By James Slater – Unbeaten Andre Ward, the reining WBA super-middleweight champion and also most fans’ choice when it comes to picking a winner of the “Super Six” tournament, feels he will be meeting Britain’s Carl Froch after he’s dealt with Germany’s Arthur Abraham. The classy boxer known as “S.O.G” faces Abraham in his own semi-final of the tourney on May 15th, a week before the night Froch, the WBC champ, will face Glen Johnson in his semi.
And, in talking with thisisnotingham.com, Ward said he feels “The Cobra” will beat Johnson, in a very tough fight..
“I can see Carl Froch getting his hand raised against Glen Johnson,” Ward stated. “But it’s going to be tough because I don’t think that Glen has ever been a pushover. I would definitely choose The Cobra [when it comes to who he’d prefer to fight between Froch and Johnson]. And I think Las Vegas would be a perfect venue.”
Can Ward get to the final of “Super Six” with an unbeaten record? Most fans and experts certainly feel Ward will be too good for the “small” Abraham, and school him in a somewhat similar fashion to the way Froch did in that big win late last year. And if Ward’s pick proves to be a good one, with Froch getting past “The Road Warrior,” we will be in for some Boxing Classic final!
Ward is a better boxer than Froch, but Froch is arguably more proven at the rough and tough stuff than is the 27-year-old. A lot will depend on what tactics the two choose to adopt on the night, but a good case can be made for either guy winning. Should the two rival champions meet in the final, I think we will see a definite distance fight, with the winner only emerging as such after a very hard fight.
Ward faces Abraham (who perhaps shouldn’t be written off, seeing as he is a dangerous puncher), at The Home Depot Centre in Carson, California – in what will be his first fight in the “Super Six” that has not taken place in his home town of Oakland. Will this prove to have any significance in the fight’s outcome?
33-year-old Froch will face the teak-tough Johnson (who can NEVER be written off!) at a venue still to be determined. Ward says this one will be tough for both men, and he’s almost certainly right. In fact, Froch looks as though he faces a far tougher time in his semi-final than Ward faces in his. Assuming they both win, though – how much will either guy have left for that big final?