Carl Froch on Andre Ward Postponement: "This Is Absurd and Unprofessional"

In an official statement released by Showtime, Carl Froch expressed a bit of anger over Andre Ward pulling out of their October 29 fight in the Super Six World Boxing Classic final, while Ward expressed disappointment.

"This is absurd and unprofessional. Ward needs to get his act together," said Froch. "Of course, you've got to take the medical advice seriously, but for a cut to put you out of a fight a full five weeks before the event is ludicrous. If it were two weeks out from the fight, maybe I'd understand. But he's got 35 days to deal with it. To me, he's showing his weakness. Nothing changes for me. I'll be ready if and when he shows up."

Earlier this morning, Froch's promoter Eddie Hearn said it was possible that Froch could fight in October or November anyway, if indeed Ward will need to postpone the fight into 2012. He also had some doubt about Ward's desire to actually finish the tournament against Froch.

"Through dealing with Andre on the press tour, he likes to get everything his own way," Hearn told Sky Sports News. "And one thing I can guarantee you is that when you fight Carl Froch, you don't get everything your own way. So I'm not sure how much he wants this fight. The fight has to happen. It's the final of the Super Six. And delaying tactics, disruption tactics, we don't know."

Ward, for his part, had this to say in the Showtime release.

"I'm extremely disappointed about this cut. We used every precaution, including headgear with a face bar and it was just a fluke situation. My sparring partner and I were involved in an exchange inside and the next thing I knew, I was bleeding. That is the most frustrating thing about this-I don't have an explanation for how it happened.

"This is very frustrating for my camp and I, and I knew that if the shoe was on the other foot and Froch suffered an injury, I would be extremely disappointed.

"We were in full camp and counting down the days until October 29. At this point, I'm looking forward to healing up and getting a new date to finish what I started and become the Super Six Champion."

He was also apologetic.

"I'd like to express my apologies to Showtime, the fans and the Froch camp, but this is part of boxing. Ward and Froch will still get it on but, unfortunately, the date just has to be pushed back."

Ward's promoter Dan Goossen added, "Not much you can say. Andre was cut, he got stitched up, and he'll be back as soon as possible."

Showtime's Ken Hershman is familiar with this process, as several fights in the Super Six World Boxing Classic have been delayed, canceled, or tinkered with.

"Injuries in boxing are inevitable at this, the highest level of competition," said Hershman. "As we've done since this tournament's inception, we'll forge ahead. We are seeking available dates at this time and hope to have an announcement shortly. Rest assured, we will deliver this dramatic final tournament bout, one that is surely the biggest fight in this division's history."