Froch upsets Nigel Benn

[mullenman]

Froch is a legend. . Benn is over rated

[stevieb_8006]

Have you guys seen Benn on the pads recently with Hatton?

He's looking very strong/fast for a 51 year old. Good to see a retired champ looking after himself...hell, could be forgiven for thinking he was planning a comeback lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgTU-OmY-rk

That is so impressive

[danamba7]

Have you guys seen Benn on the pads recently with Hatton?

He's looking very strong/fast for a 51 year old. Good to see a retired champ looking after himself...hell, could be forgiven for thinking he was planning a comeback lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgTU-OmY-rk

That is so impressive

Yeah looking great.

[elev8]

Calzaghe beats Froch. On points if it's just before retiring (speed/engine/workrate). In Joe's prime it's a stoppage via big left.
Benn beats Froch. No question. He'd connect once guaranteed, and once would be enough.
Eubank beats Froch. Because Froch is just a poor Eubank impersonator anyway.


I honestly don't get all the Froch fanclub routine on here. He's a decent fighter, but really nothing special IMHO.

[danamba7]

Calzaghe beats Froch. On points if it's just before retiring (speed/engine/workrate). In Joe's prime it's a stoppage via big left.
Benn beats Froch. No question. He'd connect once guaranteed, and once would be enough.
Eubank beats Froch. Because Froch is just a poor Eubank impersonator anyway.


I honestly don't get all the Froch fanclub routine on here. He's a decent fighter, but really nothing special IMHO.

Hmm I don't see Joe stopping Carl with a one punch, only by a barrage of punches if at all. Would bet on Joe wide UD.

And I cant remember ever seeing Carl impersonate Eubank! Froch Benn and Froch Eubank would have been fantastic wars and I wouldn't like to predict a winner.

[elev8]

Hmm I don't see Joe stopping Carl with a one punch, only by a barrage of punches if at all. Would bet on Joe wide UD.

And I cant remember ever seeing Carl impersonate Eubank!

Sure OK... a barrage... especially nearer the end of his career (smashed left hand) but in the early days then I see him connecting with one big left which does most of the damage.

Froch... low hands... keeping still... minimal movement... drawing the jab... making the guy miss then coming back with a counter. That's all classic Eubank. Except I happen to think Eubank did it way better, and had vastly superior boxing skills with which to back it up.
Froch is durable & can land a big shot. Eubank was more durable, could also land a big shot, and had far superior boxing skills IMO.

[SNG]

Froch is a legend. . Benn is over rated

I find overrated to be overrated as a criticism these days, and tends to just be used when people have little to offer on a subject.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Hmm I don't see Joe stopping Carl with a one punch, only by a barrage of punches if at all. Would bet on Joe wide UD.

And I cant remember ever seeing Carl impersonate Eubank!

Sure OK... a barrage... especially nearer the end of his career (smashed left hand) but in the early days then I see him connecting with one big left which does most of the damage.

Froch... low hands... keeping still... minimal movement... drawing the jab... making the guy miss then coming back with a counter. That's all classic Eubank. Except I happen to think Eubank did it way better, and had vastly superior boxing skills with which to back it up.
Froch is durable & can land a big shot. Eubank was more durable, could also land a big shot, and had far superior boxing skills IMO.

Eubank also spent far too much time posing, and often just gave rounds away by doing nothing - not something Froch does.

I'd say Froch also has a better engine than Eubank.

It would have been one hell of a fight, - Eubank hit quite a bit harder with single shots, and if anyone got stopped, which is unlikely, it would be Froch as Eubank's chin was as hard as anyone's in the history of boxing.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Calzaghe beats Froch. On points if it's just before retiring (speed/engine/workrate). In Joe's prime it's a stoppage via big left.
Benn beats Froch. No question. He'd connect once guaranteed, and once would be enough.
Eubank beats Froch. Because Froch is just a poor Eubank impersonator anyway.


I honestly don't get all the Froch fanclub routine on here. He's a decent fighter, but really nothing special IMHO.

Decent??? Are you mental.

He's obviously not on the level of Ward/Mayweather - but then who is?

Decent is a term I'd apply to a clubfighter, not a multiple world champ, who has only lost twice, and that to two of the best in the division in the last 10 years, one of them who is potentially an all time great.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Calzaghe beats Froch. On points if it's just before retiring (speed/engine/workrate). In Joe's prime it's a stoppage via big left.
Benn beats Froch. No question. He'd connect once guaranteed, and once would be enough.
Eubank beats Froch. Because Froch is just a poor Eubank impersonator anyway.


I honestly don't get all the Froch fanclub routine on here. He's a decent fighter, but really nothing special IMHO.

Sorry, but no way does Benn stop Carl with one shot. Nobody does.

I think Carl would have outlasted Benn and smashed him up, Benn didn't have the greatest chin, and his stamina late in fights was suspect, mainly because he threw so many wild swings.

[danamba7]

Calzaghe beats Froch. On points if it's just before retiring (speed/engine/workrate). In Joe's prime it's a stoppage via big left.
Benn beats Froch. No question. He'd connect once guaranteed, and once would be enough.
Eubank beats Froch. Because Froch is just a poor Eubank impersonator anyway.


I honestly don't get all the Froch fanclub routine on here. He's a decent fighter, but really nothing special IMHO.

Sorry, but no way does Benn stop Carl with one shot. Nobody does.

I think Carl would have outlasted Benn and smashed him up, Benn didn't have the greatest chin, and his stamina late in fights was suspect, mainly because he threw so many wild swings.

True dat

[Switch hitter]

Think he stops Benn to be honest and would outbox Eubank pretty easily........Calzaghe would be a different matter he would be too quick

[jamesmcdonnell]

Think he stops Benn to be honest and would outbox Eubank pretty easily........Calzaghe would be a different matter he would be too quick

Don't think he'd outbox Eubank, Eubank was a very unorthodox, but skilfull boxer, but I think he would possibly have outworked him.

Calzaghe beats all of them, as time goes on, it's clear just how good Calzaghe was in his prime. Shame he pissed much of his career away defending the WBO belt against shitty mandatories really.

[Rexob]

Froch is a legend. . Benn is over rated

[Gaz_73]

Think Calzaghe outworks Froch, to be honest.

Think the Benn and Eubank Matches would be pick-em fights. They are all going the distance. For all Benn's explosiveness, If Gimenez, Galvano, Malinga , Wharton and Eubank go 12 with Benn at Supermiddle, then I'm pretty sure Froch does as well.

[Grilling Machine]

I'm a little against the tide for thinking that Calzaghe would've smoked Froch's boots into Middle-earth during his prime, but lost at the point when Froch was calling him out. Calzaghe just didn't seem to believe in himself in-between Mitchell and Lacy. The latter did his confidence the world of good, but that could've been Froch, who, contrary to Press hype, was always a much tougher proposition than Lacy. Beyond the threat of his famous-at-the-time hook, he hadn't, unlike Froch, shown a great deal to suggest he was able to cope against the grain.

Prime Eubank beats them all if he trains properly; which he rarely seemed to! So I reckon they all had a chance against him with the right timing. Eubank almost stopped Calzaghe in his apparent twilight, but then followed that with the spectacle of the first Thompson fight. People say that proves he wasn't shot, but there's the old - and I think strong - argument about him no longer draining to 168 (in fact, I remember an interview with him before Thompson 1, where he claimed to feel refreshed by the weight increase - not fatigued by it). And of course, he never regained his pre-Watson form. For me, 190 Eubank was in many ways the best version since.

Anyway, Benn-Froch, I'd pick Benn. That's a definite firefight, and Benn had the edge there. Worse chin, probably, but only if you could catch it, 'cause he was a very tricky, swaying customer, and I think Froch would've been too tardy of hand and foot to land flush. Benn wasn't the kind of guy to throw straights at until he was tired - it took coordination to set him up and find angles. McCallum would've put on a masterclass showing how to do that, I fancy.

[elev8]

Calzaghe beats Froch. On points if it's just before retiring (speed/engine/workrate). In Joe's prime it's a stoppage via big left.
Benn beats Froch. No question. He'd connect once guaranteed, and once would be enough.
Eubank beats Froch. Because Froch is just a poor Eubank impersonator anyway.


I honestly don't get all the Froch fanclub routine on here. He's a decent fighter, but really nothing special IMHO.

Decent??? Are you mental.

He's obviously not on the level of Ward/Mayweather - but then who is?

Decent is a term I'd apply to a clubfighter, not a multiple world champ, who has only lost twice, and that to two of the best in the division in the last 10 years, one of them who is potentially an all time great.

We are comparing fighters from different eras, albeit arguably subsequent eras.
Consider the time period we are talking about.... from Benn/Eubank (late 80s) through to the present day. To make the numbers easy, let's call it the last 30 years. Now consider all of the fighters to have contested at mid/supermid & fought during that period.
IMHO in that sort of company, Carl Froch is no more than decent.
Heck, in that company he's not even the best British fighter. I would argue not even top 3 Brit, so when you include the rest of the world, I'd say "decent" is a pretty fair appraisal of his abilities.

[mickey1975]

Think Calzaghe outworks Froch, to be honest.

Think the Benn and Eubank Matches would be pick-em fights. They are all going the distance. For all Benn's explosiveness, If Gimenez, Galvano, Malinga , Wharton and Eubank go 12 with Benn at Supermiddle, then I'm pretty sure Froch does as well.

Eubank and Wharton had two of the best chins ever. I don't see Froch getting stopped either. That shot he took in Groves one was better than anything Benn could land. Froch would stop Benn.

[elev8]

I'm a little against the tide for thinking that Calzaghe would've smoked Froch's boots into Middle-earth during his prime, but lost at the point when Froch was calling him out. Calzaghe just didn't seem to believe in himself in-between Mitchell and Lacy. The latter did his confidence the world of good, but that could've been Froch, who, contrary to Press hype, was always a much tougher proposition than Lacy. Beyond the threat of his famous-at-the-time hook, he hadn't, unlike Froch, shown a great deal to suggest he was able to cope against the grain.

Prime Eubank beats them all if he trains properly; which he rarely seemed to! So I reckon they all had a chance against him with the right timing. Eubank almost stopped Calzaghe in his apparent twilight, but then followed that with the spectacle of the first Thompson fight. People say that proves he wasn't shot, but there's the old - and I think strong - argument about him no longer draining to 168 (in fact, I remember an interview with him before Thompson 1, where he claimed to feel refreshed by the weight increase - not fatigued by it). And of course, he never regained his pre-Watson form. For me, 190 Eubank was in many ways the best version since.

Anyway, Benn-Froch, I'd pick Benn. That's a definite firefight, and Benn had the edge there. Worse chin, probably, but only if you could catch it, 'cause he was a very tricky, swaying customer, and I think Froch would've been too tardy of hand and foot to land flush. Benn wasn't the kind of guy to throw straights at until he was tired - it took coordination to set him up and find angles. McCallum would've put on a masterclass showing how to do that, I fancy.

Great post
I too wondered what was going on with Joe at times around the Mitchell/Lacy period. Had only thought maybe it was to do with him making the adjustment to fight more tactically, out-work & out-point opponents rather than rolling them over like he used to. I think he comfortably outpoints Froch with craft, speed & workrate. Even at the end of his career.
Interesting you said you think Eubank trained properly only rarely. To me, he was a fighter who always looked in incredible nick.
Calzaghe is on record as saying Eubank was his toughest fight. Wasn't it also the Eubank fight where he broke his left hand? Joe was in his prime, Eubank was in his twilight and also (lest we forget) took that fight at ridiculously short notice. I agree with you 100%, in his prime Eubank beats them all.
What happened in the Watson fight was a terrible shame for lots of reasons of course, but not least because it altered the course of Eubank's career. He still achieved greatness, but IMO we will never know just how great he could have been, because of what happened v Watson.

[Boxerbeetle]

Anyone see Fat Dan & Froch have a Twitter argument over the weekend? Pretty funny - Carl tweeted a pic of himself saying he was too big & strong for GGG; Dan replied saying he should put his money where his mouth is. There was a bit of banter back and forth with Carl saying it wasn't as easy as that due to money/politics etc, Dan responded saying Calzaghe would have stepped up to face GGG

Can't work out if Rafael was serious or not with that one - Calzaghe had many great attributes, but constantly seeking out the toughest challenges was certainly not one of them.

[danamba7]

Calzaghe beats Froch. On points if it's just before retiring (speed/engine/workrate). In Joe's prime it's a stoppage via big left.
Benn beats Froch. No question. He'd connect once guaranteed, and once would be enough.
Eubank beats Froch. Because Froch is just a poor Eubank impersonator anyway.


I honestly don't get all the Froch fanclub routine on here. He's a decent fighter, but really nothing special IMHO.

Decent??? Are you mental.

He's obviously not on the level of Ward/Mayweather - but then who is?

Decent is a term I'd apply to a clubfighter, not a multiple world champ, who has only lost twice, and that to two of the best in the division in the last 10 years, one of them who is potentially an all time great.

We are comparing fighters from different eras, albeit arguably subsequent eras.
Consider the time period we are talking about.... from Benn/Eubank (late 80s) through to the present day. To make the numbers easy, let's call it the last 30 years. Now consider all of the fighters to have contested at mid/supermid & fought during that period.
IMHO in that sort of company, Carl Froch is no more than decent.
Heck, in that company he's not even the best British fighter. I would argue not even top 3 Brit, so when you include the rest of the world, I'd say "decent" is a pretty fair appraisal of his abilities.

I think you underrate Froch. He's mixed with the best in a decent era for the SMW division. I think he'd mix it 30 years ago too without being the stand-out best. I don't see how you can look though his fights and achievements and call him decent.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Anyone see Fat Dan & Froch have a Twitter argument over the weekend? Pretty funny - Carl tweeted a pic of himself saying he was too big & strong for GGG; Dan replied saying he should put his money where his mouth is. There was a bit of banter back and forth with Carl saying it wasn't as easy as that due to money/politics etc, Dan responded saying Calzaghe would have stepped up to face GGG

Can't work out if Rafael was serious or not with that one - Calzaghe had many great attributes, but constantly seeking out the toughest challenges was certainly not one of them.

That's encouraging, as it sounds like there's some kind of negotiations going on.

[davie]

Sorry, but no way does Benn stop Carl with one shot. Nobody does.

There's nobody out there who can't be stopped.
You get good chins, bad chins and great chins but everyone can get levelled by the right punch at the right time. Particularly if that punch comes from someone as heavy handed as a prime Nige

Carl has a great chin and I'd fancy him to see the final bell against Benn but "no way does Benn stop Carl with one shot. Nobody does." Is a bold statement

[jamesmcdonnell]

Sorry, but no way does Benn stop Carl with one shot. Nobody does.

There's nobody out there who can't be stopped.
You get good chins, bad chins and great chins but everyone can get levelled by the right punch at the right time. Particularly if that punch comes from someone as heavy handed as a prime Nige

Carl has a great chin and I'd fancy him to see the final bell against Benn but "no way does Benn stop Carl with one shot. Nobody does." Is a bold statement

It is a bold statement. But one I stand by. I'm sure Nige could have floored him, or stopped him with an accumulation of shots, but not hit him once and knocked him spark out.

There are guys who just can't be stopped with just one big shot - McCall for instance, I can't imagine how hard you'd have to hit him to stop him, given that Lewis hit him with his biggest shots and barely made him blink - and for my money, Lewis's right cross is the hardest punch I've ever seen in the heavyweight division. Mind you, I suppose being high as the Mir space station probably helped.

[davie]

There's nobody out there who can't be stopped.
You get good chins, bad chins and great chins but everyone can get levelled by the right punch at the right time. Particularly if that punch comes from someone as heavy handed as a prime Nige

Carl has a great chin and I'd fancy him to see the final bell against Benn but "no way does Benn stop Carl with one shot. Nobody does." Is a bold statement

It is a bold statement. But one I stand by. I'm sure Nige could have floored him, or stopped him with an accumulation of shots, but not hit him once and knocked him spark out.

There are guys who just can't be stopped with just one big shot - McCall for instance, I can't imagine how hard you'd have to hit him to stop him, given that Lewis hit him with his biggest shots and barely made him blink - and for my money, Lewis's right cross is the hardest punch I've ever seen in the heavyweight division. Mind you, I suppose being high as the Mir space station probably helped.

We'll have to agree to disagree, I reckon anyone who hasn't been stopped has just never been hit perfectly