Without any doubt, Freddie Roach knows a thing or two about boxing. The man that ring legends like Mike Tyson, Oscar De La Hoya, James Toney, Bernard Hopkins and Oscar nominated actor Mickey Rourke have entrusted with their preparation, strategy and  well-being in the ring is rightly regarded as arguably the greatest boxing trainer in the world today, and has been voted Trainer of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America five times in the last eight years.

Roach currently handles WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, WBA/IBF light welterweight king Amir Khan, and the incomparable six weight world champion and current WBO welterweight title holder Manny Pacquiao amongst others. 

The bottom line is that when Freddie Roach talks boxing, people listen, and in a recent interview on On The Ropes Boxing Radio, he gave his opinion on the December 17th clash between WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch of England and WBA 168 lb ruler Andre ''S.O.G'' Ward of the US. 

''You know, I picked Andre (Ward) to win that tournament from the beginning. He’s a very great boxer. I think he’s a much better boxer than given credit for.'' said Roach. 

''Froch has really looked good though. He's game and he comes to fight. I think it’s a very good fight, but I picked Ward to be the winner of that tournament and I still stand by that.'' 

Of course, Freddie doesn't always get it right. He picked David Haye to knock out Wladimir Klitschko in July (Haye lost on points) and he predicted Manny Pacquiao would easily kayo Antonio Margarito ''inside three rounds'' when the two met last November, while the reality was that although Pacman won a one-sided decision, he was caught often by hard punches in a thrilling, hard fought encounter, and finished the fight with facial damage for the first time in years. 

27 year old Ward (24-0, 13 KO's), the light heavyweight gold medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics, has been hyped by the US media as the heir apparent to two other user-friendly Olympic gold medalists who went on to become boxing superstars, and carried the sport in their respective eras - Sugar Ray Leonard and Oscar De La Hoya. 

The problem is, good as Ward undoubtedly is, he has so far not displayed the breathtaking boxing skills of Leonard, nor the aggression and punching power that Oscar was famed for, and importantly, is yet to show the charisma and personality that Leonard and De La Hoya displayed in abundance outside of the ring. 

Going into Super Six back in late 2009, Ward, along with another unbeaten Olympic medalist Andre Dirrell, was a dark horse, while the two clear favorites were Mikkel Kessler and Arthur Abraham, with Carl Froch just behind them. 

Ward announced himself in some style in his opening Super Six bout, defeating Kessler via an eleven round technical decision, after the Dane has sustained severe cuts from what were declared ''accidental head clashes'' but Kessler would latter claim were blatant head butts. 

Ward had looked sensational at times during the bout, surprising Kessler with his speed and mobility. The American traded punches with Kessler throughout the fight, although Ward's shots lacked the dynamite that the Dane's carried. The difference was that while Kessler found Ward virtually impossible to tag, he was himself an easy target for the busy American. 

Ward was to subsequently score one-sided points wins over Allan Green and Arthur Abraham to progress to the Super Six final, sandwiching in a points win over Sakio Bika in a WBA title deference. 

At 6', with a 71'' reach, Ward will be at a disadvantage in terms of size to the 6'2'' Froch with his long barreled 76'' reach. What Ward has in his favour is his great boxing ability and his speed of movement, plus a willingness to rough it up if need be. A staunch Christian who's S.O.G moniker stands for Son Of God, and who has Jesus Christ is King emblazoned on the back of his gown, Ward is ironically highly adept at boxing's ''black arts,'' to the extent that one wonders if Bernard Hopkins himself has been giving him private lessons. 

34 year old Carl Froch (28-1, 20 KO's) will enter the ring at the Boardwalk in December a far better fighter than when he began Super Six with a split decision win over Andre Dirrell in Nottingham more than two years ago. That night Froch was at his most ungainly and awkward, and a little more aggression from the smooth boxing Dirrell would have seen the WBC crown change hands. 

Froch looked far better six months later, but ironically lost his title in a titanic struggle with Kessler. It was win or bust for Froch when he took on Arthur Abraham in Finland last November for the vacant WBC title (Kessler had quit the tournament because of eye injuries) and a place in the Super Six semi final. Many, including this writer, figured that the wide open Froch was tailor made for the power-punching Armenian, and he entered the ring a clear underdog. 

Yet on the night, Froch was revelation. He boxed superbly behind his long left jab, stunning Abraham with right crosses, and hurting him repeatedly with vicious body shots. Froch stuck to the game plan laid out by coach Robert McCracken, and walked away with a landslide unanimous decision. 

Froch carried on where he left off in his Super Six semi-final against Glen Johnson. The ''Road Warrior'' had eliminated Allan Green to make the semi's, and his clever awkward style and vast experience meant it was never going to be an easy night for Froch, but the Nottingham man got the job done with a hard fought majority decision, booking his place in the Super Six final opposite Ward. 

The American is the bookies favorite, and Freddie Roach's pick to win the Super Six crown, but Carl Froch has proven many times in his career that one disregards him at their peril! 

Big Fight Odds: Carl Froch 2/1, Andre Ward 4/11 bet365