The Good Carl Froch – He may not have won The World Boxing Classic Super Six but after Carl Frochs dismantling of Lucian Bute on Saturday, “The Cobra” is the most talked about super middleweight in boxing. This defense by Bute of his IBF 168 pound title was seen as his first real challenge and it was one he could not overcome as after a couple competitive opening rounds the hometown favorite Froch took control of the action and never looked back. Froch hurt Bute in the third round and from there on had the defending champion in survival mode as The Cobra continued to land big right hands. Bute was hurt by one such punch towards the end of the fourth round and was saved by the bell, if only temporarily. Froch was once again all over Bute in the fifth but this time there’d be no escape, with his back against the ropes the Canadian transplant was swarmed by a barrage of punches, his head snapped back, as he was held up by the ropes the referee began to count only for the bout to be stopped after Butes corner intervened. It was both Frochs biggest and best win to date and an equally devastating defeat for Bute, as well as the first of his career.   UFC 146 – When the UFC slated their 146 event as an all heavyweight main card it was likely going to be a boom or bust as heavyweight fights often go one of two ways. Fortunately for the company and fans it went as well as they could’ve hoped, if not better. Not only did 2 of the 12 fights go the distance but the pay-per-view fights themselves lasted just under 23 minutes combined with none of them reaching the third [...]

  Lucian Bute vs Carl Froch – During a time where it feels like boxing fans are frustrated over which fights aren’t happening, the super middleweight division brings us one that everybody seems excited for as IBF 168 pound champion Lucian Bute defends his belt against former title holder Carl Froch. Although Bute has been viewed as one of the divisions top fighters for the last few years he also has more than his share of skeptics as he has yet to face any of the best at 168. Of course he has not needed to do so as he packs houses in his adopted home of Canada regardless of his opposition. To his credit outside of his first bout against Librado Andrade, Bute has won more often than not in impressive fashion including highlight reel stoppages of Edison Miranda, Jean-Paul Mendy and Andrade in their rematch. Froch himself has done well for the last 3 years while having probably the strongest strength of schedule in the sport during that time. The Cobra has gone 5 and 2 over that period defeating Jean Pascal, Jermain Taylor, Andre Dirrell, Arthur Abraham, and Glen Johnson while losing to Mikkel Kessler and Andre Ward. The brash British fighter is coming off a loss to Ward in the finals of Showtimes Super Six World Boxing Classic, a tournament that featured all of the divisions best except Bute. It was believed Bute would face the winner of the tournament which in this case was Ward but will instead take on the runner up, a move most fans prefer. Will Bute get the statement win he needs to silence doubters or will Froch prove he is second only to Ward at super middleweight?   916Chris’ pick – Being as Froch is currently one of my favorite [...]

The Good Strikeforce – Maybe it’s just me but since UFC parent company Zuffa purchased Strikeforce their events have not been nearly as entertaining as many of the previous shows. Well that certainly wasn’t the case this weekend as Strikeforce offered one of the more fun viewing experiences for MMA fans this year. Thanks to Showtimes new deal with Strikeforce the preliminary fights are shown on Sho Extreme and a few of the prelims got things started on a high note. Undefeated Guto Inocente showed off his dynamic striking by unleashing his entire arsenal on a game but outgunned Virgil Zwicker. Unfortunately for Inocente, try as he might he could not put Zwicker away allowing for Virgil have a few moments of success. Although Inocente would win a unanimous decision Zwicker showed that even if he didn’t look the part of a fighter, his effort was something that earned the crowds respect. Elsewhere on the prelims former top lightweight JZ Cavalcante after starting out strong was outworked by Isaac Vallie-Flagg and would end up losing by split decision in competitive fight.   The first two bouts on the main card both got off to a fast start and seemed to be over just as quickly. Things kicked off with Chris Spang stopping Nah-Shon Burrell via strikes. Spang dropped Burrell with a left hand that saw his opponent quickly bounce up from only to be met by a muay thai clinch and a series of unanswered knees reminiscent of Wanderlei Silvas first fight against Rampage Jackson. Next up Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante got revenge against Mike Kyle whom he lost to three years ago. Feijao stunned Kyle with a knee to the head then jumped on him with a barrage of punches. Kyles’ attempt to get back to his feet saw him [...]