• Boxing

Ward riled by Froch's dirty tricks

ESPN staff
August 24, 2011
Andre Ward: 'He needs to stop bumping me' © Getty Images
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Andre Ward has laughed off Carl Froch's attempts at intimidation ahead of their Super Six showdown that will crown a unified WBA and WBC super-middleweight champion.

Froch has taken a series of swipes at Ward over the past couple of days, accusing his October 29 opponent of not having the punching power to knock out any world-class opponents.

While Ward has been reluctant to trade insults with Froch, the unbeaten American admits he was far from impressed when Froch behaved provocatively during a recent-face off.

"He did bump me, didn't he?" Ward told boxingscene.com. "I felt that. He needs to stop bumping me. It goes back to him trying to intimidate me."

Meanwhile, former British super-middleweight champion James DeGale insists he has learned the lessons from the painful defeat suffered in his most recent outing against George Groves. "I shouldn't have allowed the first eight rounds to turn into a sparring session," he told frankwarren.tv.

"A fighter that Jimmy [McDonnell, his trainer] and I have discussed is Marvin Hagler, and specifically his fight with Tommy Hearns. Hagler went to war against Hearns straight away, and if I'd have done that against Groves, I would have won the fight, easy."

DeGale was initially pencilled in to face European champion Piotr Wilczewski on September 17, but the clash is set to be rescheduled.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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