Euro Trash Talking: The Plight of the Continent’s Super Six Contingent
By Eoin Redahan
Seasoned film fans will cherish Sam Weisman’s pivotal work, D2: The Mighty Ducks. In this cinematic masterpiece, Team USA hockey defies the odds to defeat the largely evil Icelandic team in the Junior Goodwill Games.
But how did we know the Icelandic team was evil? They played in black of course; they were older, stronger, had terrible accents, and they dabbled in underhanded tactics – a bit like the European fighters in the Super Six.
Unfortunately, the tournament’s European contingent has assumed the aspect of the vanquished villain. Arthur Abraham did his reputation no favors by teeing off on Andre Dirrell’s head while he was on his knees; Carl Froch brawled, bullied, and rabbit punched his way to a controversial split-decision victory (also over Dirrell); and Mikkel Kessler sported a badly sliced-up face to complement his battered reputation.
After shading the first series of bouts, the boxers from the other side of the Atlantic are in desperate need of credibility. But, how likely are they to alter the script and become the heroes of the Showtime showpiece?
Mikkel Kessler
The “Viking Warrior” looked bound for a boxing Valhalla after 11 one-sided rounds against Andre Ward. The Dane who dismantled Librado Andrade and Markus Beyer looked unrecognizable from the plodding one-dimensional fighter that was battered in Oakland. The jab wasn’t snapping and the power shots weren’t landing. Ward’s speed and slick combinations befuddled Kessler into relative inaction. And, to add injury to insult; he was badly roughed-up on the inside.
Ward exposed chinks in Kessler’s armory that had not been breached since the Dane fought Joe Calzaghe. Kessler may be a worthy champion, but he struggles when confronted with genuine hand and foot speed. Both Ward and Calzaghe disrupted his rhythm by out-jabbing and outworking him; and when Kessler couldn’t get his piercing jab off, there didn’t seem to be a contingency plan.
Despite his shortcomings against quick fighters, Kessler remains a formidable opponent. He has a good jab, knockout power, and a good repertoire of punches. Factor in his excellent conditioning, steadfast chin, and a general aura of calm in the ring, and it is not hard to see why he was expected to beat Ward comfortably.
Despite the recent schooling by Ward, Kessler will still be confident of reaching the final four. Neither of his next opponents, Allan Green or Carl Froch, has a style that will daunt him. Both fighters may generate considerable power, but the Dane has no difficulty either taking a shot or trading in the center of the ring. He should have the boxing skills and power to defeat Allan Green comfortably, and should edge a decision victory against Froch, especially with home advantage.
In a similar manner to the match-up against Froch, the outcome of a bout against Arthur Abraham would be largely dependent on who is fighting at home. However, while the outcomes of bouts against Froch and Abraham are difficult to call, it is hard to see Kessler beating either Andre Ward again or Andre Dirrell. If both fighters show the same movement and boss the battle of the jab as they have done in recent fights, then it is hard to see Kessler finding his rhythm against either boxer.
That said, a good fighter doesn’t become a bad fighter overnight, and if Kessler beats Froch, the complexion of his tournament changes once again.
Carl Froch
After his unconvincing victory over Andre Dirrell in October, Carl Froch is in the best position of the European fighters, and seems relieved to be fighting a more predictable boxer in Kessler. He accused Dirrell of running for much of the bout, but Froch himself showed us little apart from good conditioning, decent pressure fighting in the later rounds, and consistent punching around the back of the ahead that went unpunished.
Some fighters seem to take a perverse joy in frustrating the crowd with defensive boxing or spoiling tactics. Froch, however, is often the victim of his own exuberance. Instead of working combinations behind a probing jab, he has the tendency to lunge into single power shots with a dangerously exposed chin. But, perhaps there is a method to this madness. Froch has only been down once in his professional and amateur careers and remains unbeaten as a pro. Whoever fights Froch knows they will probably have to stand and trade with him at some point; history tells us that there is only one winner when that happens.
Despite being in a solid position, Froch must feel slightly anxious about securing the win he needs to progress to the last four. When he fights Kessler in Herning, Denmark, he will be fighting in a much different atmosphere to his recent bout against Dirrell in Nottingham. Kessler’s fervid home support will make it difficult for him to win a close decision, and it is unlikely that Froch’s rabbit-punching and occasional penchant for flurries after the bell will be permitted. And, while Froch had a far better engine than Dirrell, Kessler is well versed in 12-stanza championship bouts. While it should be a close fight, Froch’s indiscipline and tendency to leave his chin out as the first line of defense may well result in the first blemish on Froch’s untainted record.
The proceeding Abraham fight should also provide a fan-friendly tear-up. Both fighters will stand and trade, and while Abraham has a tighter defense and is a cleaner puncher, Froch is bigger and slightly more powerful. If Froch prevails, trickier challenges lie ahead.
Froch has struggled to look good against quicker opponents. Jermain Taylor might have stood in front of Froch, but he constantly beat him to the punch to accumulate a considerable early lead. Froch’s lack of head and foot movement left him easy to hit against Dirrell, and a more experienced fighter than the American would have jabbed and moved his way to a comfortable victory without the theatrics. If Froch were to fight Dirrell again in the U.S. it would be hard to see Froch winning, even with his power advantage. Similarly, Ward has the hand speed, combination punching, and ring savvy, to frustrate Froch. Perhaps this is doing a disservice to the British boxer. He is as tenacious as anyone in the competition, is still unbeaten, and even on an off night he always has a puncher’s chance.
Arthur Abraham
What a difference one fight makes. Against Jermain Taylor, Arthur Abraham made a big statement. He was difficult to hit, showed impressive variety, and ruthless finishing. The step up from middleweight appeared seamless, and most writers had penciled him in as the man to beat.
He was then expected to stalk down the gangling Andre Dirrell and knock him out with a minimum of fuss. It would be safe to say that the ensuing 11 rounds will not feature in a career highlight package for Armenian-born German. His peek-a-boo stance and upright posture were badly exposed with vicious hooks to the body and Dirrell’s inexorable jab.
Abraham was made to look like a plodding overblown middleweight as his opponent put together slick combinations with a surprising amount of power. The fight might have been a grim reflection of Abraham’s limitations as a boxer, but the illegal pot shot that left an unconscious Dirrell twitching on the canvas was a damning indictment of his character. Nevertheless, to garble Shakespeare: One fight does not proclaim the man. He may not be slick and elusive, but at his best he is an excellent pressure fighter and a good counterpuncher with a vicious left hook.
Abraham’s next fight cannot come soon enough. Having secured a knockout victory over Taylor, he is still in a strong position to advance into the latter stages of the competition. He has the stamina and durability to take Froch’s best punches and won’t be drawn into a brawl as other fighters have been. However, the signs are ominous if Abraham does advance. His power may have caused Dirrell some problems in the latter stages of their fight, and he would relish the opportunity to rectify this damaging defeat, but the odds are against him beating the wily Ward or Dirrell. If the hackneyed adage is true, and styles do win fights, then Abraham’s, Kessler’s and Froch’s are ill fitted when confronted with the unorthodox, elusive styles of Ward and Dirrell.