Ward vs Froch: Media Day At King's Boxing Gym With Andre Ward
by Waldo Rastel on Nov 18, 2011 7:56 PM EST
in Boxing News Analysis
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Today was Media Day at King's Boxing Gym down in Oakland, CA for the Super Six Finals between Andre Ward and Carl Froch. Ward and his promoter Dan Goossen sat down with me and the rest of the media to answer a couple questions about his upcoming fight.
Training with the cut
Ward says that he is in full-fledged training and that he frequently forgets that he has a cut. He is back sparring and hasn't seen any problems so far. If it opens up during the fight, Ward says that it is not ideal, but he has fought with a cut before and he is just going to deal with it. He goes on to say that there isn't going to be a change in the gameplan and that he is not worried about the cut.
On the injury
"Fighters always have things going on with their hands, their backs...When it is something where I can't be at my best, not a small injury but something that's significant, we're not going to go forward because I don't think my opponent should want me to get in the ring not 100%...Of course you can expect the other side to start throwing rocks, start accusing you of this and that, but in a sense it almost fuels them, makes them feel like you are scared. Allan Green made that mistake and Carl Froch is doing the same."
Goossen on Ward's potential
"Mayweather, Pacquiao, none of these guys were big sellers until they got to that point, Andre is getting to that point okay...The way that I look at, we have seen 50 to 60 percent of Andre Ward's ability in that ring at this point. I think there is so much more that he can achieve inside the ring and outside of it."
The type of fight Ward expects to see
"I think [Froch's] biases going in based on some of his comments are he thinks that I'm just going to running around the ring just trying to get away. He's going to find out that that's just not the case. What he does after that, I don't know. Just like any 12 round fight, there are ebbs and flows, back and forth in terms of your strategy. He can get hit on the chin one time, and decide to do something different...I'm physically stronger than he realizes and I'm hitting a lot harder than he realizes as well. He's going to try to take my heart."
On Froch getting under his skin
"He is pretty annoying. I take nothing away from him, he's a good fighter and I have nothing negative to say about him. Froch is going to be Froch and I'm going be me. I'm going to go in there and do what I got to do...What he is trying to do is not working, it's annoying. It is definitely fun fighting guys like him because of the way he talks. If you think that it's going to take me out of my game and cause me just to lose it, that's not going to happen.
Reporter: Do you get testy in the Showtime face-to-face thing?
Ward: A little bit (*big smile*)"
About talking to Andre Dirrell for tips:
"We haven't talked to Dirrell one time about Carl Froch, I didn't even reach out to him about Abraham. [Dirrell] gave me some tips about [Abraham] just as we were talking. We are two different fighters, a lot of people compare us but we are different in a lot of ways. Speed is a big factor and is weighing heavy on Carl's mind."
About taking on Dirrell in video games
"We have been talking about playing online for I don't know how many years, but he's way more of a gamer than I am. I play causally. Me being as competitive as I am, after this fight I'm going to practice, get some games under my belt and get sharp. I want to beat him. Even in an online football game (Ed Note: Madden), I want to beat him."
Potential Fight with Lucian Bute
"It remains to be seen."
My General Thoughts
Andre Ward has got the media part of the boxing game down. He never seems uncomfortable with the questions and seems perfectly willing to answer any question put in front of him from any source. He's got a very warm personality and is very friendly even to the people asking him questions that are thinly veiled criticisms. In terms of the cut, it is healed but it is definitely visible. It is on right eye, which would be further back in a traditional stance and more difficult to hit with a simple punch like a jab. It doesn't look great in the picture but it blends in with his eyebrow pretty well. Froch is going to target the cut and why wouldn't he. I'm looking forward to this fight, it should be part of a great December for boxing!
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Pretty good cut to show up that much at this point, and makes the 12/17 date look necessary and not just convenient.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
I’m hitting a lot harder than he realizes as well.
I mentioned on a different thread that i think Froch is deluding himself if he thinks Ward is some kind of “pillow hands”.
Sure, Froch can take a good shot, but Ward is gonna land often, and he’s gonna land harder than Froch is expecting, imo, unless the talk from Froch is just bravado and really he knows Ward has a respectable dig, which could be the case when taking into account how much Froch likes to talk.
Also, and this could be another case of Froch just talking for the sake of it, but what he said about Ward when he first got cut, along the lines that Ward should “just get stitched up and get back into sparring” and that Ward was somehow looking to unnecessarily delay the fight was just absolute nonsense. A cut needs a reasonable amount of time to heal properly, and i would not be at all surprised if it opened back up in this fight, even with the adequate amount of time they have allowed with the delay.
That could be one of froch main advantages in the fight, imo.
Froch was probably just trying to play mind games a bit with Ward, but Ward seems very mentally strong to me, more so than most fighter’s out there, imo, and i really don’t think the talk from Froch will effect him much.
Carl is gonna make a good fight of it, but i see Ward doing what he does best, sticking with game plan, and winning the fight through his superior skill set and ring IQ.
Totally agree Matt. I take Froch’s talk as just being attempts at mind games, but I too see Ward as being mentally strong, too strong for Froch to affect him in that manner. Also, Ward can get down & dirty in the ring (see his fight with Bika) and for sure it seems like he hits hard. He always seems well prepared for his opponent and that’s one of the thing that impresses me most about him.
While I have the utmost repect for Ward
And I’m a fan of his, I can see Froch eeking this out in a hard fought, bloody war. It has shot at being a really good fight.
"That was very funny about the old man basketball skills. One is lucky to escape injury when playing against those crafty, crusty sumbitches. And it’s just demoralizing when they demonstrate yet again how to use the backboard from range." - Charlie Custer
by SmittytheCutman on Nov 19, 2011 1:30 AM EST via mobile reply actions
I swear to God I have no idea why people think this is going to be a good fight in terms of being, like, memorable for action. I just do not see it. Someone convince me.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Nov 19, 2011 2:16 AM EST up reply actions
I’m serious, too. I’m up for being convinced. i got myself excited for Ward vs Abraham.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Nov 19, 2011 2:29 AM EST up reply actions
I don’t necessarily think it will be a good fight, but it’s definitely got my interest, just because it’s between two of the best at the weight.
My saying Froch will “make a good fight of it” refers to him giving Ward a stern challlenge, not me thinking it’s gonna be all that memorable or great as a spectacle.
I think it’s going to be a good fight because, even though Ward’s fights usually lack—I don’t know, flashiness—they’re both very good, neither can be intimidated, and they both want it real, real bad. It may not be pretty, but I expect it to be absolutely fierce.
There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else--James Thurber, 1939
I think it will be a good fight because
1. I’m not sold on Ward, and I think he’s less than he seems, but he’s quick enough and skilled enough to probably drive Froch half nuts.
2. I’ve stopped underestimating Froch. He looks so inept that I’m always amazed when he wins, but he seems implacable, hardhitting, and nearly impossible to hurt.
I expect Froch to chase Ward all over the place, and I expect Ward to repeatedly slip out of potentially threatening situations. I’m picking Froch by late KO, but I wouldn’t be surprised by a Ward decision is he stays slippery.
I think I’ve finally managed to sound like a real boxing analyst: One of them will win.
Decades ago, when the S6 started, I was one of few who thought Ward would win it. I was very impressed with him and mostly remain so. But Froch turns out to be formidable, and I’m thinking he’ll take it. Not dead certain, but I think he’ll be my Pick’em.
You’re right, tho’—one of them will. Probably by TKO, not a flat-out KO.
There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else--James Thurber, 1939
Ward vs. anybody depends on the anybody part, the opponent…because Ward is a very cerebral boxer. I’m thinking Froch may try to turn this into a brawl and that’s where it would be exciting because I think Ward would engage him in some good exchanges. Froch comes to fight, he’s not gonna dance around, he’s gonna make himself available.
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