After some truly lively shenanigans during contract negotiations, Carl “The Cobra” Froch is now firmly set for a May rematch with “St. George” Groves. The first fight ended in controversy, as the referee stepped in and prematurely ended the fight in the 9th.
As many fight fans think that Groves was on his way to out-box and dethrone Froch as Britain’s super middleweight kingpin as do those who believe Froch was wearing down Groves, and was robbed by the referee of an inevitable and clean knockout victory. Clearly, each man has a point to prove in their second go-round.
I believe Froch never truly recovered from that 1st Round knockdown, and such knockdowns are usually hard to come back from in any case. Groves even admitted as much, saying that Froch seemed fuzzy for much of the fight. Groves is assuming that is because he is such a big hitter, but I think he caught Froch cold, hurt him, and then did just enough damage thereafter to keep him from pulling it all back together. Therefore it stands to reason that Froch has every reason to expect he will perform better if he avoids getting hurt so badly, so early in the first place.
That is one reason why he should not abandon his standing game plan. Another is that Froch has little choice in any case, as his four keys to victory amply demonstrate:
1. Come Out Strong: Froch was put down hard in the 1st round of the previous fight, and he might be tempted to warm up slowly to Groves’s speed this time around. That would be a mistake, since it would only encourage Groves and strengthen his confidence. To avoid that, Froch needs to keep on being the Cobra.
2. Straighten Up, But Don’t Box The Boxer: Froch has a solid jab, but that won’t be enough for him to make a go of out-boxing the faster, rangier Groves. Trying to be something he isn’t would be a huge mistake for the Cobra. However, Froch winged his shots even wider than usual last time around (probably due to his concussion), and that served him poorly, making him an easy target. Nothing special is really needed here. Froch just needs to stop slinging, straighten his punches, and show a little more focus and discipline.
3. Get Gritty: Froch has consistently had to win clashes with slick, speedy boxer-punchers the hard way, by hanging in there, getting rough, and gutting it out. His stoppage victory over Jermain Taylor was a Hail Mary, 12th Round TKO following that pattern, as was his controversial Split Decision win over Andre Dirrell. Froch was following the same basic scheme against Groves, but the one thing he forgot was to rough Groves up more and wing shots at him less.
4. Play The Long Game: Given that Froch’s basic strategy must remain doggedly hanging on and wearing out Groves, he shouldn’t worry too much about falling behind on the scorecards. Froch knows he can dent Groves’s chin, and Groves had to work harder than he had ever worked before to hold Froch at bay in the last fight. That suggests the Froch boosters are right: the Cobra can come on and bite hard in the later rounds, especially if he keeps his bell from being rung hard as it was the first time around.
