• Steve Bunce

Froch warns Ward of 'madness' to come

Carl Froch had a stark warning for Andre Ward © Getty Images

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On Monday I was at Matchroom Sport's head office, where Andre Ward and Carl Froch went face-to-face for the last time before they enter the ring in Atlantic City on October 29 for the final of the Super Six Classic. Well, there is a conference in New York and Ward's hometown of Oakland, but you get my point.

It was a bit edgy to say the least. Froch said to Ward, in no uncertain terms: "I don't want you to butt me like you butted Mikkel Kessler." Ward looked a little taken aback, but Froch carried on: "I'm not joking. I don't want you to butt me, I don't want the fight to be ruined by cuts."

I spoke to Froch afterwards and he stood by his comments, telling me he didn't want a repeat of what happened to Kessler, who ended up with cuts above both eyes on his way to defeat.

Also Froch said: "If he butts me, I will butt him back, don't worry. And then it will turn into madness." Nobody wants that.

Kell Brook and Darren Barker were also in attendance, which shows you just how strong the Matchroom team is at the moment.

Hatt in the ring
Matthew Hatton got a decent 12 rounds under his belt against Andrei Abramenka, he moved one away from the mythical figure of 50 fights - and, most importantly, he did enough to ensure he will get a world-title shot at welterweight, which is exactly what he deserves.

That's not to say he's the best welterweight in the country - I don't think he is - but he's likely to compete for a world strap before Kell Brook, because Brook's looking at champions who are perhaps a little more difficult to entice into the ring. Hatton, on the other hand, is going for a couple of less-celebrated guys, people like IBF champion Jan Zaveck. It's not crazy, it's business.

What Hatton has in his favour is that a couple of the champions will maybe see him as quite an easy defence, whereas Brook is being avoided at the minute. To be honest, Hatton v Brook is the sort of bout we should be seeing more of in Great Britain but, if you spoke to both camps, they'd both claim the other is making extortionate demands over money. They would also claim that neither boxer needs the other.

If Hatton can get his hands on a world title, will he ever be able to draw the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jnr or Manny Pacquiao? It sounds like mayhem but never say never. If it's marketable and can sell pay-per-view in America then it could happen. In 2004 if you'd have asked me whether Ricky Hatton would ever fight Mayweather or Pacquiao, I'd have said no way. Odder things have happened than Matthew Hatton taking on either of those two. Consider the strange case of Victor Ortiz.

Look closer at Ortiz, who fights Mayweather on September 17. He had absolutely no right to go for the WBC welterweight title against Andre Berto in his most recent clash. Ortiz's fight before Berto was a draw, and in 2009 he quit against Marcos Maidana because - let's not mince words here - he was getting a bit hurt.

Berto was no second coming of Sugar Ray Leonard, but Ortiz beats him and suddenly is fighting Mayweather. If you'd have spoken to me after Maidana-Ortiz and said the latter was going to be involved in a blockbuster a couple of years down the line, I would have said get out of here, you're having a laugh.

Alexander Povetkin and Ruslan Chagaev meet for the belt David Haye surrendered in July © Getty Images

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Pov possible for Haye
The big problem with the fight between Alexander Povetkin and Ruslan Chagaev is that whoever wins will end up knocking over the opposition who have already failed against the Klitschkos. It sets us up for two or three years of dull fights with predictable outcomes.

Rather laughably, the WBA is calling this a heavyweight title fight - Wladimir Klitschko has gone up to WBA Super champion after beating David Haye, and now this is some sort of lower-league strap.

I think Povetkin will beat Chagaev because he's just a little sharper but, if he does, the question is whether he'll ever fight Wladimir or Vitali. Povetkin has pulled out of a fight against Wladimir twice before - once because he was not ready, according to his backers - and I get the sense he is waiting for the Ukrainian brothers to show signs of decay before he commits. I can't see it happening this year - or next year, to be honest. I hope that I'm wrong.

How about bringing Haye back to face the winner of Chagaev-Povetkin? He can sell it - he can sell anything. Recently I've been told that Haye is considering attending the fight, although he should be a little concerned about what sort of reception he'll get. It's no good turning up and having 18,000 people in attendance booing you. Or, laughing at you and pointing at their toes!

If he does turn up, he's absolutely saying he wants to fight the winner - and, if I was a part of his camp, I'd make sure he attends.

Fury needs Five
So Tyson Fury is back in action on September 17, but we don't know who against. One option is the Irish-based Cuban Mike Perez, and that's a fight I'm not convinced will be a great commercial success. Perez doesn't speak great English and nobody is demanding the fight. It's a terrific fight but terrific trade fights are not what captivates the fans and excites the sponsors.

What we need is Tyson in a really competitive fight against an opponent that can be sold because he's popular, as he proved when he beat Del Boy Chisora for the British heavyweight title and 3 million people watched on Channel 5.

If Fury fights Perez and Channel 5's audience drops from the Chisora v Fury high, they could do what the BBC and ITV have done in the past: get boxing fans all excited, then decide that people are far more interested in watching Celebrity Pig Washing. The viewing figures, sadly, don't lie.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.