Carl Froch has predicted the intriguing fantasy match-up between Joe Calzaghe and Andre Ward.
‘The Pride of Wales’ who walked away from the sport without a single loss on his record, is often credited with being one of the greatest British fighters of all time. The Welsh icon made 20 successful defences of his world super-middleweight title over a ten year period, before he eventually made the move up to 175lbs where he defeated both Roy Jones Jr and Bernard Hopkins.
Ward also remained unbeaten for the entirety of his professional career, reigning as the unified super-middleweight champion for six years between 2009 and 2015 before he made the step up to light-heavyweight in 2016 where he achieved back-to-back victories over Sergey Kovalev to unify the WBA, WBO and IBF titles.
In a super-middleweight edition of ‘Winner Stays On’, Froch predicted what he believes the outcome would have been had Calzaghe faced Ward during their respective careers, as he admits he would lean towards the Welshman getting the better of ‘S.O.G’.
“I like this one. I’d love to have seen it in its prime, can you imagine them two going head-to-head?
“Calzaghe with his workrate, and his toughness, Ward’s not a massive puncher, speed of hand, the workrate and Andre Ward tying him up, nullifying him, hitting him a bit low, ducking low, holding on to him putting him under pressure. pushing him back and forth.
“Andre Ward [or] Joe Calzaghe, who am I picking for that one? I’d like to see Calzaghe beat Ward, and I think Calzaghe could beat Ward, so through gritted teeth I’m gonna pick Calzaghe and that’s only because I actually think Calzaghe could beat Ward,”
Ward handed Froch the second defeat of his career back in 2011, dethroning the Brit of his WBC title at 168lbs when they clashed in the Super Six Boxing Classic Final at super-middleweight in Atlantic City. The Nottingham man never stepped through the ropes with the Welshman, however, with the fight left up for debate to this day.