By Scott Gilfoid: With IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch (30-2, 22 KO’s) showing no signs that he’s planning on defending his title against his #1 mandatory challenger Adonis Stevenson (19-1, 16 KO’s), it’s looking like Stevenson will soon be facing unbeaten #5 IBF Thomas Oosthuizen (21-0-1, 13 KO’s) from South Africa, at least that’s according to goldengloves.co.za/boxing-news/action-hots-up-for-tommy-gun/.
The scenario would be that the 24-year-old Oosthuizen will face the power hitting Stevenson for Froch’s vacant title.
Froch is going to have to make up his mind whether he wants to keep his International Boxing Federation title because he can’t avoid facing Stevenson for the entire 2013, because he’s supposed to be facing him next. I can understand Froch getting an exception to avoid facing Stevenson for one fight, but for the entire year?
Come on, Froch is going to have to give up the strap or the IBF will strip if from him. It’s bad for boxing if you have fighters holding onto straps that they don’t defend against the mandatory challengers because then it makes the sport look unfair because you’ve got guys that are having their careers put in frozen state where nothing is happening when they should be getting a title shot.
Oosthuizen will be back in the ring in March whether it is against Stevenson or someone else. It’s going to be up to the IBF to decide if Froch can bypass his mandatory challenger Stevenson for an entire year. I think it’s really unfair to Stevenson if that happens because the belt losses it’s meaning if the champions can swerve around their difficult mandatory challengers like Stevenson.
If I was the promoter for Stevenson I would be up in arms at seeing Froch planning his 2013 schedule without Stevenson’s name being on it. Froch wants to fight Mikkel Kessler, Andre Ward and Lucian Bute in 2013. I don’t see Stevenson’s name mentioned at all in the fights that Froch has planned for next year.
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