Why Froch is Bad News for Kessler
by John Genco on Apr 19, 2010 11:24 AM EDT
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The good news for fight fans is Mikkel Kessler vs Carl Froch is one of the many match-ups in the Super Six that in-itself makes Showtime a bargain for any fan paying the dollars for the premium channel.
The good news for one time co-favorite Kessler is he's the better and bigger puncher out of the two. He also has the better and busier jab. And the striking viking is going to need to keep that jab in Froch's fache all night. If he does, it should open up the opportunity to land a few big right hands.
If Kessler can come down the middle consistently against Froch which he might, he can do some damage. But some damage is not enough against Froch. Kessler is going to need to take any opportunity to put the Cobra down by throwing caution to the wind because it's no secret which way that same wind will be blowing if Kessler loses two in a row.
No one would question Kessler's effort in his last loss against Ward, and supporters are quick to chalk it up to a bad night, but Kessler seemed to go quietly into that bad night. There was definitely frustration showing in Kessler, but there also seemed to be some acceptance. Which reinforced the acquiescence that seemed apparent in his first loss against Calzaghe. His game plan did not come together, and he was out of options.
Froch goes nowhere quietly. His game plan did not come together against Dirrell, and he reached into his bag of tricks and emptied it, dirty or clean. He even swung the bag itself a few times. He showed that he was tougher than Dirrell and was willing to do anything to win. Dirrell was better, but Froch was bitter and refused to lose.
It was like watching a pitcher who doesn't have his fastball but scuffles around and battles and still picks up a win. Or a basketball player whose outside shot is missing but keeps driving to the basket. Kessler on the other hand was like the pitcher or baller who just doesn't have it that night and stops shooting or compliantly hands the ball over in a pitching change.
A lot of what happened to Kessler versus Ward was surprising to many observers. Ward's speed and elusiveness was expected and a necessity for him to have a chance. But when the fight was brought to close quarters, Ward dominated. Ward brought it to the body better, he out in-fighted Kessler.
So, one kind of fighter (slick and fast) gave Kessler more than he could handle twice. (Calzaghe,Ward) Good news for Kessler is Froch is neither slick nor fast. Bad news is...Froch is as tough as finding a good job. If Kessler could not effectively exchange with a fiery Ward, what will he do against a fire-eater like Froch?
Mikkel better come out with the fight of his life to keep this match-up close enough for a decision to go his way. It is in Denmark after all, and those around the Super Six don't want to see a proven draw like Kessler lost to irrelevancy. That jab better land early and always. His right must be as straight as Froch's nose is crocked to give the hometown scorecards a chance.
If both of these things don't happen, this fight won't be close. Froch simply likes the fight more, he's just too tough, and Kessler just doesn't seem tough enough. Too accepting of losing, too willing wilt, too much sweet, not enough sour.
Froch is going to win the exchanges when their shoes and ears are close. On the outside where Kessler has the advantage, Froch is going to swing big. Kessler doesn't counter and just throwing the big ones seems to keep Mikkel from punching.
Froch wins this one is a split decision that shouldn't be that close. Kessler will show that he is a good boxer with a good chin and heavy hands, and he'll come to fight on Saturday. But Froch is a brute, unwilling to lose and will sellout to get there.
It is easy to imagine Kessler as friends with everybody he's ever been in the ring against. He's likely respected and admired by his peers and his community. Parents surely encourage their children to look up to him.
Conversely, Froch is most likely hated by everyone but his family. He's likely feared and secretly condemned by his peers. Parents pull their children to the other side of the street when they see Froch coming. By the tenth round Kessler is going to wish someone would have done the same for him.
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This is going to be a much different fight
than Froch’s last 2. I believe Kessler will stand his ground more and not try and stick and move as much. It will be a real gut check for both men. I believe Kessler’s fundamentals and decent jab will carry him to a late round stoppage.
I don't really see your analogy as credible to be frank
Froch fouled and got away with it, and then got a complete hometown decision. What has that got to do with refusing to lose or willing his way to wining? What do you really mean by these cliches, because all that really happened was that Froch was lucky enough to be given a win he didn’t deserve.
I get that you are making the point that Froch seemed to show some mental resolve by going to any lengths to beat Dirrell, but I actually see him allowing himself to sink to such tactics as being less deserving of praise than Kessler’s continual effort to win, and win within the rules, even when faced with the incredibly skilfull Andre Ward.
"All the time he's boxing, he's thinking. All the time he was thinking, I was hitting him." - Jack Dempsey
by Drunken cutman on Apr 19, 2010 3:41 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
retort
DC—First, thanks for reading it and for your input. You make solid points, but I do disagree a bit. I think Froch fought him dirty, yes, but not to the point of disgrace. He put himself in position to get the “hometown decision” by fighting rough and wild and taking chances.(Kessler wouldn’t) From how that fight was going, Froch’s resolve was admirable. And I don’t see it as Dirrell being robbed at all. He ran too much, too often and for minutes at a time. He had to take the belt, and he didn’t.
My piece wan’t supposed to be so much in praise of Froch, more like just pointing out the differences in the two fighters. That in my opinion will be the difference in this outcome. And…I really only used one tired cliche, and I’ll think of you everytime I begin to use another, knowing you are going to call me out.
Tuff.Gong, I you are right about Kessler’s fundamentals. He’s got a lot of advantages going in to this, and it certainly will be a gut check for him, and if the gut check doesn’t turn into a giant advantage for Froch, you’re prediction will probably look pretty good.
This could be fun
He put himself in position to get the "hometown decision" by fighting rough and wild and taking chances.
Surely a hometown decision is, by its very nature, never something actually achieved by the fighter, but rather given to them by biased or corrupt judges. I think that Froch could have fought without breaking the rules, done even worse than he did, and still have won on those cards. The only way Dirrell was going to overcome that was via knockdown or knockout, how does that show any positive quality in Froch?
Eqally, in any city outside the UK I highly doubt Froch would have gotten away with the extent of his rule breaking. He certainly won’t in Kessler’s backyard!
Froch’s resolve was admirable.
Since when has resolve been indicated by fighters allowing their frustration to get the better of them and then resorting to dirty tactics? The fighter with resolve is the one who can keep their head and adapt, within the rules, rather than sink to the bullshit we saw from Froch.
And I don’t see it as Dirrell being robbed at all. He ran too much, too often and for minutes at a time. He had to take the belt, and he didn’t.
I find this hard to defend. The whole aim of boxing is to hit and not to be hit. Did Dirrell do that a lot more than Froch? Yes.
Dirrell was, to my mind, the far better fighter that night. He “ran” a lot, but that alone is not a strong enough basis to decide that he lost a fight, Froch plodded after him, missing, getting countered, and rabbit punching to his heart’s content.
What do you actually feel Froch did to deserve that win?
As far as needing to “take” a title from someone? Seriously, what is that all about? It’s old fashioned and irrelevant. The judging for all fights should be equal, regardless of who holds a certain shiny trinket.
"All the time he's boxing, he's thinking. All the time he was thinking, I was hitting him." - Jack Dempsey
by Drunken cutman on Apr 20, 2010 11:34 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Co-sign. I saw nothing admirable in Froch’s performance, and results be damned, this is a battle between two devalued properties. Interesting for it, too, but I sure hope for Kessler’s sake than fouls intentional or otherwise don’t play a role for a second straight fight.
(I’m also not dumb enough to think they won’t.)
I got Kessler by mid-round KO in this one. He’s the better, cleaner puncher.
"Yes Gina, I am a Wise Cracker"
I have him down for a late KO
But I agree on your reasoning. Froch is really easy to hit, Kessler is good at hitting things. He also won’t gas or get robbed.
"All the time he's boxing, he's thinking. All the time he was thinking, I was hitting him." - Jack Dempsey
by Drunken cutman on Apr 20, 2010 5:14 PM EDT up reply actions
Im with you. Froch is there to be hit all night, all Kessler has to do is throw it
Mosley - UD on 1st May
I got Kessler by an epic Volbeat destruction KO in the middle rounds!
by Waldo Rastel on Apr 21, 2010 1:21 AM EDT up reply actions
It was like watching a pitcher who doesn’t have his fastball but scuffles around and battles and still picks up a win. Or a basketball player whose outside shot is missing but keeps driving to the basket.
Nah. Your way off. Situation was more like Froch got knocked out the game in the 2nd inning after allowing 8 runs and is in no position to win the game. Yet as he heads to the showers, someone comes up to him with stat sheet in hand and says let me fix that for you. The 2 innings become 6. You allowed 2 runs. Not 8. And lets turn that L into a W. That’s how Froch got his win
If a man ain't found something worth dying for. He ain't fit to live.
Not that bad
More like the first scenario, only he has a completely different strike zone than the other pitcher. It wasn’t a complete highway robbery. I know a lot of folks who are decent at scoring fights, but just focus on different areas than I do, who thought Froch won the fight, and I think a 114-113 Froch scorecard could have been reasonable if you’re scoring on aggression. I think there were 5 close rounds. What was whack is that the judges had some of the wide rounds scored the wrong way, in both directions. It’s just like the judges were completely incompetent, or they literally filled out the cards before the fight started. The cards bore little resemblance to what happened in the fight.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
fundamental differences
Froch went right up to the line and may have bent it a bit. It was the equivalent of in football playing to echo of the whistle. I don’t think he crossed any lines as Abraham just did.
I see it as a tough decision for Dirrell but not a corrupt one. I don’t think anything was given to him. I had him ahead, and before the fight I was pulling for Dirrell. But your point about Froch not being able to get away with his rough tactics is true and an astute point.
Another fundamental difference is, I separate bad decisions from hometown decisions, and from giving a champion the benefit in close rounds. I think that it is a great aspect of boxing, forcing one fighter to bring it, take more chances and create more exciting fights.
In my view it is an advantage boxing has over other sports. Yes, I know DC believes it to be old fashioned and irrelevant. DC, you probably don’t like ring card girls and want open scoring also. (kidding of course)
yes, boxing is about hitting and not getting hit. But not about running. I’m a defender of fighters like Ward or even malignaggi. The both move, but also stay in the pocket and slip and counter. You saw how much different Dirrell fought Abraham than he did Froch. In that fight he moved effectively. He didn’t run.
Also basically all the other points made are in my opinion right on. Kessler is better, as I said in my piece. But another fundamental difference is I think Froch is as tough as a guy gets, and Kessler is not. That is where he is going to win the fight. I am also aware from people I talk to, that I am one of the very few picking Froch. But I still firmly believe Froch is going to get to him.
giving a champion the benefit in close rounds. I think that it is a great aspect of boxing, forcing one fighter to bring it
I will absolutely never understand this. Why should ONE fighter be “forced” to “bring it”? Because Froch holds one of the four paper trinkets in one of 17 weight classes? There are 68 “champions” in boxing, not to mention the tons of interim titles, regular titles, super titles, and other garbage, and then the regional belts and all this other crap.
These belts, which I refuse to call “championships,” are so political in nature and so often not truly earned that I don’t get why people think this garbage should be acceptable. There MIGHT have been a time, years and years and years and years ago, when this made even the slightest bit of sense, but are you telling me that Andre Berto deserves every close round of all of his fights where he defends a belt he was HANDED by the WBC for beating Miki freaking Rodriguez? And you can’t say “well not that one, or the NABF belt, or the WBF, or the IBC, but this one,” because then you’re just saying that yes, there are a great number of completely useless, irrelevant belts that nobody cares about, which is my point, so how do I choose who’s “legit” and who isn’t, especially when it comes to the delicate balance of scoring a fight?
The fight is more important than these stupid, cheap-looking belts. The fight matters. The fight is between the fighters. The belt is a prop in the majority of these fights. Someone gets to lift Mike Jones up and call him “the champion” of the welterweight division when he beats some scrub in AC. Let them have that, but I’m not giving Mike Jones a close round just because he brought some piece of tin and leather to the ring with him that some fat suit gave him for a stepping stone fight.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Apr 21, 2010 4:23 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
something to mull
I see your and DC’s points. Thanks for your perspectives. It is great. I am always interested in what others think cause I already know what I believe, so the only way to gain real depth of thought is to be exposed to other streams of thought.
Honestly. I gonna rethink how strongly I favor the championship advantage. I think I innately accept a belt as legit or not before I give that benefit, but most likely not to the depth that I should. I still believe in it, but need have more of a clear definition who it should apply to.
I didn’t mean to seem like I was “yelling at you” or anything either — this is just a thing that gets my blood up. It’s not something that can reasonably apply to the current boxing landscape.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Apr 23, 2010 1:15 AM EDT up reply actions
I credit you for another interesting piece
I get the feeling we may be crossing words again in the future, John, and I look forward to it.
"All the time he's boxing, he's thinking. All the time he was thinking, I was hitting him." - Jack Dempsey
yeah
I might not always agree with John, but I’ll chime in and say I really appreciate these thoughtful FanPosts. This is the sort of stuff that makes our communities run.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Apr 21, 2010 6:38 PM EDT up reply actions
but are you telling me that Andre Berto deserves every close round of all of his fights where he defends a belt he was HANDED by the WBC for beating Miki freaking Rodriguez?
Ay to Rodriguez credit, no one came into the ring with cooler hair than him.
If a man ain't found something worth dying for. He ain't fit to live.
haha
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Apr 21, 2010 6:37 PM EDT up reply actions
Nailed it John
Kessler doesn’t counter and just throwing the big ones seems to keep Mikkel from punching.
Kessler just doesn’t seem tough enough. Too accepting of losing, too willing to wilt, too much sweet, not enough sour.
Bad news is…Froch is as tough as finding a good job
I see Froch forcing the kind of’ fight Kessler does not want to be in.
"Anytime you go thirty rounds with a guy, try to kill each other, and have the utmost respect for each other, no one understands that, but guys who have been to war understand it." - Micky Ward on Arturo Gatti.
I have to agree that Dirrell ran
and fell quite a bit against Froch. I also don’t think that Froch was wildly illegal in the fight; most fighters will do what they can to win until they are called on it. Froch was frustrated against Dirrell and pushed forward, albeit not too effectively. And it might be argued that everyone in this tournament is getting a little extra lean in his own back yard.
I expect Froch to wear Kessler down.
Then again, I expect the American political system to fix itself.
Zing!
What you need to do is seceede.
"All the time he's boxing, he's thinking. All the time he was thinking, I was hitting him." - Jack Dempsey
by Drunken cutman on Apr 24, 2010 4:43 PM EDT up reply actions
Secede*
"All the time he's boxing, he's thinking. All the time he was thinking, I was hitting him." - Jack Dempsey
by Drunken cutman on Apr 24, 2010 4:43 PM EDT up reply actions
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