BoxRec

Post your early predictions on who you think will win this fight.

I'm personally leaning towards a Ward shutout at the moment, his style is all wrong for Froch IMO.

Ward will win pretty easily, Froch struggled with Johnson Ward is twice as good

Ward by clear decision

Ward 117-111 in a scrappy, boring fight.

be like the taylor fight without the knockdowns.

ward will take advantage of frochs slow starting & be in close early & then on the back foot down the stretch with froch probably looking for one uppercut which wont come.

love to see froch catch him & ko him but i dont think that can happen.

Camcas wrote:Ward will win pretty easily, Froch struggled with Johnson Ward is twice as good

More relevantly, he struggled terribly with Dirrell, who Ward has a similar style to, except he fights dirtier, and can actually stand and fight.

I think Froch has realised since losing to Kessler that he has to box more and brawl less, but I don't think he is fast enough to outbox Ward, and so realistically he has to pressure him and try and force him to fight hard. Concentrating on body shots is the key for me, with a mover, you have to try and take their legs away. If Carl is going to win, it's going to be the later rounds which are likely to swing it for him, it's a gamble, but I would have thought that applying calculated pressure in the first half, probably losing the first 4 is a risk he has to take, otherwisen he risks trying and failing to outbox a superior opponent - and losing by a wide margin.

I'd love him to beat Ward, but I think Ward's style is a complete nightmare for him.

I would say a 116-112 or 117-111 in Ward's favour. Froch will have his moments, but not enough of them. Ward is a tough SOG.

I still believe Dirrell has more tools than Ward, although I think Ward is naturally stronger and has a bit more bottle and fights with more expeirence. He might not have won the Abraham fight quite as comfortably as Froch did, but I do think he tried to show something to Froch also, that he was quite prepared to let AA into punching range.

stujones wrote:I would say a 116-112 or 117-111 in Ward's favour. Froch will have his moments, but not enough of them. Ward is a tough SOG.

I still believe Dirrell has more tools than Ward, although I think Ward is naturally stronger and has a bit more bottle and fights with more expeirence. He might not have won the Abraham fight quite as comfortably as Froch did, but I do think he tried to show something to Froch also, that he was quite prepared to let AA into punching range.

Dirrell may have more tools, but he doesn't use them, he fights like a bloody coward running like the wind and throwing himself to the ground if someone gets near him.

Ward is the real deal.

jamesmcdonnell wrote:

stujones wrote:I would say a 116-112 or 117-111 in Ward's favour. Froch will have his moments, but not enough of them. Ward is a tough SOG.

I still believe Dirrell has more tools than Ward, although I think Ward is naturally stronger and has a bit more bottle and fights with more expeirence. He might not have won the Abraham fight quite as comfortably as Froch did, but I do think he tried to show something to Froch also, that he was quite prepared to let AA into punching range.

Dirrell may have more tools, but he doesn't use them, he fights like a bloody coward running like the wind and throwing himself to the ground if someone gets near him.

Ward is the real deal.

True, not disputing that... although I do think people to overate just how much he ran in the Froch fight. There were lots of rounds in which Dirrel was dictating it with the jab, while Froch was being bamboozled and doing a fencing impression. Then Froch would lunch, Dirrell would in those cases go backwards (often looking for a counter mind) but we would have Rawling having an fit about the coward that is Dirrell.

Also in the AA fight, we thankfully had the showtime team who highlighted how Dirrell was "taking it" too AA for large chunks of the fight. "he's not leaving it to interpretation this time" - as he gassed he did run more no doubt, and going to the ground is a bad trait.... but still if the ref doesn't penalise.

But yes, I would say Ward has more natural fighting heart and thats why he is world champ and Dirrell isn't, but I do think Dirrell is harder to find than Ward - playing into Froch's hands a little more.

Deno1986 wrote:Ward 117-111 in a scrappy, boring fight.

This. Unfortunately.

stujones wrote:

jamesmcdonnell wrote:

stujones wrote:I would say a 116-112 or 117-111 in Ward's favour. Froch will have his moments, but not enough of them. Ward is a tough SOG.

I still believe Dirrell has more tools than Ward, although I think Ward is naturally stronger and has a bit more bottle and fights with more expeirence. He might not have won the Abraham fight quite as comfortably as Froch did, but I do think he tried to show something to Froch also, that he was quite prepared to let AA into punching range.

Dirrell may have more tools, but he doesn't use them, he fights like a bloody coward running like the wind and throwing himself to the ground if someone gets near him.

Ward is the real deal.

True, not disputing that... although I do think people to overate just how much he ran in the Froch fight. There were lots of rounds in which Dirrel was dictating it with the jab, while Froch was being bamboozled and doing a fencing impression. Then Froch would lunch, Dirrell would in those cases go backwards (often looking for a counter mind) but we would have Rawling having an fit about the coward that is Dirrell.

Also in the AA fight, we thankfully had the showtime team who highlighted how Dirrell was "taking it" too AA for large chunks of the fight. "he's not leaving it to interpretation this time" - as he gassed he did run more no doubt, and going to the ground is a bad trait.... but still if the ref doesn't penalise.

But yes, I would say Ward has more natural fighting heart and thats why he is world champ and Dirrell isn't, but I do think Dirrell is harder to find than Ward - playing into Froch's hands a little more.

Dirrell punked out against Abraham. The play acting after he took the shot on the deck was frankly sickening, it was pathetic.

jamesmcdonnell wrote:

stujones wrote:I would say a 116-112 or 117-111 in Ward's favour. Froch will have his moments, but not enough of them. Ward is a tough SOG.

I still believe Dirrell has more tools than Ward, although I think Ward is naturally stronger and has a bit more bottle and fights with more expeirence. He might not have won the Abraham fight quite as comfortably as Froch did, but I do think he tried to show something to Froch also, that he was quite prepared to let AA into punching range.

Dirrell may have more tools, but he doesn't use them, he fights like a bloody coward running like the wind and throwing himself to the ground if someone gets near him.

Ward is the real deal.

but how good would he be if he wasn't allowed to hold and butt so often?

if he didn't fight so often in his home town, he wouldn't get away with it.

is he doing it to avoid taking that one shot that will leave him unconscious? ward was nearly KO'd as a prospect, vs i believe a journeyman.

ward is effective but he impressed me neither vs bika nor allan green (who was KO'd by glen johnson) in those horribly messy fights.

i'm hopig froch will have the physical strength to handle ward in close, if ward tries the spoiling and fouling.

I'm not completely sold on Ward and adding the fact that Froch has shown the ability to change his tactics and stick to a gameplan, i genuinely think he will bamboozle Ward and take a comfortable decision. This will be dependant on a strong ref and a strong set of judges

jamesmcdonnell wrote:

stujones wrote:

jamesmcdonnell wrote: Dirrell may have more tools, but he doesn't use them, he fights like a bloody coward running like the wind and throwing himself to the ground if someone gets near him.

Ward is the real deal.

True, not disputing that... although I do think people to overate just how much he ran in the Froch fight. There were lots of rounds in which Dirrel was dictating it with the jab, while Froch was being bamboozled and doing a fencing impression. Then Froch would lunch, Dirrell would in those cases go backwards (often looking for a counter mind) but we would have Rawling having an fit about the coward that is Dirrell.

Also in the AA fight, we thankfully had the showtime team who highlighted how Dirrell was "taking it" too AA for large chunks of the fight. "he's not leaving it to interpretation this time" - as he gassed he did run more no doubt, and going to the ground is a bad trait.... but still if the ref doesn't penalise.

But yes, I would say Ward has more natural fighting heart and thats why he is world champ and Dirrell isn't, but I do think Dirrell is harder to find than Ward - playing into Froch's hands a little more.

Dirrell punked out against Abraham. The play acting after he took the shot on the deck was frankly sickening, it was pathetic.

Given the fact he has been back in full contact sparring I do agree (although still no fight date been set). However, it wasn't a half hearted punch that Abraham threw in that moment. It still could very well have meant that he could continue. He shouldn't have done the palpatations, and it does appear obvious that was an act. But perhaps he might have still not be sufficiently recovered to continue.

Why he got himself into a position so he could be punched on the floor is an all together different question. Is it cheating? Is it gamesmanship? Would he do it if he was warned... He stopped doing it when warned in the Froch fight.

I want to be wrong about this, but I think Ward wins on wide points decision.

I'll root for Froch every day of the week, as he is the type of fighter that makes me love the sport, but I think he is too slow to beat Ward.

ALI wrote:Post your early predictions on who you think will win this fight.

I'm personally leaning towards a Ward shutout at the moment, his style is all wrong for Froch IMO.

I Fancy a similar fight to froch v taylor. hopefully same sort of finish late stoppage being behind on the scorecards. That low left hand will have to be higher or ward will pick rounds off for fun.

This fight is the first fight Ward has had way out of his comfort zone. Big venue outside of California, confident opponent, likely to be a firm ref and the pressure and hype of it being the final of the super six. Just feel Froch's greater experience can pay off for him, he'll throw the kitchen sink at Ward and stop him late on.

Ward a wide decision.
I can see Froch trying to box behind the jab and he'll never win a jabbing contest with Ward IMO, he can't try and box like he did against Abraham or Johnson or Ward will eat him up with fast combinations of the jab. His best shot to win is effective aggression working in on combinations backing Ward up and not letting himvtake ring centre or control the pace. Take Ward out of his comfort zone and we might see a different side to him. Though I think Froch could have some success with that style eventually ward will figure him out, get his boxing back together to win a clear cut decision

I see Ward dominating for a points win. Froch fights in bursts and while he's busy loading up and posturing, Ward will be popping in combinations and getting out of range. I thought Dirrell beat Froch. Carl got points for whaling in wide power shots that night, whether they were landing or not.

Ward UD12 Froch.

It looks like Ward wins in most peoples opinions and thats the way I see it too. Froch says he will walk through Wards powder puff punches and KO him. One thing is for sure Froch cannot outpoint him, so I suppose its the only chance he has. Nailing Ward wont be easy though, he is too fast.

Ward by Points!

I backed Andre at the start of the tournament, when he was the outsider. I got Odds of 12/1.

Rocky Balboa wrote:Ward by Points!

I backed Andre at the start of the tournament, when he was the outsider. I got Odds of 12/1.

Hope you'll be ensuring a good profit by putting a little bit on froch at 2/1

Syntax Error wrote:I want to be wrong about this, but I think Ward wins on wide points decision.

I'll root for Froch every day of the week, as he is the type of fighter that makes me love the sport, but I think he is too slow to beat Ward.

Could'nt have put it better myself........

It'll be interesting to see Ward fighting outside of his comfort zone in California. I reckon the best way to fight him is to be just as dirty as him. Bika tried that and ok he got beat but it was pretty effective.

freddydoesdallas wrote:

Rocky Balboa wrote:Ward by Points!

I backed Andre at the start of the tournament, when he was the outsider. I got Odds of 12/1.

Hope you'll be ensuring a good profit by putting a little bit on froch at 2/1

I backed ward at the start, got nothing like 12's though. Best way to make sure will be to lay him on betfair and then you take the draw out of the equation.