Boxing:England's Carl Froch lost his bid to become the Super Six champion and his WBC super-middleweight belt to boot after his Andre Ward was awarded a unanimous points decision in Atlantic City.
Froch never got to grips with Ward’s superior speed becoming the latest in a catalogue of British fighters to lose their world titles abroad in 2011. It was important for the Nottingham fighter to start quickly but it was the American who was fastest out of the blocks establishing his jab early on.
Ward caught Froch with a left hook as he punched out of a break then barely took a backwards step as his faster hands punished gaps in Froch’s defence. The Englishman was still struggling to warm up in the second round as Ward skipped in and out of range with dainty footwork.
The British fighter failed to close the distance until the last minute of the session when he finally upped his work-rate. He forced Ward to the ropes where he was able to land his trademark hooks. That seemed to give Froch the encouragement he needed as he started the third with more urgency.
But his lack of head movement was proving his undoing, time and again Ward racked up points behind his jab and as his confidence grew he planted his feet and landed more hurtful punches. Froch badly needed to change his tactics as he was becoming predictable and struggling to pin down his wily opponent.
He did at least get in range in the fourth as referee Steve Smoger allowed the fighters to punch out of the break. He wrestled Ward to the ropes where he showed his impressive in-fighting skills and finally had a chance to punish the WBA champion. That seemed to finally swing the fight in Froch’s favour and he had a much better fifth round.
For once he was the aggressor pushing the American back and landing with greater accuracy. It was now the Froch’s to show his slick moves as he made Ward punch at air for once. But unfortunately it was to be only a brief respite.
In the sixth and seventh the self-proclaimed ‘Son of God’ as Ward refers to himself was back in control and racking up the points with a left hook that couldn’t miss. By the ninth Froch appeared to have realised that only a stoppage could lead to his hand being raised at the end of the fight.
He tucked in his chin and came forward hoping to land anything he could on the evasive Ward. He had some success but still had to absorb some painful looking body shots as the former Olympic gold medallist switched the target of his attacks.
The one big shot that had got Froch out of trouble against Jermaine Taylor just wasn’t there and as he loaded up he played into the Ward’s speedy hands. Twelve rounds of frustration for the Nottingham fighter were brought to an end by the final bell and it was no surprise that the verdict was unanimous.
Judges Craig Metcalfe and John Stewart seemed at least impressed by Froch’s aggression but scored it to Ward by just 115-113. English judge John Keane was less charitable and gave it to the Oakland fighter by 118-110.