Froch: "Groves needs to watch his mouth"

http://www.espn.co.uk/espn/sport/video_audio/210410.html?CMP=OTC-RSS%3Bgenre%3D41%3Bsport%3D9

What does everyone think about this? Despite my respect for him as a fighter I've always found him very difficult to warm too as a person..

How long do you think before either Degale and Groves are ready, if ever, to challenge Carl, and which way do you see it going?

Oh dear fighter having a pop at potential rival shock..........

I don't care what Froch say's............Maybe he should shut Ward's mouth instead..

Keep talking Grovesy..

Not sure I'd really even consider Groves a potential rival tbh, have a feeling Hearn will try and get him a title an easier way, and Froch can't have that many fights left in him

I'm sure I read something about Froch giving himself "four fights to greatness", or something. Surely he cant be fighting clowns like Cleverly if he is serious about greatness?

I dont think the DeGale fight will ever happen. Hes with a different promoter and seems to be keeping a low profile for the time being.

Groves will be mandatory for Stieglitz WBO title soon which is a winnable fight for him so I think that will be first port of call. If he wins that then a unification showdown with Froch would be an obvious fight. It might mean rushing Groves though.

kingraf wrote:I'm sure I read something about Froch giving himself "four fights to greatness", or something. Surely he cant be fighting clowns like Cleverly if he is serious about greatness?

Cleverly is no clown -- one of Britain's better fighters. He'd have a better chance of beating Froch than Groves.

kingraf wrote:I'm sure I read something about Froch giving himself "four fights to greatness", or something. Surely he cant be fighting clowns like Cleverly if he is serious about greatness?

From a stat point of view alone, beating and winning a champion/ belt at another weight is surely something that looks good ont he CV

I dont know if they would go up to face Cleverly at 175. They seem to mention Cleverly coming to 168 when its been mooted which would be unneccessary although it gives Cleverly the option of keeping his world title should he lose.

Adam D wrote:

kingraf wrote:I'm sure I read something about Froch giving himself "four fights to greatness", or something. Surely he cant be fighting clowns like Cleverly if he is serious about greatness?

From a stat point of view alone, beating and winning a champion/ belt at another weight is surely something that looks good ont he CV

He could win another belt at light heavyweight but he won't be the champion until he beats Chad Dawson (or Adonis Stephenson should he land big this weekend) and those fights don't seem to be on his radar. He's wandering around now with two belts over his shoulders even though Andre Ward is the real champ at 168.

I don't know why he bothers paying the fees.

hazharrison wrote:

Adam D wrote:

kingraf wrote:I'm sure I read something about Froch giving himself "four fights to greatness", or something. Surely he cant be fighting clowns like Cleverly if he is serious about greatness?

From a stat point of view alone, beating and winning a champion/ belt at another weight is surely something that looks good ont he CV

He could win another belt at light heavyweight but he won't be the champion until he beats Chad Dawson (or Adonis Stephenson should he land big this weekend) and those fights don't seem to be on his radar. He's wandering around now with two belts over his shoulders even though Andre Ward is the real champ at 168.

I don't know why he bothers paying the fees.

Saying that, there isn't really such a thing as a champion anymore. Should have said "best at the weight".

So a victory over Groves or Cleverly significantly alters your view of Froch?

Adam D wrote:

kingraf wrote:I'm sure I read something about Froch giving himself "four fights to greatness", or something. Surely he cant be fighting clowns like Cleverly if he is serious about greatness?

From a stat point of view alone, beating and winning a champion/ belt at another weight is surely something that looks good ont he CV

worked for rjj

I think this is just fight hype from both groves and froch. Either that or froch has a seriously short memory regarding calling out calzaghe. I see it as being a back burner fight, make plenty of noise now and see where things sit with groves next year.

Carl has said consistently that he won't travel to light heavy, apart from a ward rematch he's running out of credible opposition. At 168lb. So letting someone talk theirway into a fight is probably part of his retirement plan.

I heard Cleverly at catchweight (170) was the probable outcome.

kingraf wrote:So a victory over Groves or Cleverly significantly alters your view of Froch?

Mine? Not really. He is what he is. Needs to top Ward or Dawson (if the latter remains top dog at 175).

More likely to face Groves, Pascal and Cleverly, though.

Exactly Haz. Carl is giving himself four fights then he is done. Legacy wise, fighting these guys has no benefit. If I was Froch, I'd go one of two ways
Method 1: Lets call it the way of the warrior
November 2013- Hopkins (I mean, the guy has to age eventually, right?)
May 2014 - Groves (big money to keep busy)
November 2014 - Ward, and if I lose that, I retire and accept that I was number 2. Winning that
May 2015 - Ward III time to prove who is king of the jungle

Or..
November 2013 Groves
May 2014 DeGeale
November 2014 Kessler III
May 2015 Cleverly.

Replace Kessler with Murray or Macklin, and you can call that path "The British #1" path

Groves would bottle it against Froch.. soft man sausage

Groves wouldn't bottle it..........However there is something missing with Georgey boy for me..

Cleverly would be too big for froch I reckon.

seanmichaels wrote:I heard Cleverly at catchweight (170) was the probable outcome.

I find catch weights at the upper end of the spectrum a bit of a joke really. I can understand it with respect to lower weights where a pound matters, but surely it is less important when you are talking light heavy.

Leonard started all the s**t with Lalonde............Don't know why some of these guys don't play it smart and come in over the catchweight........

20,000 fans,,,,,,,,,,,Tv.............They won't call it off.........

I probably would if I was fighting Leonard. Just to be able to beat him would make the 10% deduction a bargain. Probably wouldn't do it against other fighters just in case its my last big fight.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Cleverly would be too big for froch I reckon.

He's also got a great engine/work rate and keeps the pressure on, which I don't think Froch likes.

Froch v Cleverly would be a very good fight IMO, both have a very high work rate and are both pretty durable.

Clev will dragged into a shootout with Froch and most likely come off 2nd best. You think Froch gets rushes of blood to the head? Clev makes him look like Mr Reticent

Presumably Froch will have a mandatory coming up soon. I dont think he has had one since winning the IBF.

I can see Hearn looking out for either tempting Kessler for a 3rd installment. Its another either sell which makes both guys alot of money and Hearn now knows Froch is a strong favourite to win.

Beyond that, maybe get a mandatory out of the way which wouldnt be too bad for Hearn as it gives him time to get Groves into a winnable title fight with Stieglitz and I dont think Hearn could resist the temptation of a domestic unification. Its another easy sell and he cant lose.

Cant see them rushing to get Ward.

What happens if Kessler gets a narrow sd over froch? Has he found his limit then?

Id be really surprised if Kessler managed to beat Froch to be honest. I think a third fight would likely be in the UK again (I dont think Hearn would risk Denmark) and both guys would be taking it for the money moreso than in the previous episodes. I dont think at this stage of Kesslers career the same desire is there and if he does come back it would be more because he couldnt turn down the money than a burning desire for revenge. It would be difficult for Froch to get himself as motivated as last time now that he has got his revenge. But for Hearn its an easy sell again and almost certain to be a big financial success.

Truth be told I'd be surprised too, but the loss might have given kessler the boost for one last hurrah and as you said Froch's motivation fr this might not be great. That said, now that he's beaten Kessler, it might have removed any lingering fears in his mind and he may end up crushing him. Just don't see a certain win for froch although he'd be quite fairly the overwhelming favourite.

The impression I got from Kesslers demeaner after the fight wasnt really a guy that was chomping at the bit for a decider. Its was more a guy who had given it his best shot, was happy with his career and was looking forward to retirement. He might still find it difficult to turn down a multi million pay day if Hearn makes the offer though. Maybe after a break he might decide he wants an decider but the impression I got was that he was happy enough to call it square.

If the fight was in Denmark, possibly Kessler might rise to the occasion and Froch might switch off a bit but in the UK even if the fight was is close the decision is going to Froch and I think Hearn would insist on that security blanket.

Doesn't Thomas Oosthuizen become the IBF mandatory, as long as he beats his next challenger? I'm not sure, if I get time off work I could try go to his gym, or mutual friends in the industry, to ask around, but Brian Mitchell has said they want Froch.

Setting the scene for a big fight between Froch and Groves provided Groves brings something to the table.

Froch's attempts at trash talking is ignorant. He comes across as a school yard bully. I reckon next year Groves will take him out of the equation and then the drum beats for a Groves/DeGale fight will beat even louder. They will all avoid Ward in their quest to be the World's best paper champion.

I think Kessler would take the fight in Denmark or on neutral ground. I read Amsterdam was being scoped out for a potential third fight.

Kessler's trainer was critical of the judging and some experienced observers saw the fight as a draw due to the quality of Kessler's work (I had it to Froch by 2). Who knows but this fight makes sense for Froch.

Froch could build up to another crack at Ward next year as a retirement fight.

Why the hell would Froch-Kessler be in Amsterdam..

and who the hell wants to see Froch beat a stand up ordinary European for the third time..

Kessler if far from an ordinary fighter. He beat Froch before becoming inactive for 3 years. Kessler prime for prime has way more talent than Froch.

Kessler mentioned Ireland for a third fight in the post fight ringside interview. That would be a good neutral venue.

Kessler is now very ordinary.

15 years a pro, 46 fights, inactive for 3 years. Not surprising he isn't wasn't what he was.

But as I said prime for prime he was a greater talent than Froch.

Thomas Oosthuizen... I'm sure I could get an interview if I beg the right people. If the podcast can get Froch, we can create a fight!!

Mind you, I don't think he would take it. Oosthuizen is all kinds of award and not a big enough name to risk derailing ones "Four Fights to Greatness"

Strongback wrote:15 years a pro, 46 fights, inactive for 3 years. Not surprising he isn't wasn't what he was.

But as I said prime for prime he was a greater talent than Froch.

True. But Froch fanatics will never acknowledge that. They will claim Froch was injured/robbed in Denmark and the real Froch and Kessler turned up at the 02.

azania wrote:

Strongback wrote:15 years a pro, 46 fights, inactive for 3 years. Not surprising he isn't wasn't what he was.

But as I said prime for prime he was a greater talent than Froch.

True. But Froch fanatics will never acknowledge that. They will claim Froch was injured/robbed in Denmark and the real Froch and Kessler turned up at the 02.

Naw honest Froch fans like me will claim they're pretty evenly matched as both fights showed and that's about right.

Kessler is your average stand up European fighter who gets trashed off anything like world class from a few years ago.........

Calzaghe.........Jones...Toney...Mccallum..........Eubank..........Benn

all beat him .........

Kessler gave Calzaghe one of the best tests of his career and Calzaghe was in a different league to Froch.

I had Kessler a good winner in the first fight with Froch, by 3 rounds.


I don't think Froch is a great talent as Taylor showed. Froch is incredibly durable which is the same attribute that Steve Collins used to win fights.

An old Calzaghe..........

Look you rate Audley and don't rate Haye..so just don't bother.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Kessler is your average stand up European fighter who gets trashed off anything like world class from a few years ago.........

Calzaghe.........Jones...Toney...Mccallum..........Eubank..........Benn

all beat him .........

Jones, Toney and McCallum beat him but your are talking ATG's with those.

Benn and Eubank were big fish in a small pond before Steve Collin's spotted the money they were making and came to the UK and beat Eubank who was better than Benn and Watson.

If Collins beat Eubank then Kessler could have. Kessler was a more talented fighter than Collins.

I'd pick Watson to beat him...Nunn to beat him..........

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:An old Calzaghe..........

Look you rate Audley and don't rate Haye..so just don't bother.

Stop telling lies.

Calzaghe was magnificent the night of that fight with Kessler and at the peak of his powers. His engine was incredible as was his punching ability. Joe's greatest performance for me.

No you rate Audley and you don't rate Haye..........

In fact you demean him ad nauseum..

Manos, considering the fights matchroom make i dont think Hearn is adverse to risk therefore would have no problem in making a fight outside the uk.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:No you rate Audley and you don't rate Haye..........

In fact you demean him ad nauseum..

I have never rated Audley, lard ass.

Hearn does seem to be a fight fan........Can you stop abusing me.....It's getting boring.