Left-Hook Lounge: Golovkin, Mayweather, Ward, and many more!!!

golovkin455Kevin H. (Cincinnatti, OH): Golovkin has impressed me more than any fighter in the sport today. I just don’t see anyone stopping this guy, but I can see him stopping whoever they put in front of him! What are your thoughts about him and who do you want to see him face?

Vivek W. (ESB):I’ll start by saying that as much as I support him for the sport, I don’t think I’m ready to go out on that limb that you and others have quickly jumped too! I say that in light humor, but to be very clear, I won’t be part of that ‘pendulum’ swinging we see every time a fighter does something of this nature. I can remember this rhetoric after Donaire’s KO victory over Darchinyan, Pavlik’s KO victory over Taylor, and so forth! When we look at all of the men who stunned us with KO performances in fights we didn’t anticipate a KO, they each have one thing in common: they fell flat against a man with the skills to out-think them, and the toughness to outlast them.

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Froch: I know how to beat Andre Ward now

ward445If IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch chooses to face Andre Ward in his next fight, he believes he now holds the knowledge of how to beat him this time. Froch’s plan involves him coming on late in the fight when Ward tends to tire out a bit and win by outworking him.

Froch said to the guaradian.co.uk “If we fight again, I know what to do. Late on, he tires. At super middle, he struggles…he’s got to come here.”

Well, Froch won’t ever get to test his theory if he never faces Ward again and right now the rematch between them will likely not happen. Froch’s promoter Eddie Hearn appears more interested in putting Froch back in with Mikkel Kessler again for a third fight.

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Froch Wins and Will Again, but Not Against Ward

froch644Froch dominated Kessler, and will again if they have a third fight. Kessler’s style is too predictable and not busy enough. He lost because he failed to manage distance very well. He failed to take advantage of his hand speed and straighter punches. Ward did not and will not make those mistakes.

Froch got away with his unorthodoxy, because (to use a baseball phrase), Kessler failed to keep his eye on the ball. Froch hardly ever makes that mistake, and Ward never does. He is always focused, and ready to take advantage of miistakes at an instant. Froch gets away with throwing looping shots, because someone like Kessler’s defense is too simple. He either tries to block the punch, and many times unsuccessfully, or duck under it.

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Ward open to fighting Froch in the UK

ward54WBA super middleweight champion super middleweight champion Andre Ward says he’s open to a rematch with IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch this year, whether in the UK or the United States, as long as Froch’s promoter Eddie Hearn shows him how badly he wants to make that fight happen.

Ward said to HBO: “At this point in my career I’m open to any fight that makes sense. A rematch makes sense. I don’t know if it’s going to be in the UK or the United States, but Froch’s promoter needs to show how bad he wants it. He [Froch] has a big fan base here, but he has to understand that I don’t have to come here. If I come here it’s because I want to reward the UK fans. He’s come off two big wins over Lucian Bute and Mikkel Kessler.

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Froch: Ward is ready to be beaten; let him come to the UK to fight me

froch302It looks like if WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (26-0, 14 KO’s) wants a rematch with IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch (31-2, 22 KO’s), then it’s going to have to be in the UK because Froch is making a big production about wanting the fight to take place there because Froch fought Ward in the United States two years ago in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Froch feels that this was a home fight for Ward, even though he comes from Oakland, California, which is 3000 miles away.

After tonight’s 12 round unanimous decision victory for Froch over WBA super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler in London, UK, Froch said to Sky Sports “He [Ward] is there to be beaten, but not over in America. Let’s get him over here. I went over to America and now let’s get him over to England.”

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Hearn: Groves feels that Andre Ward is the only fighter he can’t beat yet at 168

groves4534Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn says his fighter Commonwealth super middleweight champion George Groves (18-0, 14 KO’s) feels that WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Andre Ward is the only guy that Groves feels he can’t handle at 168.

Hearn said to ESPN “The only person he says he can’t beat yet is Andre Ward. That’s the only one that George says, ‘At the moment I wouldn’t challenge Ward but I’ll beat the rest of them.’ I keep saying, ‘Alright, George, let’s work on this, let’s keep work on this.’”

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Andre Ward hoping to fight Chavez Jr.

chavez675WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Andre Ward (26-0, 14 KO’s) says former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (46-1-1, 32 KO’s) is high on his list for a big fight in 2013. Ward just destroyed WBC light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson last September in a 10th round TKO when Dawson made the mistake of moving down in weight to face him at 168. Now, Ward is hoping that Chavez Jr., a huge fighter for the 160 pound division, will move up in weight and face him at 168. Ward thinks it’s a fight that boxing fans will want to see.

Ward said to RingTV “A fight between me and Chavez Jr. is more interesting. I think it’s what fans what to see more than [Sergio] Martinez now.”

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Ward: Froch and Kessler are just using my name to get attention

ward643By Michael Collins: WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward thinks both Mikkel Kessler and Carl Froch have been just using his name to help promote themselves and put themselves on same level as him. Ward beat both Kessler and Froch in the Super Six tournament in fights that left no question who the better fighter was.

Ward hasn’t cared for the comments that both fighters have made since he beat them, and he feels that they’ve made excuses for their losses instead of giving him the credit he deserves for schooling them.

Ward said in an interview with esnewsreporting.com “I’ve lost all respect for Mikkel Kessler and I’ve lost all respect for Carl Froch. Neither one of those guys want to fight [me]. They’re just using my name to keep their name up. If I fight either one of those guys, I don’t care which country it’s in, it’s not going to go the distance. I don’t have to go to Denmark to become a star; they have to come to the U.S if they want to become an all-time great.”

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Andre Ward will need shoulder surgery, fight with Kelly Pavlik off

ward3343By Bill Phanco: WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Andre Ward (26-0, 14 KO’s) will reportedly require shoulder surgery on his right shoulder to fix a problem that occurred in late November while sparring to get ready for his fight with Kelly Pavlik.

It was originally thought that Ward’s injured shoulder would heal with rest, but unfortunately it’s not healing the way they thought it would and he’ll need surgery. Ward’s scheduled fight with Pavlik on February 23rd has been cancelled, and Pavlik’s manager Cameron Dunkin is reportedly looking in another direction. Steve Kim is reporting that Pavlik could face former IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute in March, although nothing was said about that from ESPN.

Pavlik should consider this a good thing that his fight with Ward is off, because he really didn’t have much of a chance to win the fight. It would have been bad for him unless he were to come up with a knockout to somehow negate Ward’s superior skills.

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Andre Ward suffers shoulder injury, fight with Pavlik to be postponed

By Steve Mabbott: WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Andre Ward injured his right shoulder while working out to get ready for his now cancelled January 26th clash against former WBC/WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik. The good news is that the 28-year-old Ward didn’t suffer any tears of his shoulder and won’t need surgery.

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