Should Carl Froch Fight GGG

There is a lot of talk about this fight taking place. Froch Vs GGG is the fight many want to see. No doubt, it would be a great fight. Some think Froch would be too big and too strong for Golovkin and others think Golovkin's technical skill and huge punching power would follow him up to super middleweight and see him dispose of Froch via knockout..

Truth is, no one really knows what would happen until the fight actually takes place. It is a pick-em fight and that is what makes it so interesting. There are valid reasons that can be argued until the cows come home in defense of why both can win. The size and weight difference for Froch, and the power, accuracy, and boxing smarts of Golovkin.

So should Froch take the risk and take on Golovkin before retiring from the sport. Most fans would say yes, and me personally I would love him to make this his last fight. Why not go out with a bang by taking on one of the most feared fighters in boxing right now. As much as I am fan of both fighters, but would be rooting for Golovkin if they fought, I actually think Froch, because he is so tough and the bigger man naturally, stands a good chance of beating Golovkin, or at least giving him a really good fight.

Froch Vs Abraham. Image Credit: Pasi T

Question is, does Froch have the desire anymore..The answer is most probably no. An interview with Eddie Hearn (Froch's promoter) that was recently uploaded to youtube by IFLTV saw Hearn disclose some insight on Carl's current -Can I be bothered anymore - state of mind.

Eddie said that the other day Carl's missus and kid, or kids, went out and he was left on his own in the house. He has a heavy bag in his shed / garage and was going to do six rounds on the bag to keep himself ticking over. He done the first round no problem, but when he got half way through the second round he said he just couldn't be bothered and he called it a day and went and had a cup of tea instead. I know this isn't the be all and end all, I mean how many people, boxers or anyone else, sportsman or otherwise, sometimes can't be bothered once in a while.

However, with the money Carl now has, and with all the other things he has going on in his life that don't include boxing, it really does look like he doesn't really want or need to fight anymore. It's just natural so who can blame him if the desire just isn't there like it used to be. I think the Hagler quote sums up Carl Froch's situation right now.. 'It's real hard to get up at 5am & run 5 miles when you're in a 4 post bed wearing silk pyjamas'.

Will Froch Vs Golovkin take place? Most think it won't at this stage and some people even think that Froch had no intention of fighting GGG and was only talking about him to create some hype and keep himself relevant. I guess we'll have to see what happens. Froch Vs Degale is a possibility. Check out the video above from Richard Dwyer where he makes an excellent case for why Golovkin would beat Carl Froch. It does make a lot of sense on many levels.

Klitschko Vs Fury Germany Face Off

This is what a lot of people have been waiting for. The fight build up has finally started and the first press conference has took place today a while ago in Germany. The press conference starting rather quietly but soon gained momentum when both Wladimir and Fury both took little shots at each other. Tyson Fury stole the show though with his "This Klit is getting licked" one liner. Check out IFLTV Youtube channel to see the whole press conference, or to see the heated exchange video click here.

Everyone has there own opinion on the first impressions regarding to how each fighter looks etc. But to me, under all the big words and bravado it looked like Tyson Fury was a bit nervous, as if the magnitude of the task in hand has finally dawned on him.

However, we all know that a lot of the time the impression someone gives off at a press conference, or even the weigh-in for that matter, doesn't give us much to read into in the grand scheme of things. A fighter can look quite nervous at a weigh-in and then be totally on it when the fight is on and knock the confident fighter out cold. Just take a look at some of Golovkin's weigh-ins and face offs. He doesn't look at the opponent all evil, scared to look away first etc. And look at what he does on fight night. Some people were saying at GGG's last weigh-in against Lemieux: "Lemieux has got this, GGG looked nervous". "Put your house on Lemieux".. And we all seen what happened in that fight.

So it's wise not to read into it too much. Saying that, I do still think that Tyson Fury is in over his head here. He does have a lot of heart, determination, and size on his side, but the bottom line in this fight is skill and punch resistance.

Once Wladimir starts connecting with straight right hands Fury is in serious trouble. His defence isn't good enough. He has been put down by much lighter punchers. Yes, he has got up off the canvas to win the fight, but against Wladimir, once Fury gets hit he will stay hit. Fury could have a chance if Wladimir shows his age in this fight and get tired once, or if, the fight goes past 5 or 6 rounds. But chances are the firepower will be too much for Fury to handle. Nevertheless, expect an excellent, action packed fight. Fury won't lie down for no one. And he looks to be in his best shape ever for this fight. More to come as the build up progresses.

Ward and GGG Join The Keyboard Warriors

OK, the keyboard warrior thing is a little far fetched, these guys are A level fighters, but Andre Ward and Gennady Golovkin have entered into a war of words which have made their way onto the mainstream Internet sport websites and boxing forums. The pair are basically saying that each man is making excuses for the fight to not be made. Who's telling the truth? No one really knows for sure but if you ask a Ward fan he will say GGG is ducking, and the same thing gets said the other way round, Ward don't wanna fight GGG etc, or why don't Ward pick on someone his own size and fight Kovalev instead.

In a way it's all good because while GGG and Ward are considered two of the best fighters out there they have also been two of the least vocal when it comes to talking a bit of trash, building a fight, and being a bit controversial. But boxing is steeped in trash talk and controversy and fans love the hype. Of course, we don't want no WWE WWF Bull Sh*t but it is OK to get the taste buds flowing and build the fight a little.

So what do we really know about this situation. Who is ducking who? First off, I don't think either man is afraid of the other, but the truth is that both men are in different situations career wise. Golovkin has been very active and is on the verge of unifying the middleweight division. Andre Ward has been through some promotional problems and has been inactive for quite some time (Since late 2013, and before that he only fought once in 2012). And we do know for definite that Ward's trainer (Virgil Hunter) has stated that Ward needs a few tune up fights before facing Golovkin. That is a fact.

Picture Credit: roundbyroundboxing.com

So for Ward to say Golovkin is making excuses seems rather contradictory because as his trainer stated, he is not in the position to fight GGG right now anyway. We also know that a meeting with HBO took place with both fighters and their representatives. Ward and GGG were asked if they were ready to fight each other and apparently GGG said yes he is ready to fight and Ward said No due to an injured shoulder and most probably because of inactivity too.

In some ways, with some of the comments Ward has made towards Golovkin, it does look like Ward could be a bit jealous because GGG is in the limelight and he isn't. Andre Ward is not even ranked anymore due to inactivity, so in many ways he is not even that relevant right now. Other than inactivity, If we look at the fighting styles of each fighter we can see why one is extremely popular and why one isn't. Wards boxing style isn't the most exciting or fan friendly. And then there comes the problem of Ward's fan base.

He can't even sell out a venue in his home city of Oakland, but yet when negotiations are taking place, not only with GGG, but also with Carl Froch, Ward wants the lions share of the split, which he does not deserve..He is pricing himself out of the market. Now Ward is also saying that he is only fighting Britain's Paul Smith because Carl Froch doesn't want to fight him.

But the word is that Froch asked Ward to come and fight in the UK and Ward refused. I tend to believe this because if you check Andre Wards boxing record you will quickly see that he has fought most of his career in the USA. Guess where he is fighting Paul Smith..Yep, you guessed it, the Oracle Arena in Oakland, USA. Home sweet home. People that know boxing know that a real champion has the balls and strength of mind to fight anywhere in the world.

Take a look at Sergey Kovalev and Gennady Golovkin, they are real champions who will fight anywhere, but Andre Ward's professional record makes it look like he's afraid to travel. The proof is there. Until Ward fights out of his comfort zone how can he be considered as a great champion..It should also be noted that Ward Vs Smith is taking place at a catch weight of 172lbs, so with 3 additional pounds Ward could well be fighting in Kovalev territory at light heavyweight.

With Golovkin and Ward, part of the problem is that the media keep on asking one about the other, when in reality they shouldn't be facing each other right now. Ward needs to get the rust off with a few fights and Golovkin needs to concentrate on unifying the middleweight division. And in fairness, Golovkin needs to face some tougher opposition. Fighters are certainly talking a lot, If only they would sign the contract though and commit to fight GGG. If the media would just STHU and let them both do there thing for a while it would be a great fight for the future when each man is in a better position to make the fight a reality.

The time isn't really right at this moment but both fighters are being forced into dialogue because of the hype and constant questions and accusations of what the other side said etc. Neither man is scared, and I think that Ward does want to prove he is the best and it looks like he secretly wants to fight and take out the two fighters considered the best and most feared right now which is GGG and Kovalev. All great fights that I hope can happen in the future. The outcomes are not certain, but neither is whether Ward, with so much time off, will ever be the same fighter he once was.

*Article Update*

Since this post was written (I know the date is recent but the post is from my other site) a lot has changed. GGG is going to get his shot at the WBC Middleweight Title, (Even if the winner of Cotto - Canelo doesn't want to fight him) so a fight with Ward is well out of the picture for now. Adding to that, Ward can't make 168 anymore so is more than likely moving to Light Heavyweight where him facing Kovalev within the next year looks to be a more realistic fight than him Facing GGG.

Andre Ward had one of his "Tune up" fights turned down! With people saying it was too much of a miss-match! It was deemed as unsafe. That says a lot right there about his level of competition. After this happened, Ward has now injured his knee and won't be fighting for a while, yet again. Also, he has just vacated his WBA Super-Middleweight Title. Lots of talk about Ward faking the injury, and being scared to agree 100% to fight Kovalev, which is what some people think may have had something, or a lot, to do with his tune up fight being pulled from the Cotto - Canelo under card.

Andre Ward is quickly becoming more and more irrelevant and needs to actually start taking on some decent fighters if he's to remain one of the best out there. Personally, I don't think he has been active enough to be considered as a P4P boxer anymore. How many times has he even fought out of his comfort zone? Who will win out of Kovalev Vs Ward if they do fight. Outcomes are never certain, but I think Kovalev will destroy Ward. From what I've seen and read about Ward lately a lot of things point to him being a shot fighter.

The most important aspect here is that, yes I think he's a shot fighter, but more importantly, I also think that he knows it too. And thats the worst thing for a fighter. When they lose their self belief it is over. Other fighters have come through the ranks and overtook Ward while he's been inactive, and now he's not sure if he's got what it takes to beat these fighters anymore. He's scared to lose his unbeaten record to the fighters that are in the spotlight and are considered as real threats, so he fights opponents that are incapable of putting up much of a fight. OK, to the crowd he will look great knocking someone out, but this is a dangerous strategy. Because if Ward fights journey men for the next year and then takes the fight with Kovalev, he will not be ready for that huge step up in class and will get beaten badly.

Also, If he continues to fight journey men and one of them just happens to get lucky, clip his chin and knock him out, his boxing career is basically over. Or will require some serious rebuilding. But against who... Low level junior middleweights who haven't trained for a few years? Wards choice of opposition has become a disgrace. There are lots of B and even C level fighters that he could fight that would put up a decent challenge, yet he wants to fight the worst possible opposition. And if it couldn't be any worse than that, the boxers Ward was going to fight are not even true light heavyweights. Things don't look good for Ward right now.

It's quite sad really because the guy does have talent and I hope he comes back and proves me and everyone else, who thinks he's not quite the Ward of old wrong.