I think the Froch defeats took a lot out of him but I still think he's a very good boxer. Id like to see him in a domestic scrap with Martin Murray or even Callum Smith
I'd love to see Quigg win this one and at the moment I am leaning ever so slightly toward him but I'll probably change my mind another 15 times before they actually step into the ring! I just hope it lives up to the hype coz it could be a belter. Although the reward for winning is unified champion the winner has also been ordered to fight Guillermo Rigondeaux, which is a very daunting task for any boxer as he is one serious talent
Frampton Quigg looks a very good fight, almost a UK superfight in fact. The bookies have it Frampton 8/13, Quigg 5/4. That looks about right to me.
Agreed Beefy. Really like Quigg but I've thought Frampton looked world class from day dot. Was hoping the English punters would latch on to Quigg and leave Frampton at about Evens but there's still time to hype yet. As I say, a proper close one would be great so that they get Quigg back in Belfast because that will be electric and what a challenge to go over there and fight in Carl's back yard. Great match in prospect.
Anyone who gets out boxed by Groves for long periods in 2 fights is no great boxer. Froch had the heart of a lion il give him that, but his actual skill set was never really top class. Groves I think is one of those fighters who will always likely be a nearly man, he's got a decent set of skills, but he can't take the big shots. I think Groves will need to adjust his game like Amir Khan has, as his chin is made of glass. Though Groves doesn't quite have the skill that Khan has.
Froch was a warrior who overachieved IMO. Groves was a nightmare for Froch stylistically and Froch did very well to drag himself back in the first one. Don't even start me on Amir Khan. Chinless ****ing wonder. Still fights in straight lines, still doesn't see a left hook coming, still talks complete bollocks. Next please. Personally I felt Groves fought Froch 2/3 fights too early. He didn't need that kind of a war at his stage- he needed testing on the world stage against fringe/paper champions and then should have waited for Froch. I think De Gale will go a level above Groves and hope there is a rematch at some point.
Ofcourse Froch over achieved in his career, and the only high class fighter he did fight he was schooled for 12 rounds. And the fact his swansong was against a rookie like Groves, a fight he struggled to win is proof of how overrated he was. It may have been to soon for Groves in his boxing development, but in terms of his bank balance I'm sure he's happy he had those fights with Froch. I don't doubt that Khan has a glass jaw but that was only highlighted because he fought to aggressively, but in terms of raw boxing skills there are very few better than Khan. He has great movement and lightning quick hands, probably the fastest hands in world boxing. Since he has changed his style to a more defensive style he has looked unbeatable, as has been proven in his last 5 easy wins. There is a reason why Mayweaher and Paquiao have been ducking him as they see Khan as a threat, and rightfully so, as he has all the tools to give anyone big problems. I know if I was a big established star looking for an easy way into retirement Khan would be the last fighter id choose to face. Everyone knows Khan was a lot more worthy, and would have generated a lot more interest and money than the likes of Andre Berto did. That's why UFC is miles better than boxing, and is gradually surpassing it, as there is none of this picking and choosing easy opponents. You face who's next in line for a shot, and you've got to man up and get on with it.
Mate, fast hands yes. Great movement? No. He fights in left right combinations and comes forward in straight lines. His latest victories have been absolutely worthless. Julie Diaz, a blown up lightweight, put him down in Sheffield which frankly was embarrassing. Molina, Collazo, and Algieri are some way short of elite level although his win over Alexander was good enough. The Danny Garcia fight summed his career up. Fast hands, powder punches, KOd by left hands. Mayweather would have picked him apart ruthlessly as he pleased. But boxing is all about opinions! Do we know who he may fight next? Obviously we are building towards a Brook-Khan clash at some stage but I wonder who else he might match up with. Frampton-Quigg, Brook-Khan, Smith-Groves, Smith-Degale, DeGale-Groves II, Haye-Fury/Haye-Joshua/Fury-Joshua all on the horizon within two years. Some good domestic stuff to come!
I'm going to have to chip in here with all this negative talk about Carl Froch. To say he wasn't world class is quite frankly ridiculous. If anything he was underrated his whole career and finally got some credit at the end. He only fought one high class opponent?? Seriously Sherger? Mikael Kessler, Jermaine Taylor, Arthur Abraham, Andre Dirrell, Jean Pascal, all top top super middleweights at the time Froch fought them and beat them. Froch actually went out as the underdog against some of them. He lost a very close, some might say 'away decision' to Kessler then emphatically avenged it later on. Lucian Bute was seen as an unbeatable monster when Froch destroyed him. Now several years later when Bute is supposedly past it he almost takes James De Gales title. Yes he was completely schooled by Andre Ward but Ward is a different beast altogether. I admit Froch didn't exactly cover himself in glory in both fights against Groves. Before the first fight it was seen as a massive step up for Groves and he wasn't given a chance by most and I don't think Froch took him seriously either and was taken by surprised by young Groves. But as the fight went on Froch was taking control and had the beating of him, unfortunately Howard Foster ruined the whole thing by stopping it prematurely. In the second fight I think Froch took Groves more seriously but I still don't thing he prepared properly, as he saw Groves as beneath him. Froch controlled the fight but as Groves was starting to have some success and look more comfortable it was good night ginger! Sorry for the rant, Carl Froch fan here!!
SPOILER ALERT. KOVALEV - PASCAL. I don't know if anyone watched the Kovalev - Pascal fight, but it was brutal. Pascal tried to make a fight of it in the first three rounds, but Kovalev was just relentless. From round four on, it was painful to watch. Pascal took a real pounding but refused to go down, and this let Kovalev vent his feelings about his opponent. He said before the fight that he was going to hurt Pascal and that's exactly what he did. He gave the man an horrific beating. He even admitted it after the fight, during the interview in the ring. Kovalev showed a very ugly side to his personality. The man is a fighting machine, but he's a pretty ugly person. His nastiness after the fight was a bit hard to take. The fight was stopped by Pascal's corner after the seventh. Freddy Roach twice told Pascal that he was on borrowed time, and in the end, had to pull the pin on his fighter. Adonis Stevenson did a Tyson Fury and charged into the ring after Kovalev gave him a spray.
Love him or hate him Kovalev is frightening. He dismantled Pascal with the sole intention of inflicting maximum pain. The nasty he is the more fight fans i think are going to want to see him... sad as it seems. I really dont think he cares,he is there to fight and there is nobody in world boxing that is better at fighting If i were Stevenson i would stay well away from himas he would certainly go the same way as Pascal. Ward though, is a totally different animal and it would be an amazing fight.
I see that Tyson Fury has given the IBF a right old blast. He said that they want the title kept in the USA. After Charlie Martin won the belt, they gave him 12 months to defend it, but Fury was stripped of his in 10 days. He could be right but then again, what of Joshua's so called chance at the IBF championship? A Joshua-Takam eliminator is supposed to be close.
A lot of people are not going to agree with the following, but I think I do. When quizzed by Richard Damerell of Sky Sports, of a clash with Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury replied. "It's just a matter of building him [Joshua] up, getting everybody to love him, building a big record and then I'll take it from him and break him in."
So sad to hear that Frank Bruno is planning on returning to the ring at the grand old age of 54! I really hope he's juts having another mental episode and this isn't serious. The BBBC shouldn't grant him a licence but i've no doubt he'll be able to get one somewhere in Europe
So its been confirmed that Amir Khan will move up two weight classes to 155lbs and fight Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez on the 7th May in Las Vegas. Very very risky fight for Khan to be taking surely Canelo will be too big and strong for him
