By Scot Gilfoid: Former super middleweight champion Carl Froch has the option of making a TON of money by coming out of retirement to face unbeaten middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin. Froch’s promoter Eddie Hearn isn’t sure whether the 39-year-old Froch (33-2, 24 KOs) will come out of retirement to take the match, but he believes that he’s thinking about it.
It would be a major risk for Froch, because Golovkin can actually fight. He’s not someone that Froch could count on running out of gas or doing something stupid like fighting with his back against the ropes like George Groves and Lucian Bute did against him. Golovkin fights with intelligence, and would never back up against the ropes like a sparring partner the way Groves and Bute did against Froch.
Froch has talked about him believing he would be too big and strong for Golovkin, but for some reason he’s been reluctant to prove it by facing the talented Kazakhstan fighter inside the ring. Why is that? I don’t know.
Some boxing fans feel that Froch is just plain scared of Golovkin. When you have the chance to makes millions facing a guy that is arguably more respected and more talented than your last opponent Groves, and you fail to accept the challenge, then I can understand why some fans believe that Froch doesn’t fancy his chances against him.
Froch hasn’t fought in two years since beating fellow British fighter Groves by an 8th round knockout in their rematch in 2014. Froch had already knocked Groves out in the 9th round his previous fight in November 2013, but there was controversy surrounding the results of that fight due to referee Howard John Foster stepping in prematurely to stop the contest while Groves was still fighting back.
Froch was persuaded to resume his pro career to fight Groves in a rematch, even though it was pretty clear that he wasn’t in the same league as him. For Froch, he feels satisfied to end his career with those two wins over Groves, but unfortunately the wins didn’t prove much. Groves isn’t the top guy at 168, as we saw in his loss to Badou Jack in 2015.
Groves never fought Andre Ward while he was still the champion at 168, but you can guess that he would have been soundly beaten. As such, if Froch chooses not to fight against Golovkin, you would have to assume that he was satisfied with his win over the unproven Groves, who may never pan out. When you have the chance to end your career against the likes of Groves or Golovkin, which do you think will gain you more respect from the boxing fans and help your legacy? My guess is Golovkin would be the name you need, not Groves. Sorry, Groves, but you have done nothing at the pro level except beat a lot of regular contenders and then lose to Froch twice and then Badou Jack. Try avenging your loss to Badou Jack, and then try and beat James DeGale without controversy.
Froch’s promoter Eddie Hearn said this to ESPN.com writer Dan Rafael about a fight between Froch and Golovkin:
“The thing with Carl is he’s a pure competitor,” Hearn said. “So when he watches GGG against Brook what he’s thinking is, ‘I can beat him, I know I can beat him’ and it will eat him up a little bit. But it’s going to take a lot for him to come out of retirement.He turned down a fortune to fight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. just because he had a bit of a niggle in his elbow and he couldn’t really get himself up for it because after the Groves fight it was like, ‘I’ve given everything that night and it feels like the end to me.’ It’s remarkable to retire off that night. How many fighters retire off a night like that? Very few. But I know him. He’ll be in his garage on his punch bag thinking about Golovkin.”
Hearn’s description of Froch sounds like a description of a fighter who is so afraid of failure that he won’t even try anymore. It sounds like Froch is guarding his precious legacy and stunting it at the same time by not proving himself against actual best. I’m not proving yourself against an average run of the mill contender like George Groves.
I’m talking about Froch proving himself against someone who is seen as the VERY BEST in Golovkin. If Froch is the type that is satisfied with merely proving himself against a contender who may never become a champion like Groves rather than a talented champion like Golovkin, then you can’t do anything about it, can you? Froch can’t be dragged into the ring kicking and screaming to fight Golovkin if he doesn’t want the fight, and doesn’t feel up to taking the risk. It’s sad as far as I’m concerned. If you have the chance of really doing something with your career, and you decide to take the easy way out without testing yourself, then you’re the loser.
If Froch came back now, he could end his career against a true quality fighter in Golovkin rather than just a contender in Groves, and he could make a ton of money in the process. I’m not sure how much money a fight between Golovkin and Froch could make in the UK, but I’m guessing a ton. It wouldn’t be all bad news for Froch if Golovkin knocked him out. Froch would get a tremendous payday, and he’d still have his past wins over Groves, Bute, Arthur Abraham, Groves, and Jermain Taylor to think back on. Frankly, I think it’s a waste of time to sit back and relieve stuff that happened in the past. You’re better off thinking about and doing new stuff. Froch should forget about his past wins and look to get real win on his resume by fighting Golovkin. So what if Froch gets beaten. It wouldn’t matter. Froch can always say he lost due to him being rusty and old to help explain away the loss to his loyal boxing fans.
“I think there’s a little curiosity from Carl,” said Hearn. “There is definitely a beast inside Carl Froch. We’ll see.”