Froch deserves all the credit

[Mars_ax]

Since he's lost his title, it's easy to say that Bute was a paper champion, who really hadn't fought the best, and while that may be a bit true, it diminishes Froch's brilliant work implying that Bute wasn't a damn good fighter and a champion. Carl was coming off of a disappointing loss and most we're picking Bute to win, make no mistake about it, this was a quality win over a very tough opponent.

What many of us were overlooking was that Froch had fought all the best competition at 168 and either beat them or more than held his own. And based on the loss to Ward, some of us we're prematurely writing him off as damaged goods. What was also overlooked was the tenacity, determination and heart of the man.

Well guess what, there was still a lot of piss and vinegar left in the hook nosed warrior from Nottingham. This turned out to be a FOTY, and a really good one for boxing. Congrats to Carl, who deserves all the credit for a gutsy, balls to the wall, champion's performance.

[Mars_ax]

Highlights:

[IamInuit]

Great performance. Huge win.

[Mars_ax]

Great performance. Huge win.

Bute looked like he was caught by surprise, I don't believe he was expecting this more aggressive version of Froch, and had no answer for it. He was just overwhelmed.

I just wish Froch would have fought like this against Ward.

[IamInuit]

Great performance. Huge win.

Bute looked like he was caught by surprise, I don't believe he was expecting this more aggressive version of Froch, and had no answer for it. He was just overwhelmed.

I just wish Froch would have fought like this against Ward.

Agreed. He looked like a deer in the headlights. I figured he would be the fresher of the two with Froch coming out of that tough tourney but he wasn't. He looked dazed and confused but even more perplexing is why he played along with Carls gameplan. I know its cliche but it just might be a style thing. This loss could well serve as a positive. "Show me a fighter whose undefeated and I'll show you a fighter who hasn't fought anybody." --Whitey Bimstein ...

Lots of greats lost and bounced back with some being stopped in their first fight. To me its how one deals with adversity. I'm not prepared to give up on Bute and believe he will bounce back. He got caught early in the temple in rd 1 and never seemed to recover. He looked weak.

[AdamGB]

He looked nervous as hell during the ring walk.

[BIG H]

Since he's lost his title, it's easy to say that Bute was a paper champion, who really hadn't fought the best, and while that may be a bit true, it diminishes Froch's brilliant work implying that Bute wasn't a damn good fighter and a champion. Carl was coming off of a disappointing loss and most we're picking Bute to win, make no mistake about it, this was a quality win over a very tough opponent.

What many of us were overlooking was that Froch had fought all the best competition at 168 and either beat them or more than held his own. And based on the loss to Ward, some of us we're prematurely writing him off as damaged goods. What was also overlooked was the tenacity, determination and heart of the man.

Well guess what, there was still a lot of piss and vinegar left in the hook nosed warrior from Nottingham. This turned out to be a FOTY, and a really good one for boxing. Congrats to Carl, who deserves all the credit for a gutsy, balls to the wall, champion's performance.

Great post.

I think Bute was the real deal. 30 Wins out of 30, 9 years undefeated as a Pro, 10 title defences (against good opposition) Froch just fought a great fight!

[captainanddew]

Great performance. Huge win.

Bute looked like he was caught by surprise, I don't believe he was expecting this more aggressive version of Froch, and had no answer for it. He was just overwhelmed.

I just wish Froch would have fought like this against Ward.

If Froch tried to mug Ward, Ward would have gone into full BHOP mode (like he did against Green). He would have still won. Froch is right about Ward. He is a spoiler type fighter. He can box and won't get pulled into exchanges. And if you go overly agressive he'll just respond and mug your ass (hit and clinch, etc....).

What would happen if Froch and Kessler dispense with any pretense of boxing (as they did later in the first fight), and just go toe to toe in the first few rounds. It could be freaking amazing.

[Mars_ax]

Great performance. Huge win.

Bute looked like he was caught by surprise, I don't believe he was expecting this more aggressive version of Froch, and had no answer for it. He was just overwhelmed.

I just wish Froch would have fought like this against Ward.

If Froch tried to mug Ward, Ward would have gone into full BHOP mode (like he did against Green). He would have still won. Froch is right about Ward. He is a spoiler type fighter. He can box and won't get pulled into exchanges. And if you go overly agressive he'll just respond and mug your ass (hit and clinch, etc....).

What would happen if Froch and Kessler dispense with any pretense of boxing (as they did later in the first fight), and just go toe to toe in the first few rounds. It could be freaking amazing.

That's one of the reasons Ward will never be a popular fighter, he's a 'spoiler' and even less fun to watch then Hopkins. What makes Ward even more sickening is that SOG bullshit, it's enough to gag a maggot.

It may be wishful thinking, but I'd still like to believe Carl would do better in a rematch with Ward, (especially if it happened in the UK) he looked like a totally different fighter in there last night. Actually though, since everyone of Ward's fights have sucked ass, I wouldn't care if Froch got a rematch, I'd just as soon see Carl fight Kessler or someone else.

BTW, damn good fight last night, in part because the result was so unexpected, who knew!

cheers

[Beanz]

He looked nervous as hell during the ring walk.

I am glad someone else noticed it. I thought maybe I was reading too much into it . I mentioned it to my step-son last night night and he thought he looked fine. Bute was like a rabbit in the headlights, he didn't know quite what to do even before Froch steamrollered into him. There is no way standing still and getting backed against the ropes was part of his game plan. Not quick enough to slip Froch's barrage, so standing in front of him was never going to work. Surely using the ring and his jab to draw some of the sting out of the Cobra and slow the older fighter down would have been part of Bute's plan, but as soon as he got caught and realised his shots were not enough to keep Carl off him his panic seemed to escalate. Froch's footwork was excellent and his finishing instinct and hunger really made the difference though so most of the credit must go to him and McCracken "the bullet proof monk" for devising and imposing the perfect game plan.

[Kirkland Laing]

Don't see how it can be FOTY. You need both guys to turn up and perform for it to be FOTY. One-sided arse kicking of the year possibly.