Froch: DeGale fought well, but I’ve got a voluntary defense next

By Boxing News - 06/01/2014 - Comments

froch#5By Scott Gilfoid: James DeGale (19-1, 13 KO’s) became the IBF super middleweight mandatory challenger yesterday to Carl Froch’s IBF 168 lb. title with a 4th round TKO victory over Brandon Gonzales at Wembley Stadium in London, England. DeGale is going to have wait around for a while before he gets a crack at Froch [if he ever gets one], because Froch is talking about having an optional title defense coming for his next fight. He’s talking about wanting to fight in Las Vegas, Nevada.

If Froch fights in Vegas, it would be against one of three possible opponents: 1. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., 2. Gennady Golovkin or 3. Andre Ward. The odds of it being Ward are likely so incredibly small that it’s not even really worth considering him as an option, because Ward is a show stopper for Froch in terms of his ability to beat him and mess up his legacy.

“There is one box that is not ticked and that is Las Vegas. I’ve never boxed there, never had my name up in light down the Las Vegas strip and before I retire it might be something I want to do,” Froch said to AFP via thesundaily.my/news/1064983. “DeGale fought well but I’ve got a voluntary defence.”

So there it is. DeGale won’t be getting a shot at Froch until possibly 2015, and that’s if Froch doesn’t get beaten in his next fight. If Froch faces Golovkin, he’ll likely lose and lose badly to the Kazakhstan fighter by knockout. A Froch-Chavez Jr. fight would be a tossup, as Chavez Jr. would have a very good chance of giving Froch a pounding and taking his titles. Froch couldn’t out-box Chavez Jr., especially if he’s being trained by Freddie Roach. And Froch won’t be able to knock Chavez Jr. out because the guy already showed that he could stand up to being hit by major power shots from Sergio Martinez.

At the same time, Froch wouldn’t be able to do what Sergio Martinez did against Chavez Jr. by moving for 12 continuous rounds in order to keep from getting worked over by him. I just Chavez Jr. as a really bad match-up for Froch no matter how you want to paint it.

DeGale’s victory was a little tainted for DeGale, though, due to referee Steve Gray stopping it in the 4th round without Gonzales even being hit. It was the strangest and the saddest thing but so not surprising given the earlier controversial stoppage on the card in the Kevin Mitchell vs. Ghislain Maduma fight, which saw a referee halt the fight with Maduma looking fine after a knockdown.

DeGale is going to need to stay busy fighting other opponents because the chances are pretty high that he may not get a title shot until next year, and even when he does, it likely won’t be against Froch. It’ll be against the guy that beat Froch, be it Chavez Jr, Golovkin or Ward. Golovkin will likely vacate the IBF title strap if he wins it, because he won’t want to stay at 168. Chavez Jr. would fight DeGale, but he’d likely make him wait a long time before giving him the shot.



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