(Photos Courtesy: Will Hart/HBO) By Scott Gilfoid: IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch (31-2, 22 KO’s) could be the next victim for WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (27-0, 24 KO’s) to destroy after he makes easy work of the 5’7″ Curtis Stevens (25-3, 18 KO’s) this Saturday night at the Madison Square Garden Theater, in New York, New York, USA.
Froch wants the fight, his promoter Eddie Hearn wants the fight, and Golovkin is very interested in the fight as well. The only thing that could potentially get in the way of a Golovkin-Froch fight is if George Groves whips Froch next month in their fight on November 23rd at the Manchester Arena. That’s truly a toss-up fight, so I’m not counting on Froch winning anything until I see it happen. Right now, I see the younger Groves beating Froch and ruining any chances of him ever facing Golovkin.
Golovkin said via ESPN “[Froch] is a big guy, a strong guy and a good fighter with good offense. That fight is important and is a great fight for everybody – fans, fighters, HBO; a good deal for everybody. I want the big fight.”
Hearn has talked about trying to get Golovkin over to the UK to make it happen. It’s possible that if Golovkin doesn’t agree to fighting Froch in the UK then the fight won’t happen. If the fight has to take place in the UK for it to happen, then I wouldn’t bother if I were Golovkin. I mean, he’s probably going to knock Froch out anyway, but you don’t want to be in the position where you might absolutely need a knockout just to ensure that you escape with a victory. We saw how Froch got a controversial win over Andre Dirrell in the Super Six tournament in the UK years ago in 2009, and it would be a pity if Golovkin went over there, schooled Froch, and then ended up getting possibly jobbed by the judges. I don’t see why Froch wouldn’t agree to facing Golovkin in the United States, because it’s not as if Golovkin lives in the U.S. or comes from there. He’s from Kazakhstan and he lives in Stuttgart, Germany. It’s not as Golovkin lives in the U.S. or anything. So if Froch or Hearn start bellyaching about why the fight can’t take place in the U.S., then HBO and Golovkin need to point out that this won’t be a home fight for Golovkin. He’ll be just as much a visitor as Froch will be.
I think Golovkin would have a very chance of knocking Froch out completely if that fight gets made. The 6’1″ Froch might have a three inch height advantage and a five inch reach advantage over the 5’10” Golovkin, but he doesn’t have the jab to keep Golovkin off of him. Froch throws a limp jab that is easy to get past unless your Mikkel Kessler. We just saw Froch almost get beaten by a totally disinterested Kessler last May, and Golovkin is so much better than Kessler at this point that it’s not even funny. Golovkin would take the fight to the inside against Froch just like Andre Ward did, and pound him to the body and head. The difference here is that Golovkin would have the power to knock Froch out with either a body or a head shot. Either way, I see this fight going very badly for Froch.
It’s too bad that Froch has the dangerous fight against Groves ahead of him because I don’t think he’s going to win that fight. If Froch does win it, I think it’s going to be an ugly victory and possibly another controversial one.
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