Quote Originally Posted by Taeth View Post
Maintaining distance isn't running, maybe people need to brush up their videos of Ali and Leonard, because this wasn't even close to running, wasn't anything close to Leonard-Duran II. Sure Leonard proved he was tough in the first fight, but he used a tactical advantage against Duran in the second one, and htere is nothing wrong with that. It was Curtis Stevens who never even tried to speed up his footspeed or pressure. At least a guy like Hanshaw goes balls out against the faster man to try and pin him on the ropes, and thats what you have to do. Thats what Hatton did against Mayweather. It might not always work, but at least it will give you some modicum of a chance.

Nobody can tell me that you can't catch a guy in a boxing ring if you truly want to and are willing to get hit to do it.
The problem was that Dirrell was clearly a class above Stevens, but he didn't try to finish him. He also looked awkward fighting that style. It was not pleasant to watch. He probably took too much crap for it, but he redeemed himself in my book in his performances since then. That was his first fight against a quality opponent, and since that point, he's taken care of business.

Froch is going to check Dirrell's chin at some point. If the chin holds, Dirrell wins. If I learned anything from the Taylor fight, it's that Froch has the heart of a lion and conditioning to match. I also agree with Froch and his supporters that he's superb finisher when he has his man hurt. That gives him great chance. We don't know if Dirrell is mentally tough, and if he's not, Froch will beat him.

That being said, I don't think Dirrell will let Froch off the hook like Taylor did if he gets Froch hurt, and I don't think Dirrell's condition will be an issue. I can't wait for it to start.