LONG after the bruises that Andre Ward inserted beneath Carl Froch?s skin have dispersed, the defeat they attributed to will remain. The fact that Carl?s second loss came against a boxer who appears to be one of the finest in the sport will not appease a proud warrior who has never shied from conflict. Froch is a fighter who would prefer to be painfully knocked out by a stronger man than artfully discarded by an elusive one.
?I got beat fair and square by a guy who?s quite a messy spoiler,? Froch calmly explains two days after losing the Super Six final. ?Ward can obviously fight, don?t get me wrong, and I will not take that away from him. In fact, I don?t think he?ll ever get beat but, at the same time, I don?t think he?ll be a superstar. He?s not a big draw. He?s one of those fighters who?ll continue to dominate at world level, unless he gets caught but he?s very difficult to catch cleanly.?
Now the dust has started to settle, Carl does not dismantle the model of professionalism he exhibited in his post-fight interview that offered no excuses. But, for two years, Froch has been annoyed by the smug grin that Andre has carried everywhere on his Super Six journey like a tickling stick. The Englishman couldn?t wipe it from his rival?s face nor stifle the frustration it caused. A frustration that bubbles when Froch is reminded of Ward?s comments that he hurt the Englishman on more than one occasion.
?He didn?t hurt me, whatever he said,? Carl sighs. ?He was just trying to make himself feel like he could do damage. He?s not a big puncher and he caught me with a couple of left hooks but they didn?t hurt. I don?t think he should move to light-heavyweight. He?s physically quite strong, he has strength up close but that?s it. You have to give him respect but he didn?t hurt me. If he had hurt me, I would have been honest about it. A couple of people have hurt me, Mikkel Kessler, Robin Reid with a shot I didn?t think was going to land, but Ward is not a banger.?
Froch?s natural instincts for revenge, desires that were uttered immediately after he was adjudged a unanimous loser, are already being culled by common sense. He concedes that a rematch is unlikely.
