By Barry Holbrook: Carl Froch says his preference is for Derek Chisora to retire, but if he does continue, he would like to see him fight a trilogy match with Dillian Whyte rather than taking on the dangerous Deontay Wilder.
Chisora (33-12, 23 KOs) is aiming high, wanting a big “caviar” type fight that will give him a massive payday following his narrow 12-round split decision victory over a very old-looking 41-year-old Kubrat Pulev (29-3, 14 KOs) last Saturday night at the O2 Arena in London, England.
Chisora looked terrible throughout the contest, particularly in the championship rounds after he tired and fought with his back against the ropes. Virtually anyone in the division would beat Chisora at this point.
You can argue that the only reason the 38-year-old Chisora wasn’t knocked out is that Pulev had no power on most of his shots other than his uppercuts, which he rarely threw.
Despite Pulev hurting Chisora badly with an uppercut in the eighth, the Bulgarian chose not to utilize that punch often in the last four rounds to help pull out a victory.
“If he retired, I’d be happy because he’s had a great career, and he’s given us some great nights,” said Carl Froch to Boxing UK about his hopes that Derek Chisora retires after winning over Kubrat Pulev last Saturday night in London.
“We’ve been talking about Deontay Wilder, but I wouldn’t want him to get hit too heavy by Deontay because he’s a dangerous puncher. I think the Dillian Whyte rematch would be good. A trilogy with Whyte would be a good fight,” said Froch.
The price tag for a Wilder vs. Chisora clash would likely be too high, and it wouldn’t make money due to the contest being viewed as a mismatch by fans.
“Has he lost 12 times? He always performs; he always gives us entertaining fights,” Froch continued about the 38-year-old Chisora, who many boxing fans felt deserved a loss against Pulev.
“Almost always, there’s been a couple of stinkers in there. He pulls it out of the bag when he needs to. Even if he loses, he gives us a great night.
“Tonight, I was really proud of him, really pleased for him because at times in there, it looked hard, and the action ebbed and flowed, and it was a real action-packed couple of rounds in there.
“He was hurt by the uppercut [from Pulev in the 8th round]. Yeah, he did what he had to do to get the win. He had the win on my card. It was 116-113 on my card, and I’m proud of him.
“I’d say retire now for Derek. I’d say turn it in. He’s had a great career. I think he’s done enough. I’d hate to see him get hurt now. Get it done, mate. You’ve done your bit.
“Like he said, he wants that caviar; he wants that payday. So he might just get it,” said Froch about Chisora asking promoter Eddie Hearn for a big-money fight next.
