Froch Wants The Ward Fight In Nottingham

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Carl Froch wants to the Andre Ward fight in Nottingham, does home field advantage make a difference?

http://tinyurl.com/n8k793g

No-one's saying that the fight shouldn't happen - it really would be a fitting swansong for Froch, who doesn't have that many boxing tomorrows in him. Ward may have painted himself into a corner through his own inactivity, but it's not as though Froch's options are infinite, either. The Chavez ship has sailed and I'm fairly sure that the TV execs that matter in the boxing world aren't going to lay out much for Froch against anyone else in Vegas, least of all Ward, who has always had trouble selling water to a desert wanderer.

The alternatives are therefore DeGale, whom Froch has dismissed as a worthy opponent, Golovkin (similarly swatted aside for reasons that aren't immediately obvious) or Ward (at any venue Ward is prepared to countenance), who offers the only chance, however remote, of adding even more sheen to the excellent Froch CV. Or retirement, which still looks the most sensible option from this angle.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:

Derbymanc wrote:It wasn't the greatest Truss, but I don't see why that should bar it from happening again at the moment. Would like to see it to see if Froch can actually try anything different (I doubt it) and would like to see Ward push himself a little bit and start making a statement.

A good outing here in the UK and he increases his fan base easily, plus he can (kind of) put the 'he won't travel' blurbs to bed. Plus if he comes out and says 'yup, i'll come over there' Froch has to make a decision and it puts him on the back foot.

I still don't see why Ward needs to fight him again.........Derby.

Comprehensively beat him...............I gave Tony Tucker the same amount of rounds against Tyson as I gave Froch v Ward........If Tyson had said after that fight " I'm not fighting Tucker again !!"

Would anybody care.....

No. Why? Because his next run of 5 fights was:

Biggs (Olympic & World champ)
Holmes (ATG)
Tubbs (fastest hands in HW history - #amiright?)
Spinks (LHW legend & #1)
Bruno (biggest non-American fight in the world)

And he did all that in 18 MONTHS!!!

Ward won't come to the City Ground.


He's all about the headbutts and the armbars is Andre.


Don't think he believes he can beat Froch in Nottingham in all honesty.


Should be earning a fortune out of the game.


Sad.

Biggs had just gone life and death with Bey.....Holmes was 38 and had been out for over two years...

Tubbs was an underachieving slob...

But my point remains...Tucker didn't do enough seemingly so why Froch ??

Because Tyson showed ambition. That's what sets him apart from Ward.

I agree with Herman..I can't see why Andre would ever think he could beat Carl..

Okay Toppy..

You obviously didn't know Holmes was 38 and Biggs was rushed into a shot because he sneaked past journeymen like Snipes and Bey..

I'll forgive you..

Still more ambition than Ward has shown.

So what's your point?

Do you even have one anymore or are you just drowing in your own quagmire of bullsh!t??

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Biggs had just gone life and death with Bey.....Holmes was 38 and had been out for over two years...

Tubbs was an underachieving slob...

But my point remains...Tucker didn't do enough seemingly so why Froch ??

It's not Froch getting the shot, it's Ward getting the shot.

On that basis what has Ward done in the last year that says he should be given the opportunity to walk straight into a title shot.

Kessler-Green-Bika-Abraham-Froch-Dawson.

No ambition whatsoever.

For someone who knows jack.....You've got plenty of heart..Toppy.

Derbymanc wrote:On that basis what has Ward done in the last year that says he should be given the opportunity to walk straight into a title shot.

You don't really think it works like that do you?

I know i'm daft Scott, not that daft

The point is that it's Froch giving Ward the shot, not the other way round. Ward has been sat on his butt for too long and needs to start cementing himself as a top top guy.

He needs to draw some money and needs to show people he's got the ambition and drive which it doesn't look like at the minute.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Love to see him fight GGG.........

He's so awkward and smart.....Love to see how GGG copes.........

Another Whittaker v nelson for me..

For one of a very small amount of times this will happen over the course of 2015, I agree with you Truss.

However, I would actually prefer to see GGG vs Froch. Could see it being an absolute barnstormer, much like Benn vs Gman but without the tragic ending. Prov vs Rios et all would take a back seat compared to this for me, but then I am slightly biased about Froch. Still has a Sensual massage of a brother though.

Scottrf wrote:Kessler-Green-Bika-Abraham-Froch-Dawson.

No ambition whatsoever.

Stop being a deliberate dope. This whole conversation is about post-Froch.

Everyone agrees that Ward cleaned up the division. What has he done since?

Presume you won't answer this, same as you couldn't provide a retort to my previous Ward question.

TopHat24/7 wrote:

Scottrf wrote:Kessler-Green-Bika-Abraham-Froch-Dawson.

No ambition whatsoever.

Stop being a deliberate dope.  This whole conversation is about post-Froch.

Everyone agrees that Ward cleaned up the division.  What has he done since?

Presume you won't answer this, same as you couldn't provide a retort to my previous Ward question.

I've already said, he's had contract and legal issues.

I'm surprised you haven't heard about them. They are pretty well known.

I didn't purposely ignore anything. Presumably I just thought it was irrelevant.

Coxy001 wrote:

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Love to see him fight GGG.........

He's so awkward and smart.....Love to see how GGG copes.........

Another Whittaker v nelson for me..

For one of a very small amount of times this will happen over the course of 2015, I agree with you Truss.

Interesting that Truss wants/expects GGG to do for Ward what he doesn't want/expect Mayweather to do for GGG.

Scottrf wrote:

TopHat24/7 wrote:

Scottrf wrote:Kessler-Green-Bika-Abraham-Froch-Dawson.

No ambition whatsoever.

Stop being a deliberate dope.  This whole conversation is about post-Froch.

Everyone agrees that Ward cleaned up the division.  What has he done since?

Presume you won't answer this, same as you couldn't provide a retort to my previous Ward question.

I've already said, he's had contract and legal issues.

I'm surprised you haven't heard about them. They are pretty well known.

I didn't purposely ignore anything. Presumably I just thought it was irrelevant.

You replied, you just couldn't counter.

Contracts can, and are, bought out regularly. If Ward had any ambition he could've done the same.

Derbymanc wrote:He needs to draw some money

Has he now turned in to a jobseeker or something?!

How many times do you want him to clean up..

You mentioned Tyson...After he cleaned up it was....Tillman, Mathis, Stewart, Norris, Bruno and Seldon..

I don't know..

We're all jobseekers at heart Coxy, always looking for that bigger buck etc etc.


Problem is Truss that Ward has been sat out of the sport for a few years now. He should by rights have to fight his way back into contention (like Haye,) but that hasn't happened.

Will be interesting to see who he fights instead of Froch as I can't see him going over there (unless Vegas) and I don't think Ward wants to come over here.

TopHat24/7 wrote:You replied, you just couldn't counter.

Contracts can, and are, bought out regularly.  If Ward had any ambition he could've done the same.

Yeah, you're right, no boxer has ever had trouble getting themselves out of a promotional contract.

He's been injured too.

Of course I think he's wasting his career too, but to say he's lacking ambition and balls is a bit naive.

Ward remains the man to beat in the division.

His inactivity, though, leaves him in something of a bind. He can't draw a crowd in the US, other than in Oakland (where he fought most of his Super Six campaign). Froch isn't going to face him there and the alternative - Vegas for instance - isn't viable (the fight wouldn't sell there).

The fight would actually make sense in Nottingham. Hearn could pump up Froch's chances due to his previous performances on home turf (Bute for example) and Ward's lack of experience fighting on the road. It would also sell out.

As far as I'm aware, Ward has requested a tune up bout - which the Network (does he fight on HBO?) has rejected. And so we're left with posturing from both camps: Froch, because he'll only ever take the fight in England and Ward, because he feels he's still the top man and should dictate terms. That isn't a great recipe for the fight becoming a reality.

Scottrf wrote:

TopHat24/7 wrote:You replied, you just couldn't counter.

Contracts can, and are, bought out regularly.  If Ward had any ambition he could've done the same.

Yeah, you're right, no boxer has ever had trouble getting themselves out of a promotional contract.

He's been injured too.

Of course I think he's wasting his career too, but to say he's lacking ambition and balls is a bit naive.

Excuses excuses....largely baloney.

It was discussed on here a while back, he could've bought out his contract pretty easily (i.e. broken it and paid the damages) but never showed any interest in fighting outside his backyard or against any other challenges/ers once he'd 'cleaned up'.

TopHat24/7 wrote:Excuses excuses....largely baloney.

It was discussed on here a while back, he could've bought out his contract pretty easily (i.e. broken it and paid the damages) but never showed any interest in fighting outside his backyard or against any other challenges/ers once he'd 'cleaned up'.

I'm sure plenty of compelling evidence was provided by the legal professionals with extensive experience in sport contracts.

Am I the only one who gives Froch a chance on home turf? Couple that with inactivity and I reckon he 'could' upset Ward.

Still don't want to see the fight happen though. I know Froch won't but GGG/Kovalev are far more appealing fights for the fans.

The Toppy principle....Try to make a little knowledge go a long way!

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:The Toppy principle....Try to make a little knowledge go a long way!

At least he tries, unlike some

What about Froch's inactivity..He's 36 as well..

Scottrf wrote:

TopHat24/7 wrote:Excuses excuses....largely baloney.

It was discussed on here a while back, he could've bought out his contract pretty easily (i.e. broken it and paid the damages) but never showed any interest in fighting outside his backyard or against any other challenges/ers once he'd 'cleaned up'.

I'm sure plenty of compelling evidence was provided by the legal professionals with extensive experience in sport contracts.

A contract is a contract. 'Sport' is irrelevant. Break it and you get sued for the breach, lose and pay damanges.

You're just desperate to excuse Ward's clear lack of ambition since 'cleaning up'.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:What about Froch's inactivity..He's 36 as well..

Bute, Kessler and GG twice.......yeh, he's been sooooooo inactive

I'm talking to Coxy about the time since his last fight ie his ring rust too..

You prat.

In fairness, Froch has fought once in the last fourteen months or whatever it is and he will in fact be 38 this summer, so time is not exactly his friend.

I'm sure people will point to myriad late 30s-somethings who have done OK in recent times, not to mention ancient Hoppo, but Froch's style scarcely lends itself to huge longevity. It's a tribute to him that he's endured as well as he has. Still, I'd worry just as much about his not particularly demanding recent schedule as I would about the much younger Ward's ring-rust, which probably won't last that long. The other possible factor in Froch's favour, home advantage, is also not enough for me to see him bridging the superiority gap in all aspects of the game that Ward demonstrated at the first time of asking.

I would like to see this fight over here. Not for one split second do I think it makes a difference to the outcome. Ward is too good for Froch and a change of location is not changing that. However I think it would be good for the sport. I understand the sensible fiscal reasons for the major fights remaining in the States, but I think opportunities to see the cream of the sport in the flesh is increasingly unavailable to those outside of the states so would be nice to see Ward buck this trend. There is nothing like seeing a fight or great fighter live, that should not be the exclusive reserve of those either rich enough or committed enough to endure the considerable expense of a trip stateside.

I'm baffled by the amount of nonsense being spouted on here in a childish attempt at oneupmanship, arguing for the sake of arguing.

Derbymanc- You may want to reassess who the actual WBA champion is and what title would be the line, a little hint it wouldn't be Froch's regular title but Wards fully fledged WBA title and lineal championship. The WBA can mandate a regular champion face the full champion of be stripped of his title, it's the same situation we had with Povetkin and Wlad.

Toppy- Expecting/wanting a career Middleweight to move up and fight Andre Ward is not a left field suggestion and is in no way comparable to expecting a former super Featherweight and now natural Welterweight to step up to face Golovkin. One of those is realistic and a fight that should happen, the other one simply isn't a consideration.

Ward deserves some slack because of his promotional issues, as an active boxer he was more than willing to fight the top men in the division. His fight with Dawson has been revised and the circumstances changed, it was Dawson who wanted the fight at 168lbs not Ward, this meant that if he lost he still kept hold of his light heavyweight title.

Herman- I'm the biggest Froch fan on here and even i'll admit that Ward beats him regardless of venue, the reason being he's just too good, fighting in Nottingham isn't going to overturn what was a world class schooling. You can make the fight close on the scorecards but in reality Ward easily won 8 rounds, 3 could have gone either way and Froch won the last fairly convincingly once Ward had shut down his offence.

Also Toppy you're being incredibly naive if you think Ward could have walked away from his contract without a hellacious fight, sports contracts are pretty damn hard to break in America, you are deliberately overlooking that fact.

Wonderful batch of excuses there, Hammer.....

What excuses would they be Toppy or are you more likely just trying to antagonise Truss, in reality that's all you ever do on here, he's says one thing you'll then try and say the opposite but with no real foundation of truth.

TopHat24/7 wrote:

Scottrf wrote:

TopHat24/7 wrote:Excuses excuses....largely baloney.

It was discussed on here a while back, he could've bought out his contract pretty easily (i.e. broken it and paid the damages) but never showed any interest in fighting outside his backyard or against any other challenges/ers once he'd 'cleaned up'.

I'm sure plenty of compelling evidence was provided by the legal professionals with extensive experience in sport contracts.

A contract is a contract. 'Sport' is irrelevant.  Break it and you get sued for the breach, lose and pay damanges.

You're just desperate to excuse Ward's clear lack of ambition since 'cleaning up'.

The simple fact is you don't have a clue about the terms of his contract, his ability to pay the damages, any offers he's had outside of the contract or his personal situation. Life isn't as simple as you evidently are. It's easy to criticise when you have no skin in the game.

As for ambition, he's Olympic and World Champion. You don't get there without ambition. What have you achieved to question his ambition?

I'm not desperate for anything. I'm not a particular fan. I'm just more realistic and show more respect for elite boxers.

Bottom line Hammer is Ward makes three times in Nottingham what he makes anywhere else.


He also had a much easier ride in the Super Six than Froch who had to do a lot of air miles, Dirrell pulling out of their match, having all his fights at home bar the final. It was a jaded Froch he met in the final imo.

Doesn't matter who wins at the end of the day, I just think Ward could use making some more fans, and coming to Nottingham would do him a lot of favours. I don't think he will however, he's worried imo he'll get a referee who won't stand for his nonsense and make him fight center ring. Which would suit Froch.

There was no nonsense in the Froch fight, it was in fact a fairly clean fight, no real use of the head or elbows, again it's a meaningless excuse.

Ward wasn't jaded because he's a better boxer and takes very little punishment in his fights, at no stage is that going to be any different, Froch will always have more miles on the clock because of his fighting style.

Just don't be so quick to write off Froch's chances if the fight takes place in Nottingham that's all I'm saying.


He's got a much better chance than you think. And Ward knows it too.

He has about as much chance as I think he has which is very little, the only advantage he has is his chin; Ward is faster, stronger, better jab, better at range, better inside, better defence, better footwork, need I go on?

Up to you if you want to go on, I'm not asking you to that's for sure.


If it's such an easy fight for Ward, why such reluctance on his part?

He's beaten Froch easily enough already that's why, from his point of view there is no need to go over old ground, what next rematches with Bika, Abraham and Kessler?

Also, ego. World Champions don't like to be dictated to. Who knows if he's ever had a real offer anyway.

Forgetting Ward and Froch... Bloody brilliant from the WBA, who are a shining example to other organisations. Having realised that, despite having two champions at 168, they've only had one #1 contender fight for their title in the last two years. So what do they do? They unify their... uh... organisation, the winner gets propped up to "Super Champ", the "regular" title becomes vacant, they find a sorry sucka to fight for it, and they can get fix their cash flow problem. Bloody brilliant.

Raf, Ward is already 'Super Champion'.

All the fans want to see is for him to give up home advantage.

That is all.


And I'll repeat, he earns three times as much in Nottingham as anywhere else.

Herman Jaggery wrote: All the British fans want to see is for him to give up home advantage.

That is all.


And I'll repeat, he earns three times as much in Nottingham as anywhere else.

Fixed that for you, we might as well have rematches of every single one sided fight but change the venue.

Neither of them want the fight. Its a decent bluff by Froch. He knows Ward doesnt travel and wont accept a substantially smaller split. He can save face by pretending hes up for the fight in Nottingham and Ward is the one running from it. Froch did this with Hopkins a while back. Said Hopkins at the City Ground would motivate him like nothing else. Obviously banking on Hopkins not being up for travelling. When Hopkins said lets talk about this Froch did a full U-turn. It would be the same with Ward. Froch will take on anyone as long as they are called Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Ward will take on anyone as long as they will travel to his hometown, move to his weight class and fight for shag all money.