Froch-Abraham signed for October 2 in Monte Carlo

by Scott Christ on Jul 16, 2010 3:09 AM EDT in Boxing News Analysis

Arthur Abraham will meet Carl Froch on October 2 in Monaco. (Photo by Tom Maelsa/Getty Images)

Dan Rafael of ESPN.com reports that negotiations have finally settled and a deal has been struck for the Super Six World Boxing Classic fight between Carl Froch and Arthur Abraham. The two, who both refused to fight in the other's backyard, will clash on October 2 in Monte Carlo, Monaco.

Both are, as you'd expect, promising victory, and both need it not only to ensure that they'll be in the elimination rounds of the Super Six (though Abraham could advance even if he loses), but to rebound from the first loss of each man's career. Abraham lost a disqualification against Andre Dirrell in Detroit in his last bout, and Carl Froch dropped a decision to Mikkel Kessler in Denmark.

This will be the first fight of the tournament held at a neutral site. The dispute over a site for the bout had raged since both men were done with their stage two fights, as Froch and his promoter Mick Hennessey felt they had an agreement to fight in England, but Abraham and Kalle Sauerland argued that they'd never agreed to anything of the sort. Many neutral site ideas were knocked around, including the United States, but Monte Carlo is more or less in the middle of their two home countries, meaning that hopefully, they'll both bring their fans.

In other third stage action, Andre Ward will meet Andre Dirrell, tentatively set for September 25, and Mikkel Kessler faces Allan Green, with that date yet to be determined.

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Froch has had 48 hard fought rounds on the trot. That must have dented his resilience, I want to see how well he can take heavy shots now. There’s no doubt he has shown a granite chin, but AA, at some point, will connect.
I’m undecided on this one.

by Phill on Jul 16, 2010 4:12 AM EDT via mobile reply actions

I'm really looking forward to this

I’d like to see Froch get KTFO, seeing as not even getting beaten up by Kessler seems to be be able to dent his insane ego.
I see him coming straight to Abraham and mixing it up big time, and I think that he’ll be the first one to catch that big punch and hit the canvas. It’s going to be really entertaining!

"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 Jul 16, 2010 6:20 AM EDT up reply actions

Abraham’ s hand speed will give Froch nightmares. Wading in, stiff armed, hands low – he’s an easy target for that big right hand. The ill-named Cobra doesn’t have the speed or the power to phase Abraham IMO. He’ll make it as ugly as sin for a while until Arty opens up. Reckon he might stop Frochy late.

"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.

by Goatsnake on Jul 16, 2010 7:32 AM EDT up reply actions

I doubt he was "beaten up" any more than he was in some other fights

It was a close fight. First time I scored it for Kessler. Second time I scored it a draw.

Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."

by Brickhaus on Jul 16, 2010 8:03 AM EDT up reply actions

I actually had it

115-113 for Froch, but the outcome didn’t bug me at all because 1) it was a very, very close fight and 2) Froch was the beneficiary of a gift hometown decision against Dirrell.

Maybe I’m holding on to the grudge for too long, but I’m still not over Abraham’s conduct in the fight against Dirrell. For me, it is still more about his behavior/comments after the fight, rather than the punch itself. So with that in mind, I’ll be rooting pretty hard for Froch.

by The Boxer Rebellion on Jul 16, 2010 8:46 AM EDT up reply actions

He seemed to feel bad about it later on. You can’t really get too worked up about what people say two minutes after a fight. Guys are still zoned at that point.

by taco pal on Jul 16, 2010 1:04 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, that's how I'm looking at it as well.

At the end of the day, Abraham always comes across as a gentleman outside of the ring, and I guess he must have been frustrated as hell throughout and after the fight, firstly with Dirrell’s movement and then with the nature of the finish.

"The terror of the unforeseen is what the science of history hides, turning a disaster into an epic"

by Oli Goldstein on Jul 16, 2010 2:17 PM EDT up reply actions

I wasn't so much refering to him recieveing a considerable loss

But rather that he took a great deal of punishment, and wasn’t able to come through it to walk away with the win. I thought (hoped!) this would have something of a humbling effect, I was wrong.

"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 Jul 16, 2010 5:25 PM EDT up reply actions

Any idea what time this bad boy will broadcast in the states?

by Hatfield on Jul 16, 2010 7:34 AM EDT reply actions

Not announced yet

But since it’s Showtime, almost certainly on tape delay. But ARD, Polsat, PrimeTime, etc. will probably have it live.

Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."

by Brickhaus on Jul 16, 2010 8:04 AM EDT up reply actions

Will you RBR it live?

"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 Jul 16, 2010 5:26 PM EDT up reply actions

We'll probably have an open thread in the fanposts to discuss it live

And then RBR it with the Showtime telecast. That’s how we’ve handled tape delays the last few times I think.

Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."

by Brickhaus on Jul 16, 2010 5:34 PM EDT up reply actions

Sounds good to me

As I do greatly enjoy being able to discuss fights on here.

"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 Jul 16, 2010 5:39 PM EDT up reply actions

I really like Abraham – despite the illegal shot to Dirrell, who I still can’t stand – and would love to see him in the next stage of the tournament; however, Carl Froch remains just about my favourite fighter out there, and so I’m backing him all the way. Genuinely don’t have a clue which way this fight is going, although I’ve got a horrible feeling Carl’s going to get beaten up. I think Monaco’s a fantastic location for the fight, and am glad they got that all sorted. Now I just need the Cobra to pull through…

"The terror of the unforeseen is what the science of history hides, turning a disaster into an epic"

by Oli Goldstein on Jul 16, 2010 7:36 AM EDT via mobile reply actions

Agreed on the location

But, what is it that you like about Abraham? Do you mean as a boxer, a person, or both. As a boxer I don’t really find him that appealing, with his crazily slow starts, apparently complete lack of finesse, and bitching about non – existant low blows.

"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 Jul 16, 2010 5:27 PM EDT up reply actions

It’s more Abraham as a character than a fighter, really. I don’t particularly enjoy his style of fighting – although he does score some cracking knockouts – but he has real chutzpah outside of the ring. That makes a real difference for me when I’m watching a fighter, to be honest. While I really enjoyed Dirrell’s display against Arthur, the fact remains that I really don’t like him as a character, with his incessantly whiny voice and downright immature attitude. For the tournament’s sake, I think it’d be good if he progresses (purely based on ability); however, I’m a big fan of Kessler as well as Froch, and at the end of the day, I think I’d rather have Arthur there than Dirrell.

"The terror of the unforeseen is what the science of history hides, turning a disaster into an epic"

by Oli Goldstein on Jul 16, 2010 7:31 PM EDT up reply actions

I'm still picking Froch by decision

My only concern is that his chin hasn’t shown as much resilience lately as it did in the past.

Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."

by Brickhaus on Jul 16, 2010 8:04 AM EDT reply actions

I genuinely believe that Abraham is pretty overrated as a result of very careful protection by his management, and is far too one dimensional to emerge at the top of the 168 heap. I think he was absolutely exposed against Dirrell, and would also get creamed by Andre Ward, because guys with some speed and slickness are going to pile up round after round against him, leaving him in desperation mode late in fights (to his credit, he was doing a pretty good job of pressuring Dirrell late before he uncorked the dirty shot). Also, people haven’t mentioned the fact that Dirrell actually put Abraham down twice (though the better of the two KD wasn’t recognized by the ref, who also whiffed on a pretty clear knockdown of Dirrell), and he’s not exactly a thunderous puncher.

As long as Froch fights intelligently and uses his awkward style to frustrate Abraham, I think he gets the UD. If he gets stupid and decides to trade with Arthur, though, I can easily see him eating canvas. All in all, this is actually a pretty interesting fight. While I think that Ward and Dirrell are the two best fighters in this thing by a substantial margin, these guys match up well and should provide some fireworks.

by The Boxer Rebellion on Jul 16, 2010 9:01 AM EDT up reply actions