Froch v Groves II Poll

First topic message reminder :

I know I know, another thread. But, it is going to be interesting to see how you clal it.

Plus, this fight has captured mainstream public attention.

It's something when you're getting called ignorant by naz.....


I don't think you need to be an amateur psychologist to see how insecure froch is. It's been pretty clear from the calling out of Calzaghe days that he has a desperate need for acceptance. I suspect that that is what drives him. He's both proud and insecure. The whole massive international superstar thing, and throwing his toys out of the pram at gg's lack of respect just reinforces it. He has admitted he was insecure in his early days, but if he was as full of self belief as he proclaims he wouldn't give a monkeys what groves thought of him.

I don't think this is a weakness by the way, I think the desire to prove himself (to him and the world) is what gets him to the gym everyday.

I think after seeing the reaction to the fight he 'll want to prove to everyone that he's the better man and that he's done the right thing to get the respect he craves. I can hear his cringeworthy press conference speech when the fight is announced stating that although everyone was wrong about the stoppage, true warriors want to remove all doubt.

However, wary he may be of groves, he won't want to be labelled a ducker, it will undermine everything that has gone before for him. It's possible McCracken talks him into retirement, but i'd be genuinely shocked if this fight doesnt happen.

Cue input from a professional psychologist to point out that this post couldn't be wider of the mark!

Rowley wrote:Still upset me hearing him booed Saturday. I can assure you being the only guy in 20,000 cheering someone whilst everyone else boos them is a lonely position to be in.

I'm sure you're exaggerating a little, Jeff, but how bad was the booing?  Give us a percentage.  50%?  75%?

I can't understand that attitude.  Boo the ref, boo the promoter, do what you like, but why boo Froch?  He didn't stop the fight too early.

He deserves a little more respect.  The recent British boxing landscape would look pretty barren without him.

I was referring to the booing of Naz Tina, which was pretty horrific. However would say Froch was around 50%. The ref got absolute dogs abuse though.

Have only been to two fights where the song "the referees a w***er" has been sung, the first was Enzo vs Frenkel so was pretty understandable.

I am with you Tina, can't understand the booing of Froch, yet again he was in a thoroughly entertaining fight.

I think we've seen the last of Froch. The only fight out there for him now is a Groves rematch. Imagine how humiliating the build up would be for Froch, I'm not sure his ego could take it. Fightnight would also be an inevitably painful re-run of the first 6 rounds of last weekend, possibly worse. Is McCraken going to allow that to happen to Carl at this stage?

I can see team Froch cooking up a career ending injury excuse sometime soon.

Rowley wrote:I was referring to the booing of Naz Tina, which was pretty horrific. However would say Froch was around 50%. The ref got absolute dogs abuse though.

Have only been to two fights where the song "the referees a w***er" has been sung, the first was Enzo vs Frenkel so was pretty understandable.

I am with you Tina, can't understand the booing of Froch, yet again he was in a thoroughly entertaining fight.

Ah, ok. Understood.

I haven't been to a fight since 2007 but in the masses I have been to over the years before that, I have never heard that chant once. It is pretty moronic. Refs might be incompetent, but they do things in the heat of the moment and in the fighters best interest.

Best left to the football fans, that one.

Can’t decide if it is just me getting older or whether things are changing but there does seem to be a different kind of crowd at fights now, does seem to be more hassle and general boorishness which I can’t remember being there 10 or more years ago. However there is always the possibility this is nostalgia playing tricks and having me thinking things were better when I was a lad.

Mind the windows Tino. wrote:

Rowley wrote:Still upset me hearing him booed Saturday. I can assure you being the only guy in 20,000 cheering someone whilst everyone else boos them is a lonely position to be in.

I'm sure you're exaggerating a little, Jeff, but how bad was the booing?  Give us a percentage.  50%?  75%?

I can't understand that attitude.  Boo the ref, boo the promoter, do what you like, but why boo Froch?  He didn't stop the fight too early.

He deserves a little more respect.  The recent British boxing landscape would look pretty barren without him.

I cheered, Rowley. He's still a boxing hero of mine even now.

Rowley wrote:Can’t decide if it is just me getting older or whether things are changing but there does seem to be a different kind of crowd at fights now, does seem to be more hassle and general boorishness which I can’t remember being there 10 or more years ago. However there is always the possibility this is nostalgia playing tricks and having me thinking things were better when I was a lad.

There was some boorish behavior at Hamed v Lawal, I know that much.

Mayweathers cellmate wrote:It was beyond a poor decision and can only be explained as the ref helping the promoters marquee fighter = corrupt/bent. I'm not saying that Froch caused the stoppage, in any way, but it was an extremely un-warrior like way to win a fight.

I think coming back in a fight that you're losing badly to stop your opponent is quite a warrior like way to win a fight. The stoppage is clearly questionable, but I wouldn't have thought Froch felt like he was having his 'ass' saved when the referee stepped in.

I was a fan of naz back in the day. He ruffled a few feathers back then and he's not easy to like when you listen to him now.

Wow. Came back to have a browse about some boxing debates/news etc............and low and behold, we still have this tedious argument.

Ill come back in a few days.........hopefully the tune has changed!!

steam

I still can’t bring myself to dislike him milky, first love and all that. Agree he can come across as a bit of a tool in his interviews but to be fair he always did. Is an odd thing charisma, whilst I can understand Naz’ personality not being to everyone’s tastes, and am sure he would not be to mine was he to emerge now, it never seemed forced or contrived with Naz as it does with the likes of Degale.

Windy perhaps summed him up best when he said there was probably not another fighter who infuriated him as much when he was around, but he has missed him as much as any other fighter since Ali since he retired.

Eddie Hearn also said Carl fighting again wasn't a given during a post fight interview with IFilm London.  He seemed to show concern for Froch's well being given all the hard fights.

I know in the war of words Groves referred to Froch's blinking and to me it almost looks like a facial tick. I also thought Froch having his arm around Eddie's shoulder during a Ringside interview and then stroking Hearn's neck seemed very strange and certainly it did to Eddie! It was almost as if Froch was doing it without realising he was doing it.

Froch has always been bizarre in interviews but he has taken the biscuit during this fight.

I am finding myself agreeing with Paddy Fitzpatrick in that Froch should get a full neurological check-up before fighting again.  Those with a granite chin often suffer most from pugilistic dementia.

Rowley wrote:I still can’t bring myself to dislike him milky, first love and all that. Agree he can come across as a bit of a tool in his interviews but to be fair he always did. Is an odd thing charisma, whilst I can understand Naz’ personality not being to everyone’s tastes, and am sure he would not be to mine was he to emerge now, it never seemed forced or contrived with Naz as it does with the likes of Degale.

Windy perhaps summed him up best when he said there was probably not another fighter who infuriated him as much when he was around, but he has missed him as much as any other fighter since Ali since he retired.

I don't see much charisma in the poisoned dwarf these days.

Check him out joining Eddie in his iFilmLondon post fight interview. Go to 3.10.





Naz was trying to kiss ass so bad I was waiting for him to pull Eddie's trousers down.  He must be looking for a job with Matchroom.  The complete arrogance of the man comes out when he thinks a passerby shouldn't be walking down the corridor when he is being interviewed.

Two sayings are true 'first love is the deepest' and 'love is blind'.  

I understand where you come from with that rowley. However, I think the showman charisma always came across in the ring better than out of it with naz. Also I was disappointed in him jacking it in. Unlike Eubank who is genuinely dingbats, and i still like despite the rubbish (maybe because of the rubbish) he spouts, it just doesn't work with naz as an ex fighter for me. Also, hard to take arrogance seriously when it's coming from the mouth of a weeble!

I do agree with you milky. Naz is just a complete blind spot for me, suspect if I came home to see him cuddled up to TSMR and kicking the cat I would find a way to forgive it.

You're more likely to come home finding him raiding the fridge and roasting the cat.

milkyboy wrote:You're more likely to come home finding him raiding the fridge .

Now that is harder to forgive.

I booed Froch Rowley. And I hate booing, it makes me feel like I'm at a panto. But his comments directly after the fight needed to be shot down. I know the bloke has taken a LOT of blows to the head but that man has some serious ego issues.

Mayweathers cellmate wrote:I think we've seen the last of Froch. The only fight out there for him now is a Groves rematch. Imagine how humiliating the build up would be for Froch, I'm not sure his ego could take it. Fightnight would also be an inevitably painful re-run of the first 6 rounds of last weekend, possibly worse. Is McCraken going to allow that to happen to Carl at this stage?

I can see team Froch cooking up a career ending injury excuse sometime soon.

As he claims to be such great mates with David Haye, some will suggest he should have no shortage of excuses then

I think froch largely said what you would expect from him under the circumstances and given his personality. He was hardly going to say, yeh he kicked my butt and I got out of jail with a soft stoppage. To some degree I'm surprised at the extent of the backlash really - from his own fans.

I guess that the reaction hinged on him refusing to take groves' offer of a hand shake.... Until someone had a word... And then say that the ref was right and the crowd was wrong. On this occasion, he didnt guage the mood and being gracious in victory might have been a smarter move. Nobody likes a sore loser, but we don't warm to sore winners either.

Rowley wrote:Can’t decide if it is just me getting older or whether things are changing but there does seem to be a different kind of crowd at fights now, does seem to be more hassle and general boorishness which I can’t remember being there 10 or more years ago. However there is always the possibility this is nostalgia playing tricks and having me thinking things were better when I was a lad.

Do find the average british sports fan to be fickle though............Froch did nothing wrong for sure..........But you only have to look at this Trott guy who is returning from Australia........Casual read of the cricket threads last year and he was as solid as brick...........A couple of bad innings and he can't bat and neeeds dumping........

Hatton was the business when he was winning.............Now he's an overrated ex alphabet champ to many on here............No wonder he has problems If he reads some of the threads on here.......If only every Brit boxer had a record like his!!

Do feel the British should get behind Sportsmen more who do the Country proud instead of looking for ways to bring them down......

True we like an underdog and a plucky loser more than a winner truss.

That said, I thought hatton was a very carefully managed marketers dream while he was fighting, and I got wound up by listening to fanboys who thought he was the next coming. Simply, I never rated him as highly as you, no hindsight going on. Always wanted him to win though.

I thought his war and win with Kosta was briliant stuff alone........

Outfought a warrior..

It was a great win, but it was also good timing, an inactive champion just shy of 36th birthday on home soil. Credibility likely still in tact should he have lost... One of warren's better pieces of matchmaking and that's not a retrospective view on my part. But hey it's not a hatton thread!

I dont think Froch did anything in the ring that really warranted being booed but I think a lot of people are starting to realise what a nob he is. Its not just this fight or one off incidents. He has always been a pr1ck. The more coverage he gets, the more obvious it becomes. Im not in any hurry to see him retire though. His fights are almost always a good watch.

Problem with Trott is he's looked fantastic in one year and a bit and woefully out of his depth in others - now that its attributed to his mental health then its understandable. Otherwise he was making amatuerish mistakes that opened up a weakness in the area traditionally held by the best batsman.

Think Froch is a man sausage and have always thought he was a man sausage - but that night and subsequently he's shed his facade for the cameras and everyone can see what a man sausage he is.

As for Hatton, its hard to criticise a man who is fighting and winning against decent opposition, even if he does get splattered at the top. Bit like Flintoff - great for the moment - not so great once the dust has settled.

Mind the windows Tino. wrote:

Rowley wrote:Can’t decide if it is just me getting older or whether things are changing but there does seem to be a different kind of crowd at fights now, does seem to be more hassle and general boorishness which I can’t remember being there 10 or more years ago. However there is always the possibility this is nostalgia playing tricks and having me thinking things were better when I was a lad.

There was some boorish behavior at Hamed v Lawal, I know that much.

I remember massive crowd fights in the 90's - one in particular involving 2 Birmingham fighters? Thought it was an issue for a while back then?

Didnt Eubank used to wear a bullet proof vest when he was fighting in Ireland or something because he thought the Irish would shoot him? Possibly an urban legend but I heard it somewhere.

Should be all as well behaved as Minter-Hagler..........Where the crowd had so much class they even treated Marv to a drink afterwards.........