• Steve Bunce

Froch fading after too many wars

Steve Bunce December 20, 2011
Carl Froch was accused of being 'slow' by Andre Ward © Getty Images
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Carl Froch had a really bad night against Andre Ward in their Super Six final clash on Saturday - and that was compounded by a brilliant performance from Ward, who was probably as good as he has ever been in the ring.

I think from round four or five onwards Froch was merely going through the motions because he knew he couldn't win: he was doing what he usually does, but it was more restrained than usual.

It was a strange night - even Ward, who added the WBC title to the WBA strap he already held, didn't expect to dominate like that. He said himself he couldn't believe how slow Carl was.

The best Carl Froch - the clever Froch that we saw beat Arthur Abraham on points last year - could have pushed Ward a bit more. But at the weekend nothing seemed to work.

There's only one thing you can do when the guy is fast and hitting you with punches you're not seeing: you've got to somehow get close and try to catch him. If you're not quick enough to do that then it doesn't matter how many plans you've got, you're in big trouble.

I think all the hard, long 12-round fights have finally taken their toll on Carl - there was a lot missing from him the other night. He needs to have an easy fight next, it's that simple. The reason Ricky Hatton and Joe Calzaghe stayed champions for years is that they did what fighters have done since boxing started: allowed their bodies to recover. Carl needs to let his body recover.

He should come back to Nottingham and have a simple fight, against anybody he likes, to kick off 2012. It makes no difference who he faces - no-one can remember the guy Nigel Benn fought after Gerald McClellan, no-one can remember the guy Chris Eubank fought after he beat Michael Watson for the second time, because no-one cares.

Bute talk ridiculous
The idea Froch will now meet Lucian Bute, the unbeaten IBF champion, is faintly ridiculous; Bute has bigger fish to fry and is being geared to fight Ward. Promoter Eddie Hearn's comments about Froch v Bute are just him trying to put a positive spin on Saturday's disappointment. They are perfectly acceptable under the circumstances.

Carl will get a chance to fight for a world title again, however. Mikkel Kessler, who goes for the WBO belt against Robert Stieglitz in April, has said he'll come to Nottingham to meet Froch - and that's a clash that will do phenomenal business. Kessler beat Froch on a unanimous decision when they met in 2010. Kessler against Froch is a better fight than Froch against Bute.

Meanwhile Ward has leapt up the pound-for-pound rankings, and if he were to beat Bute next year it would put him right at the top. He's also got the possibility of meeting Bernard Hopkins at some point: the veteran was ringside in Atlantic City for a reason. However, Hopkins has insisted that he is too close to Ward to fight him.

It might be an ugly fight, but the American public love ugly fights on pay-per-view. Don't rule it out.

Steve Bunce is co-host of ESPN's Pardon the Interruption show. Click here for more details

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Steve Bunce has been ringside in Las Vegas over 50 times, he has been at five Olympics and has been writing about boxing for over 25 years for a variety of national newspapers in Britain, including four which folded! It is possible that his face and voice have appeared on over 60 channels worldwide in a variety of languages - his first novel The Fixer was published in 2010 to no acclaim; amazingly it has been shortlisted for Sports Book of the Year.

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