Carl Froch considering a return!

By scottbells - 11/09/2015 - Comments

froch11By Scott Bells: So Carl Froch has finally come out and said he is considering a return to the ring, possibly to fight IBF super middleweight champion James DeGale (21-1, 14 KOs) (provided he beats Lucian Bute (32-2, 25 KOs)). My initial reaction is the say to Froch to stay retired! Too many fighters have returned and looked a shadow of their former self, lost a fight and damaged their legacy.

For Froch, if he were to return, the only fight people would want to see would be him vs. middleweight Gennady Golovkin, and unfortunately I do not see it as a fight Froch would win. I am a huge Froch fan and think he has been one of the best and under-appreciated British world champions in recent history, but he has been in a lot of wars. Froch’s two fights against Mikkel Kessler were enough to stop many fighters from fighting again, but Froch’s first fight against George Groves also showed that he is slowing down, and that his punch resistance may have faded slightly.

Against a guy like Golovkin (34-0, 31 KOs), you need to be at your best to win. In his prime, I think Froch – Golovkin is a mouth-watering fight, but now, Golovkin would be getting Froch at the right time.

As for DeGale, it is win-win for him as it would be a huge name, most probably at Wembley Stadium in London; if he won then it would be a great result, and if he lost, he would have lost to a legendary fighter in Froch. Either way, he would get a huge pay day.

Froch has had some monumental nights in a boxing ring, but to come out of retirement for one fight, when he may not have the hunger he once had is too dangerous a prospect. Boxing can be a cruel sport, and as we saw with Ricky Hatton, who people thought would batter Vyacheslav Senchenko, there are not always fairy tales.

If the opponent was DeGale, then people should remember that he is an Olympic gold medalist and is a very accomplished and awkward fighter himself. Froch doesn’t deal as well with awkward fighters (Andre Dirrell and Andre Ward as examples) and so DeGale would be a poor choice of opponent in my view.

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As I said, I love Carl Froch as a fighter and think he has been a warrior his whole career, but to come out of retirement 18 months after his defining fight could be a step too far. When Froch was talking about fighting Julio Chavez Jnr (before Chavez Jnr lost recently to Andrzej Fonfara), that was a fighter tailor-made for him, or a Golovkin war maybe, but too long has passed without him being in a boxing ring for him to return to former glories….he has absolutely nothing to prove, and earned the right to go out on his own terms. He is one fighter who fought the best available fighters….more than can be said for about 90% of today’s active fighters and champions.

Stay retired Mr Froch, and enjoy your wealth and possible career in broadcasting.

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