by Martin ‘The Brain’ Potter of the Boxing Clever podcast – In 2009/10 the groundbreaking Super Six tournament has been the shining light against a bleak backdrop of non-fights and political bickering. While the so-called great fighters refused to fight each other and their teams have squabbled like a bunch of schoolgirls, the combatants of this super middleweight competition have been settling their differences in the only place that matters – the ring.
With the final group stage of the Super Six looming, it is crunch time for all the fighters involved, with the real possibility that some of these fighters could have their careers at elite level ended. I’ll be taking a look at the fights and fighters involved, starting with potentially the most explosive clash in the whole tournament..
Carl Froch vs Arthur Abraham
Carl ‘The Cobra’ Froch has always divided opinion amongst boxing fans, even in his home country. I admit to being a critic of Froch in the past due to his apparent arrogance and lack of any real warmth or humour when appearing in the public eye, alongside his sometimes erratic and open fighting style. However, I am told that away from the glare of the media spotlight, Froch is an intelligent and engaging character – and what can’t be denied is that he is almost always in thrilling fights.
The intriguing thing about this bout is that both fighters are coming off the back of their first career defeat and it is always hard to tell how a fighter will react when stripped of the comfortable cloak of invincibility that they once wore with pride. Will their confidence be dented?
Both Froch and Abraham have tried to convince themselves and the rest of the boxing world that they were victims of great injustices – maybe they even truly believe it – but while I don’t agree with their protests (Froch lost clearly on points to Mikkel Kessler; Abraham threw a hard illegal punch to a downed Andre Dirrell, whether it was as hard as was made out is irrelevant), I accept that the need for self-denial in defeat is as valuable to an elite-level fighter as a decent jab. If a world champion simply accepts that he was beaten by the better man then he might as well hang up his gloves, such is the psychological damage he will be doing to himself and the boost he will be giving to all future prospective opponents.
Despite my reservations about his open defence and tendency to dangle his arms low by his waist (your chin is not a shield, Carl!), I see this as a winnable fight for Froch. Arthur Abraham is a noted knockout puncher who marches forward behind a tight, high guard but he can look slow and predictable, as witnessed in the Dirrell fight. Froch, who is an extremely astute guy outside of the ring, needs to use his brain in this fight and not get dragged into a needless war, a trap he has fallen into a few times in the past. The Cobra holds most of the physical advantages; he is the naturally heavier man, he is taller, has a longer reach and is far more used to this weight division, which should also give him the edge in strength. To win this fight, Froch should use these advantages and opt to use his oft-neglected boxing skills. He needs to keep the ‘King’ on the end of his long jab and double it up, making Abraham fight at range. Carl also possesses an unorthodox but effective corkscrew uppercut which, as Arthur charges in, he should deploy and then move back out of range.
So far so good for Froch, but this fight is certainly not a one-sided affair and Arthur Abraham will look to impose his own game-plan, one that has worked extremely well up until his last fight. King Arthur almost always starts slowly. He is methodical but economical with his punch output as he comes forward in the early rounds and, although it often seems like he is losing a fight, he is just figuring his opponents out, looking for their patterns of attack and weaknesses whilst throwing out the odd warning shot himself. Most of the punches Abraham tends to take early hit his arms, gloves or skim the top of his head. Even when he does get caught early, Abraham has a fantastic chin and continues to march forward, which must dishearten his opponents (see his first fight with Edison Miranda for evidence of this). I’m sure that Abraham will look to start faster than usual against Froch as the pressure is really on in this fight, but old habits die hard so I can’t see him altering his tried and tested formula too much. What Arthur will need to do to win the fight is close the space, try to rough Froch up and drag him into a war, thus allowing him to land one of his concusive punches. Arthur will try to really pour it on in the second half of the bout in the hope that Froch, like so many previous opponents of the King, will wilt under the pressure.
Although I don’t see Froch wilting, such is his heart and stamina, The Cobra has a warrior mentality and that, along with his suspect defence, could be his undoing. If Froch doesn’t use his brain and allows himself to be dragged into the sort of fight that he ended up in against the likes of Jean Pascal or Mikkel Kessler then he faces the real danger of being knocked out for the first time in his career. Arthur Abraham punches harder than anyone Froch has faced and although he has a great chin, if Carl get nailed repeatedly by Abraham, he will find himself kneeling before the King.
This is a genuine pick ’em fight and a possible fight of the year contender where anything could happen. Personally, I see two possible outcomes: Froch fights sensible and wins on points or he gets reckless and Abraham wins by late knockout. However I will stick my neck on the line, support my fellow Brit, and go with a Cobra victory – ‘King Cobra’ has a nice ring to it!
Still to come in future articles: my analysis of the other two fights in the final group stage of the Super Six.
For more views from The Brain, tune in to the Boxing Clever podcast, available on iTunes or at www.boxingclever.libsyn.com