Ward vs Froch: Virgil Hunter Says He Rates Carl Froch Ahead of Andre Ward
by Scott Christ on Dec 6, 2011 3:26 PM EST
in Boxing Interviews & Quotes
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Trainer Virgil Hunter turned a few heads on a media conference call today when he said that he doesn't rate his fighter, Andre Ward, ahead of December 17 opponent Carl Froch -- at least for now.
"Just for the record, I rate Carl Froch ahead of Andre Ward right now," said Hunter. "He was a champion before Andre Ward, and fought a couple champions, too."
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Hunter, who is starting to build his stable thanks to his pro success with the former Olympic gold medalist, may be ready to emerge as one of the sport's most in-demand trainers. He's already become one of the best interviews of the trainers out there, and had plenty more to say about training camp, his respect for Froch and his trainer Robert McCracken, and whether or not he believes Ward will stop Froch in Atlantic City.
"We haven't had a perfect camp. But perfection in camp doesn't mean perfection in a fight, and imperfection in a camp doesn't mean imperfection in a fight," he said, referring to Ward suffering a cut that pushed this fight back from its initial October 29 date.
"No camp is perfect. The camp is designed not for it to be perfect. I get killers in camp to come and spar," he added.
"I want people in camp who come to tear Andre's head off. That's who I brought in."
Though Hunter resisted naming names, he made clear that he'd rather see Ward struggle in camp, to mentally prepare himself for a tough opponent.
"I'd rather see a struggling camp. You want a fighter to recognize and adapt to situations in fights," he said.
"It's a mental game. You have to be able to stand up to what you're facing. I don't put much emphasis on perfection."
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And though Hunter expressed tremendous respect for Froch and his opposing trainer, Robert McCracken, he also was very frank about what he thinks of Froch's punching power, and the feeling that Ward doesn't have much of it himself.
"If we matched Andre with B and C fighters, he would have more knockouts," Hunter stated.
"Carl hasn't even hurt anybody since he stopped Taylor. He's a good puncher. But we still have to speak the truth."
Hunter is also sticking with his September prediction that Ward would be the first man to stop the iron-chinned Froch. "I believe Ward is gonna stop Froch. I really believe that. I'm not afraid to stand by it or live with it if he doesn't."
"Carl is saying it, Andre's not. I'm saying it, Coach McCracken's not."
Hunter expects both fighters to bring their A-games, and is expecting to be tested himself, as well. "I'm looking forward to December 17. A great fight between two great boxers, and a great coach in Coach McCracken."
"Carl Froch will always have my respect. He's a good man. The respect is real."
For full Ward vs Froch coverage, click below:
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I’m picking Ward and I’m going wide. Froch has become a tad overrated and I think Ward is going to show why.
i’m leaning towards ward as well. can’t wait to see if ward outboxes him or if it gets ugly and the ‘sog’ out dirties him on the inside.
but i can’t agree that someone with a 5-1 record in his last six fights against johnson, abraham, kessler, dirrell, taylor and pascal is overrated, even just a tad.
I think that’s a reasonable assessment, as things stand. I think that Froch has in fact accomplished more than Ward.
I think that Ward will be a lot more dazzling than Froch in this fight, but I’m not sold on him, and Froch has surprised me too often for me to underestimate him. I think Froch will win by TKO in the late rounds, sometime from 10 on.
Nice mental game by Hunter
Virgil knows that an overconfident Froch is one who makes mistakes and really doesn’t look great. That version of Froch is the one that didn’t exactly look great in his victory over Johnson. He got hit very solidly in that fight and never seemed to get Johnson in trouble at all. If Froch has the overconfidence, then he doesn’t bring his A-game. Virgil wants to beat Froch in style and this seems to be part of the plan.
"The bell that tolls for all in boxing belongs to a cash register."
-Bob Verdi
Froch barely spoke at all during the call, and was pretty low-key when he did speak.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
I think you’re wrong on several points. For starters, I think Virgil genuinely respects Froch. Carl’s a guy who’s well-liked by lots of past opponents and industry guys (just look at his friendships with Jean Pascal and Jermain Taylor, for example). On the overconfidence factor, that’s just silly really. Robert McCracken has spoken before about how Carl absolutely bricks it on the day of the fight. The guy projects arrogance and overconfidence, but it’s all part of the persona that he sells. He might tell you that he’s got a famous left uppercut or that he’s as good as Sugar Ray Leonard, but when it comes down it, he’s a down-to-earth, normal bloke with the same fears as every other fighter, and he’s also highly aware of it.
"Occasionally, there is a boxing match that, in its demonstration of skill, courage, intelligence, hope, seems to redeem the sport - almost. Perhaps boxing has always been a sport in crisis, a sport of crisis."
by Oli Goldstein on Dec 6, 2011 7:13 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Virgil totally respects all fighters that Ward faces, but it is also his job to get into their heads. I’m sure the two will come together and be good friends afterwards. I still think that Virgil is going to try to puff up Froch if only because no one else has really tried it before.
"The bell that tolls for all in boxing belongs to a cash register."
-Bob Verdi
I’m just happy the Super Six is over, not in the sense that I didn’t like it, but in the sense there’s finally some kind of culmination and that we actually have a genuinely good fight as the final, not in the sense that it’ll be action packed, but in the sense that it is the two best in the division.
Are you getting the sense I have for the fight?
http://fistonchin.com http://brightlightssports.com
I’m happy it’s over too. I’m tired of writing “Super Six World Boxing Classic.”
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
You are kind of a super six hater aren’t ya? I’m not being a smartass. You really never were all that excited about it were you?
I liked it. I think it worked. We got the best fighting the best, in my opinion. And, in 2011 when we have (ahem) some trouble getting the best in the ring together, I’m happy the best in the division squared of.
Excepting, of course, Bute – who hopefully will get a shot at the winner.
"While he may strike hard blows, he is not at liberty to strike foul ones." J. Sutherland.
It was alright, but no, I was never all that wild about it. I loved it in theory — in execution I honestly found it lacking, for many reasons, not the least of which is that I think one fight in the entire tournament has been above average (Froch vs Kessler). Also the fact that it straggled to the finish line just took the steam out of the format for me. I am very happy we’re getting Ward and Froch on 12/17, but there’s a reason this is never going to happen again.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
I’m sorry you didn’t like it, in it’s interminability.
It was, for me, another historic and folkloric event, getting fighters to fight who might not ever have seen each other. It made me see Kessler and Abraham in a different light, since I thought the world of these two before.
It was like boxing’s version of the current eurozone debate, with all of its thrills and spills and exposures of weaknesses.
I would like more tournaments.
Please don’t compare boxing with the eurozone, you’re going to make me hate boxing.
http://fistonchin.com http://brightlightssports.com
I liked it OK. I just didn’t think many of the fights were very good and I’m tired of all the postponements and cancellations and other nonsense.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
I understand. One thing the tournament seemed to make me notice, or just hallucinate, is that fighters get hurt a lot more to the extent that they pull out of fights. This may be good; I don’t know.
But, I thought a lot more of Abraham and Kessler before, and a lot less of Froch, before this. I might have thought Green and Dirrell were something special, and I think I saw a real decline in Johnson (which I didn’t expect).
So, just for me, good times, even amidst all the delays and postponements.
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