Rutashubanyuma
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- Sep 24, 2010
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[h=2]Super Six Series: super middleweight final[/h] [h=1]Andre Ward vs. Carl Froch - live!
[/h] Andre Ward vs. Carl Froch: live round-by-round coverage
World super middleweight title fight
Showtime's Super Six Series decided tonight
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- Graham Parker
- guardian.co.uk, Sunday 18 December 2011 02.37 GMT
- Article history
Ring announcements: Not HBO, so no Michael Buffer rumbling us into tonight's fight. The judges from England, Canada and US are introduced. Froch will likely be hoping that's the last we hear from them.
The fighters are introduced: Ward is 24-0, 13KOs. Froch is 28-1, 20 KOs.
Steve Smoger gets them to touch gloves, a brief stare out finishes and we're ready.
And now Ward:
Ward walks to the ring now. No fuss. Commentator points out he hasn't lost a fight since he was 12 years old. Neither have I, in fairness.
Here Comes Froch:
"We Will Rock You" rings out as Froch is introduced as being from Nottingham, England - "The home of Robin Hood". He's in the ring now without fuss, strolling around and looking confident.
Last minute predictions:
Kyle Joyce tweets: "@GdnUSsports predicting a Andre Ward win, but won't be a knockout, just not feeling one tonight!"
Nick Layton adds: "@GdnUSsports Froch can only win by ko, won't get a points decision in the states"
Nearly time:
Looks like we're close to the ring entrances now, an important ritual which usually involves a final flurry of whatever tacky nonsense has been the marketing focus for the fight (see Haye, David), or sometimes a kind of surreal whistling in the dark from a fighter who seems to be trying to distract himself from what's about to happen (see Hatton, Ricky v Pacquiao, Manny). Generally, the bigger the circus, the bigger the contrast when the assorted clowns finally leave the ring to the fighters.
These two boxers have generally been very respectful of each other and most attempts to raise the hype temperature around instances of "disrespect", particularly around Ward's "Son of God" tag, have been half-hearted, thank... er, God. Watching the Showtime pre-fight documentaries, there's a telling moment when Froch is getting out of a car with his manager prior to the taping of the "staredown", and in all boredom asks him, "Is this going to get heated, because I'm not in the mood...", which says more about the general tenor of the build-up than any montage set to martial music. We'll see what the entrances bring, but these are two pretty level-headed characters and unlikely to be affected by how the other one wears a cape/towel/Stetson.
Kevin Mitchell is ringside:
"Not long to kick-off, but the atmosphere is not exactly electric. The promoters are saying 6,000 have paid to get in; I'm not sure about that. Maybe it will pick up once the bell goes. Already, we're behind on the national anthems (if you're into that sort of thing) - a quite low-key GSTQ and theirs went off with the usual gusto. Hey, ho."
Keeping it classy:Showtime announcer cheerfully leering over a shot of Froch's girlfriend Rachel Cordingley, as the ritual of the TV build-up unfolds... Back to ringside and our commentary team are describing the Super Six series as a "Truth Machine" for these fighters - whatever that means... Actually it means we're cutting to another montage.
First short, sweet, tweet: Richard Barker tweets "@GdnUSsports Ward on points, unfortunately."
Mixologist Phil Sawyer writes:
"Nice to get a mention before I even email, but bewildered? Au contraire. The wine box is exhausted so tonight I'm mixing my own Moscow Mules. This may not be a good thing for this evening's long term prognosis. Anyway, on to the traditional predictions. I've got a feeling in my water (which may be down to the Moscow Mules - is emergency medical service available for Round-By Rounders as well as those in the ring?) that this is Froch's night. So a stoppage for Ward in the third round it is."
This is very, very serious: Deep, slow voice describing two men on THE PRECIPICE OF GREATNESS. Looks like Showtime thinks Super Six has been a success...
Each fighter's best fight in Super Six:
Ward was an underdog against Mikkel Kessler, but took the fight to The Viking Warrior with a speed and intensity that unsettled his opponent immediately. Despite the clash of heads that cut the fight short, Ward was good value for his win. Froch famously lost a close points decision to Kessler, but claims that Ward's victory should not be compared to his encounter since it took place against a ring rusty opponent, amid suspicions of fouling by Ward. That's a claim that sells Ward's achievement somewhat short - though his willingness to use the head close in has been noted by more than one commentator. Tonight's referee, Steve "Let them eat gloves" Smoger is famously lenient on issues of "creative ringcraft", so we can only hope that foul play from either boxer doesn't have a decisive influence on the outcome.
Not part of Super Six, but just before the series officially started, Froch scored an eye-catching 12th round stoppage of fellow Super Six contender Jermain Taylor, when most judges had him behind on points. For me though, his most impressive recent performance was the one against Arthur Abraham to regain the title he lost to Kessler. Froch did what his critics had claimed he would be unable to do and outboxed rather than outbrawled his opponent - often fighting smartly on the outside. His best chance against Ward might be to try to harass him from the start and hope his superb conditioning tells, but Ward has plenty of strength and nous himself and there will be times in this fight where Froch will need to remember the tactical fight he fought against Abraham.
Froch has spoken of needing a dominant performance against Ward to win the Super Six - a series which is maybe somewhat diminished by the absence of Lucian Bute and the withdrawal of Froch's nemesis Mikkel Kessler due to eye injury (injuries have meant that a total of eight boxers have participated in some part of the Super Six, making it more of a Super Six-ish). Ward has had eye problems of his own of course, which Froch may seek to exploit, for all his shrugging off of that suggestion in the build up this week. For his defensive part Froch will need to keep his left hand up during the fight. He may have a tough chin, but boxing fundamentals are boxing fundamentals, it's been a stylistic criticism of Froch in the past, and Ward's camp may be hoping that's where the British fighter can be most easily got at.
Anyway, after many twists and turns, we'll have a Super Six champion tonight. What do you think? Has the series been a success?
Showtime pre-fight interviews: Ward being interviewed and claiming he's 100% confident that the cut above his eye that delayed this fight, won't be a factor tonight.
Froch says he "needs to start sharp" and block the ring off. He claims that Ward showed signs of being agitated at the press conference and that he's more battle hardened by the standard of fights he has faced in Super Six.
Predictions:
Froch's style makes for spectacular power shots, but if Ward can get inside his style is perhaps more geared to scoring and he has more flexibility to change his tactics for the second half of a long fight. Froch daren't let this one go to points, even though resilience and conditioning are likely to play a decisive part here.
The enigma here is Ward himself - he is a very talented and adaptable boxer who has consistently found different ways to beat his opponents whilst sometimes leaving onlookers not quite sure how he's done it. His fight against Abraham had more to admire than love in terms of style and it will be interesting to see if he attempts to set the tempo v Froch, or just settle in and outlast Froch's attempts to bully him early on. I really think it's too close to call, but if Ward finds himself behind at any stage and needing to force the pace, he may be caught on the counter and possibly even stopped late.
Thankfully, you don't have to trust my "ifs" and "buts". Here are the predictions of some of the other Super Six contenders on the Bad Left Hook blog and here's how The Ring's resident experts call it. And whilst we're at it, here's the view of the never concise but always precise Guardian commenter Consortium11
So the expert's consensus has Ward as favorite and Froch as a dangerous opponent who has the power to trouble him. What do you think?
Preamble: As this big boxing fortnight winds to a close and a bewildered Phil Sawyer (see the last two weeks' round by rounds here (Cotto v Margarito) and here (Khan v Peterson)) stamps on the last of his wine box for any remaining fermented matter, we are left wondering if the last of the Guardian's three big fights in three weeks can deliver a definite winner. Week one saw Miguel Cotto exact some precise, if probably mercifully anticlimactic, revenge against Antonio Margarito, whilst last week a somewhat graceless Amir Khan lost a controversial points decision to Lamont Peterson. More on that one later no doubt, as the British complaints rumble on - though the uncomfortable fact remains that if Khan had stopped his man as he anticipated, the comments on local officials and partisan refereeing would have been moot.
On to tonight's match-up then, and Carl Froch, who in comparison to Khan will be fighting in front of a positively multinational array of officials, in the bastion of integrity that is Atlantic City. Froch has been briefly training in the same New York gym as Cotto and would be very glad of a similarly efficient night's work as his colleague had against Margarito. Can the Nottingham fighter finish off the Super Six series with victory against Andre Ward in the glitz (if you squint) of America's Playground?
As a boxing town, Atlantic City may not have the Boxing's Capital glamour of Las Vegas, or offer the intensity (and often downright ugliness) of a New York fight night, but as Kevin Mitchell points out in his preview, it's seen some tumultuous bouts over the years, including this particular young gentleman's primer on the correct way to avoid losing a close decision in a world title fight (take note Mr Khan):
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And of course, if Froch needs any further inspiration (other than his own victory over Glen Johnson in Boardwalk Hall, earlier this year), there's always this night in Atlantic City - arguably the greatest ever upset caused by a British fighter on American soil:
Actually, given that Froch shares Don Curry's "Cobra" nickname, perhaps that's too confusing a motivational tool. Any excuse to watch that fight back though.
So what's it to be - Britain's recent underwhelming world title streak to continue, or Froch to finally get the recognition he deserves in America?
Steve Busfield will be with me, watching the action and ready to step in if the blog lever at Guardian HQ gets stuck.
Kevin Mitchell will be ringside, presumably in the sharpest shirt he can manage with a hotel iron. You can read his preview of the fight here
Join me for the build up to the fight and the round by round. Share your tweets, emails, Jersey Shore spoilers and parochial outrage at the addresses above and I'll share the ones that on balance, probably did just enough to nick it.
