Froch v Groves II – Postscript

06/02/201406/02/2014 John Wight

Someone once described boxing as show business with blood. Joe Frazier’s take on it was perhaps more to the point. “Boxing is the only sport where you can get your brain shook, your money took, and your name in the undertaker book.”

How to place boxing as a sport in the second decade of the 21st century? Whenever we take a measure of ourselves and society today the word civilized automatically springs to mind – and yet, interrupting this smug belief in our own sophistication, up pops a sport like boxing to remind us of the uncomfortable truth that barbarism still has its place.

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Carl Froch: heading towards Vegas, a spectacular career finale and The Hall of Fame!

06/01/201406/01/2014 James Slater

Carl Froch, as the saying goes, has the world at his feet. The incredible 36-year-old scored his biggest and most satisfying win last night in crushing his most annoying and emotionally testing rival in George Groves (biggest in terms of record-breaking Box Office success and huge Wembley sell-out live gate) and now, as “The Cobra” casts an eye over how he will see out the remainder of his career as one of the greatest British fighters of all time, the options are plentiful for his next fight.

In silencing Groves – a talented and gifted fighter who pushed him hard over 15 rounds in two exciting battles – Froch showed once again how good he is. Capable of overcoming just about any style (with the exception of one boxer, who I will come back to further in this article), the Nottingham man has taken on all comers: see his fantastic wins over guys named Kessler, Bute, Dirrell, Abraham, Johnson, Pascal etc, etc. And now, already worthy, without any doubt, of being inducted into The Hall of Fame when the required amount of time has gone by, Froch can pick and choose how he walks away, the finishing touches put on his fine career.

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Froch – Groves: Unfinished Business – A Breakdown

05/30/2014 Jazz Singh Gill

The Grudge, the Golden boys and the Little Stars

Over 75 years since the last time 80 000 people gathered to watch a boxing fight in the UK, the Carl Froch vs George Groves rematch is undeniably a special event.

The headline event has every ingredient required to make it worthy of such an epic sporting occasion. However, just to ensure the night cannot fail, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom promotions has put on a fantastic undercard too.

In Carl Froch vs George Groves we have old vs young, the proven veteran against the up-and-coming contender and north vs south, a mix which has captured the imagination of the nation and the entire boxing world.

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Eight experts give their pre-fight predictions on Froch-Groves II

05/30/201405/30/2014 James Slater

Photo by HBO/Ed Mulholland – One of the biggest fights in British boxing history will take place tomorrow, as bitter super-middleweight rivals Carl Froch and George Groves will go at it in front of 80,000 fans at Wembley. Currently, seemingly everyone is talking about the fight and who will win.

Here, eight figures from the boxing world give their pre-fight predictions:

Harold “The Shadow” Knight, former co-trainer of Lennox Lewis and current co-trainer of Zhang Zhilei:

“I’m going with Froch, even though I think Groves will test Froch and give him a competitive fight. Experience and the grit and toughness Froch has will see him keeping his titles.”

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How would a near-prime Joe Calzaghe fare today?

05/30/201405/30/2014 Alexander Caldwell

With bated breath, the entire boxing world is looking forward to the eagerly anticipated rematch between Carl Froch and George Groves. The sheer energy and excitement that will undoubtedly be unleashed by 80,000 screaming British fans is so electric it can practically be felt already. Their first encounter was incredible, and there is every reason to believe that this time the action will be every bit as intense, with the possibility of even exceeding the former’s fireworks. The atmosphere being generated is so fiery and profound and explosive, that it is totally reminiscent of the mood often created during the lead-up for fights involving the soon-to-be Hall of Fame inductee, Joe Calzaghe, the greatest super middleweight boxing has ever known. Makes you kind of wonder how Joe Calzaghe would do if he was fighting today at or near his best?

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Carl Froch v George Groves 2: The Rematch Is Here!

05/29/201405/29/2014 John Wight

The most anticipated fight in British boxing in decades is upon us. On Saturday at Wembley Stadium in London, Carl Froch and George Groves will climb into the ring in front of 80,000 spectators, with millions watching on television not only in Britain but around the world.

Not since the Eubank v Benn rematch at Old Trafford in 1993 has a domestic boxing rivalry generated this much excitement. Frank Bruno’s heavyweight clash with Lennox Lewis at Cardiff Arms Park, again in 1993, is also up there, but in terms of scale and magnitude, Carl Froch v George Groves exceeds both.

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Hey Floyd, Manny! Remember when Wladimir Klitschko called out David Haye on YouTube?

05/29/201405/29/2014 Alexander Caldwell

Remember when heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko called out David Haye in a YouTube video? You remember David Haye, right? He was the polite-sounding, trash-talking, loud-mouth, who was packing a glass toe, and literally talked himself into the heavyweight spotlight without really doing much of anything to actually earn it. Sure, Haye picked up an ABC strap when he squeaked by Nikolai Valuev with an uneventful majority decision victory over the faded aging behemoth. But even before that happened, Haye had already talked himself into title contention by using nothing more than his big loud mouth. It was brilliant! An amazing demonstration of successful self-promotion, the likes of which hasn’t been matched by any other boxer in recent years. And it worked too, even if he did bail out of fights with each Klitschko brother before targeting easier prey in Valuev, for his silly alphabet title trinket that few true fight fans even recognized. It was genius on the part of Haye.

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Are Mayweather & Pacquiao hoping Cotto beats Martinez?

05/28/201405/28/2014 Alexander Caldwell

Miguel Cotto’s chances against Sergio Martinez are probably slim. Martinez is likely too big and too skilled for Cotto, who never really shined at any point during his campaign north of 147. Cotto has had an exceptional boxing career and is surely a first ballot future HOF’er, but he is clearly on the downside and Martinez has the type of style that will befuddle Cotto. The boxing pride of Puerto Rico is biting off more than he can chew. If Martinez’s stamina is even close to what we are accustomed to seeing from him, this fight could be an absolute nightmare for Cotto where he endures a prolonged beating and may not even survive to see the final bell.

But who knows? This is boxing and one punch can change a fight, right? Maybe Martinez will show his age. Perhaps his long career has taken its toll and recent injuries will impact his performance. Or maybe Freddie Roach will have a magical ace up his sleeve, or perhaps Cotto will even have something left in the tank for a change over the last few rounds should he make it that far. There is even the possibility of a freak accident, a bad/controversial decision, or a botched call by the referee. Anything can happen in boxing, so maybe we shouldn’t be too quick to write Cotto off just yet.

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Peace Through Fighting: The Humanity of Boxing

05/28/201405/28/2014 Bill Barner

“Boxing is a science that adds humanity to a peoples’ conduct & courage to their national character. With boxing, trifling quarrels do not produce assassination and revenge is never finished by murder.” Pierce Egan, 1820

“Boxing is egalitarian. In the ring, rank, age, colour and wealth are irrelevant.” Nelson Mandela

“Politics is comparable to boxing. The only thing is that in politics there are basically no rules. In boxing, you can get a black eye, but in politics you can get poison in your food or a bullet in the head.” Wladimir Klitchko

“In here were two guys killing each other. But I guess that’s better than million.” Sylvester Stallone, Rocky IV.

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Matthew Saad Muhammad Obit – Matthew: You Gave Us Everything You Had!

05/28/201405/27/2014 Peltz Boxing

Matthew Saad Muhammad, perhaps the most entertaining light-heavyweight in boxing history, passed away over the weekend at the age of 59. Promoter J Russell Peltz, International Boxing Hall of Fame class of 2004, recalls his days with Saad.

Matthew: You Gave Us Everything You Had!

I was in my car Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh with my wife, Linda, and our grand-children and we were on our way to see the Pirates play at PNC Park when the call came in over the car-phone speaker. It was Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, calling from Las Vegas, to tell us that Matthew Saad Muhammad had passed away the night before.

Eddie boxed several times for me in the 1970s and 1980s and we have a friendship based on mutual respect. Eddie has become a keeper-of-the-flame for the fighters of his era and in January, 2011, he and his wife flew from Las Vegas to Philadelphia to attend Bennie Briscoe’s funeral, something I will never forget.

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