by James Slater – It’s no secret how ultra-confident a fighter WBC super-middleweight champion Carl Froch is. It’s also well known how “The Cobra” is a man who is completely unafraid to vocally express his confidence when heading into a fight – no matter who it’s against. More than once already, the unbeaten 32-year-old has given both the fans and upcoming challenger and fellow Super-Six entrant Andre Dirrell a taste of his boastful confidence/arrogance.
Having previously gone on record as saying he will knock out the unbeaten Dirrell when they meet in Nottingham on October 17th, Froch today went a step further. Froch’s KO prediction of course still sticks, but now the WBC champ is suggesting that the beating he gives the former Olympian will be so bad that the 27-year-old may not want to box on afterwards!
“Dirrell is confident, but it is my job to put him in his place and make him realise he is coming into the snake pit,” Froch told The Daily Star.. “After I have smashed him to smithereens he may not even want to box on.”
There is no doubting the withering punching power and great physical strength Froch possesses, and when on the attack, as against Jermain Taylor last time out, he can be brutal. But southpaw Dirrell, the better natural boxer by some way according to most experts, will be looking to take advantage of Froch’s defensive holes and the clumsy element to his game his critics say he has still to work out. Things will likely work to the defending champion’s way if he can make it a gruelling type of slugfest next month, but what if the younger man makes it a boxing match? Remember how “Bad Intentions” was outclassing and out-pointing Froch in their fight?
Even taking all this into account, though, it will take a great game-plan and an iron resolve from Dirrell, 18-0(13) if he’s to take away Froch’s title and unbeaten record. Dirrell will get hit in October, and we don’t yet know of he’ll be able to take “The Cobra’s” stiff, relentless punches. I personally see a fight not all that dissimilar to Froch-Taylor, with Dirrell pulling ahead on the cards and making Froch look a little silly at times, only to eventually be worn down and taken out late.
For what it’s worth, then, I think Froch will indeed get his KO win. But no way will “The Matrix” want to leave the Super-Six tourney as a result. That really would be a big shock.