Froch vs Dirrell

[JazMerkin]

I can't lie, I like Froch. I didn't used to like Froch, but he grew on me after he came to the US to fight Taylor. And other than Kessler, with those two wins, he may have the best wins over world class competition in the tournament. Other than Kessler, AA has the best resume, but his biggest wins - Ghevor and Miranda - may fall short of JT and Pascal (Most people say he lost the first fight with Miranda and he only beat Miranda after Pavlik put him to sleep). All that said, it is easy to see that Froch's skill level and his athletic ability have to be at the bottom of the pile. Then again, when you are at such a high level in boxing like in this tournament, your mental fortitude and your ability to adjust become as important as your natural talent. Froch has shown he has a ton of what pundits refer to as intangibles. Whatever his natural abilities are, Dirrell hasn't been in the ring with someone on Froch's level or with Froch's experience and with Froch's guts and heart.

I just think Dirrell and his team saw how to beat Froch after he saw JT fight him and he'll do a better job of sticking to that plan. I saw Dirrell being interviewed at the Ward fight and you could infer from his words that he respected Kessler and understood he was the man to beat in the tournament. That makes me think he is a thinking boxer who will stick to the game plan to beat Froch. I could easily be wrong.

What are the betting odds in this fight?

joe calzaghe never was the hardest hitting puncher nor did he have the lightening quick hand speed or was ultra fast on his feet.

boxing smarts however he had in abundance and he knew how to beat guys that did have all those qualitys that he didnt.

To a much lesser extent froch has also and i truly believe he will have learnt a lot from those 1st 6rounds with taylor and can move on from it. I believe carl is the betting favourite

Unbelievable

You deserve a "Saddo member with the most bizarre observations" award.

To be fair, Calzaghe's hand-speed is just not comparable with Dirrell's, who might be the fastest MW & above since a prime RJJ.

Although reading through the quoted post, I have to say it is bizarre where Joe Calzaghe came from

[HattonTheHammer]

joe calzaghe never was the hardest hitting puncher nor did he have the lightening quick hand speed or was ultra fast on his feet.

boxing smarts however he had in abundance and he knew how to beat guys that did have all those qualitys that he didnt.

To a much lesser extent froch has also and i truly believe he will have learnt a lot from those 1st 6rounds with taylor and can move on from it. I believe carl is the betting favourite

Unbelievable

You deserve a "Saddo member with the most bizarre observations" award.

To be fair, Calzaghe's hand-speed is just not comparable with Dirrell's, who might be the fastest MW & above since a prime RJJ.

Although reading through the quoted post, I have to say it is bizarre where Joe Calzaghe came from

fenster if you mean the 12-14 slap combinations then you may well have a point.

But how often exactly did you ever see calzaghe throw mosley like combo power punches that genuinely hurt an opponent??

[Fenster]

Calzaghe's speed was his greatest attribute. He might not be the fastest ever (well he's clearly not) but for his size he is way faster than most.

Earlier in his career, before his hands went to shit, he hit a lot harder.

Watch this -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ge2o...eature=related

[OumaFan]

Calzaghe was very fast, a great athlete. Speed and great natural energy and stamina.

I kind of see it like Kirkland. This is a very hard fight to get a read on for me. I think there are a number of different possible scenarios and outcomes.

One, Dirrell builds up a lead early cause of his immense natural gifts but falls apart under the pressure and either drops the decision because of getting swept late or gets stopped. Dirrell has some wow factor about him but I've seen him be clearly bothered by pressure from lesser guys than Froch, whether he holds up mentally under the pressure, whether he can hold up stamina wise is the question, and he may not have the greatest chin.

Or he could build up a lead and hold on late to take a close decision.

Or, and I'm not picking this but I don't think its out of the realm, he could dominate. There's nobody in this tournament with the physical gifts of Dirrell, speed and he can punch at times, he's an explosive guy and he might find Froch hard to miss and could stop him. I know Froch has a good chin but he could be getting tagged repeatedly by fast punches that he doesn't see coming and Dirrell does have some power, he's not Andre Ward.

[Fenster]

I'm picking Dirrell to win this because (i'll be cheering for Froch)

A) He has a serious skill and speed advantage to my eye

and

B) I've always backed against Froch his whole career

I wont be surprised in the slightest though if Froch's toughness, bollocks and heart break Dirrell.

Good fight.

[killersheep]

I'm going with Dirrell to play it super safe and avoid the slugouts that Froch got Pascal in. If he does that I don't think Froch has the footspeed to catch Dirrell at all.

Dirrell UD

[DaxxKahn]

Hard one to call but I think in the end after losing some early rounds Froch will manage to turn this into a brawl and Dirrell will not fare so well....I give Froch the SD