By Scott Gilfoid: Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn says former IBF/WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch (33-2, 24 KOs) called him recently to ask him questions about the talented IBF/IBO/WBA middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (34-0, 31 KOs).
Hearn didn’t say why Froch was asking him questions about Golovkin, but he thinks that he still secretly wants to keep fighting, which could be why he’s asking him specifically about the hard hitting Kazakhstan fighter.
For the boxing fans who may have forgotten, Golovkin and Froch is a fight that the boxing world was very eager to see before Froch abruptly retired. Golovkin wanted the fight, and so did his promoter Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions. Golovkin was willing to move up to 168 and face Froch in London, UK in order to make the fight happen. It’s a fight that would have likely made Froch more than $10 million had he said yes to it, but instead he retired.
Of course, boxing fans thought it was mighty strange that Froch would retire rather than stick around and scoop up that good clean cash before he rode off into the sunset. Some fans even think that Golovkin chased Froch into retirement by showing so much interest in the fight. I can’t say for sure why Froch would turn down a monstrous payday against Golovkin, especially for a fight that many boxing fans felt that Froch would lose.
There’s talk that Froch couldn’t get motivated enough to get off the couch and start training for the fight. But how can you not get motivated for a fight that would have made you big cash that you were expected to lose? Was it F-E-A-R that kept Froch from taking the fight with Golovkin, or did he simply not fancy the job? I guess only Froch knows for sure.
“Carl phoned me for my opinion on the Golovkin fight. Something burns away at Carl to get back in the ring,” Hearn said to Fighthype.com.
If I was to analyze why Froch would want to be still yacking about Golovkin, I would have to say that he might be finally working up enough nerve to take the fight. I mean, it is a risky fight that could lead to Froch being splattered all over the canvas in front of 80,000 fans at Wembley Stadium in London, UK, but when you’ve got the chance to make $10 million, getting whipped potentially is part of the risk involved for that kind of money. I’m sure in this case, Froch would still somehow survive the loss, especially all that good cash to keep him company.
WATCH: @GGGBoxing gets @LemieuxBoxing up against the ropes and seals the TKO 8 victory. #TweetReplay https://t.co/SSd8Y31Afo
— HBOboxing (@HBOboxing) October 25, 2015
“As time ticks on, it becomes less and less. I think as [James] DeGale continues his march, perhaps that can become more tempting,” Hearn said.
I think the boxing world is a heck of a lot more interested in a Froch-Golovkin fight than a Froch-DeGale fight. DeGale looked awful in his last fight against Andre Dirrell, and the fight didn’t even take place in the UK. I think Golovkin is more popular in the UK than DeGale right now. DeGale just doesn’t seem to have the fan base for some reason for him to pull in a lot of fans in the UK.
For Froch, there wouldn’t be the same built in excuse for him if he were to lose to DeGale like there would if he got beaten by Golovkin. DeGale isn’t considered to be the best super middleweight in the division, and he’s definitely seen as a world beater. With Golovkin, he’s widely viewed as the best fighter in the 160lb division, and someone potentially capable of taking Floyd Mayweather Jr’s place as the No.1 fighter in boxing. As such, if Froch gets royally whipped by Golokvin, he won’t take nearly the same kind of heat like he would if he got beaten by DeGale.
Props to @Max_Kellerman for recognizing @GGGBoxing as the "Most dangerous man on the planet"
— Tom Loeffler (@TomLoeffler1) October 25, 2015
Loeffler said that they would definitely consider a fight right now with Froch if he and Hearn were to show interested in facing Golovkin. Currently, Golovkin is waiting to try and face the winner of the November 21st fight between Miguel Cotto and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. However, the money obviously would be so good for a Froch fight, it would be crazy for Loeffler to turn the fight down if there was a chance for it.
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