at 160.

[hurlock]

you have posted you have spoke to froch on the blower. i dont know if ur a friend or what ,but what an emotional reply gomez. your judgement is clouded here sorry.

ward has made every fight look easy :!:

[charlieb]

I didnt rate him against Abraham and he looked out gunned in the first couple of rounds.

I think Froch, then Dirrell did a better number on Abraham, who afterwards said Ward "couldn't punch for sh*t"

I'd almost forgotten about Dirrell's bout with Abraham, I guess he was the one who actually gave Froch the blueprint in the first place. I think the reason that one slips my mind is because Dirrell was unravelled by Abraham in those late rounds.

Watching Froch in there with Abraham felt more a case of "keep doing what you're doing, just don't get caught!", before heaving a sigh of relief when the final bell went. I didn't feel that nervousness for Ward in there with Abraham, if anything I felt worried for Abraham as the fight went on. Dirrell may have dazzled Abraham and put him on his arse, and Froch may have boxed exceptionally well and showed grit when he needed to, but Ward's win was more dominant. Abraham had his moments, but they were few.

Abraham's comment doesn't really surprise me to be honest, he'd just been mugged on live TV.

[whiskey]

you have posted you have spoke to froch on the blower. i dont know if ur a friend or what ,but what an emotional reply gomez. your judgement is clouded here sorry.

ward has made every fight look easy :!:

If you a fight fan and not a troll, you'd know how many headbutts / cuts Kessler has suffered in his professional career. He sustained more in one fight with Ward than his previous 41 bouts. Does that not tell you something ? Or are you hell bent to stick to your opinion without seeing that the proof in front of your face.

Let me tell you that there was 8 intentional headbutts of which Showtime's team of Tarver and Bernstein confirmed 5 definitely, with a couple out of view.

During one of the round replays against Sakio Bika, you see Bika smile at Ward as he heads to his corner, the replay shows just beforehand that Ward launches a bloody dangerous deliberate elbow into Bika's face, who just turns in time.

And if you think it's inside fighting , then you need to clarify exactly what you think that is - because mauling, hitting and holding is illegal under the unified rules of boxing.

[Asterix]

It's not dirty and this is were people get it wrong! It's inside fighting of the highest level!

No. You are wrong. Ward has clearly intentionally fouled his opponents before. You look at the slow motion replays and there's no other conclusion.

so if it wasnt for his use of the head he wouldnt be were he is today????

did he win a olympic gold medal with his head

Er, we're talking purely about fouling here, not about boxing ability. Andre Ward is obviously a fantastic boxer. However, he does foul, both with his head and with his elbows.

[Asterix]

you have posted you have spoke to froch on the blower. i dont know if ur a friend or what ,but what an emotional reply gomez. your judgement is clouded here sorry.

ward has made every fight look easy :!:

Ahhh, you obviously haven't watched Ward vs Bika. It was by no means easy.