By Robbie Bannatyne: Eddie Hearn, the undisputed king of boxing promotion in the UK, recently reignited the debate about the potential for a second coming of Carl Froch vs George Groves. In an interview with Sky Sports, he stated that there is a “great chance” a rematch could occur.
Personally, I have confidence in Hearn’s conviction. In sporting and financial terms the stakes are so high that plans for a rematch surely must materialize.
However, any scheduled plans for a second bout will play subordinate to Froch’s ambition to do battle under the bright lights of Las Vegas or another famous venue in America. This ambition is the one stumbling block that could be insurmountable with regards to the rematch between Froch and Groves.
Eddie Hearn stated, “We’re speaking to Dan Goossen about Andre Ward, we are speaking to K1 promotions about Gennady Golovkin and we are speaking to Bob Arum and Top Rank about Julio Chavez Jr.”
No-one can deny Froch the chance to chase his dream. However, his dream could quickly morph into a nightmare if he were to lose his big fight in America.
And since it looks increasingly like Andre Ward will be Froch’s only conceivable option, if he wants the fight to be staged in the 1st half of 2014, then I see his ‘dream’ fight turning into a tale of tragedy rather than triumph.
Where Andre Ward is concerned, Froch should right now abandon the romantic notion of gaining revenge on the peerless American. The sober reality is that he is too good for Froch. Any rematch would unfold in a similar manner to their 1st meeting- unanimous decision in favour of Andre Ward.
No doubt about it.
By contrast, it is within the realms of possibility that he could emerge victorious against Golovkin, and there is no doubt that he has enough left in the tank to defeat Chavez Jnr. In any event, though, fights against Chavez and Golovkin would have to take towards the end of the summer as Chavez Jnr vs Brian Vera rematch has been confirmed for March 1st, whilst James Kirkland is rumoured to be the frontrunner to face Gennady Golovkin in April, at Madison Square Garden.
So if we assume Froch wants to replicate his fighting schedule in 2013 by once again boxing twice in this current calendar year, then his options for his next fight are either George Groves or Andre Ward.
As previously stated, I think the pursuit of Andre Ward is a waste of time- it is an un-winnable fight for Froch. Yet one senses that the seeds which have been planted in Froch’s head will continue to grow until he gets his man in a rematch. Whilst it is a true testament of his fortitude that he is so eager to again engage in combat with a far superior fighter, in truth, Ward operates on a different level than Froch and is better in every department- barring the ability to absorb punishment.
Hypothetically speaking, if Froch did manage to secure a rematch against Ward and lose then would he have no option but to retire from the sport? It stands to reason that George Groves would have no interest in facing him in a grudge match with nothing but pride at stake- surely he would instead seek a showdown with Ward instead. Indeed, Ward has already stated that he would be interested in facing Groves, who after his stirring performance against Froch announced himself as an elite fighter in the 168lb class.
On the other hand, should he decide to renew his rivalry with George Groves only to lose in a rematch then his dream of fighting in the United States would be dead in the water.
So, essentially, all his future plans for the remainder of his career in boxing hinge on entirely on whether he can avoid defeat in his next fight, whoever his opponent may be.
As a proud Scotsman, who is revelling in British boxing’s renaissance I sincerely hope that George Groves is the next fighter to face Carl Froch.
Who knows, maybe Eddie Hearn could kill two birds with one stone by making plans to stage the fight in the United States.
Who do you think should be Froch’s next opponent and why?
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