It seems Julio César Chávez Jr – the talented if unpredictable son of a legend who is currently tangled up in an interminable contractual bun-fight with his promoter, Bob Arum – is the only opponent who can prolong the career of Carl Froch.
Froch, a double-belt world champion, is adamant he does not want his next fight to be against his mandatory IBF challenger, James DeGale, his former conqueror Andre Ward or George Groves, whom he has stopped twice. He wants only Chávez – and only in Las Vegas.
Whether or not it is a pay-per-view event looks to be secondary to getting the gig in the fight game’s capital because there is little to suggest such a bout would generate good numbers, especially in an environment where even Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao (separately) have not made the PPV gates click like they used to.
Froch, who holds the IBF and WBA super-middleweight belts, says he will retire unless his promoter, Eddie Hearn, delivers Chávez within the next few months. Both expect it to happen and, if Froch wins, he will fight on. If he does not get Chávez or he loses against the smaller man, he will retreat to his new home in Nottingham and enjoy the fruits of nearly 13 years labouring with distinction as one of Britain’s finest post-war world champions.
Talking to Paul Dempsey on BT Sport’s Boxing Tonight on Thursday, Froch laid out his take-it-or-leave-it strategy. “What is there left for me to do in this world of boxing?” asked the veteran of 35 battles who came late to the professional game at 24 and turns 38 in July. “That is Las Vegas. And, if that doesn’t happen – mark my words, keep the cameras rolling – if I don’t fight Chávez Jr in Las Vegas, I will retire. I don’t tell lies. I’ve got no reason to tell lies. I’m very truthful, open and honest.
“If people want to have a go at me and say: ‘He didn’t fight DeGale and he’s [the IBF] mandatory’, I’ll say: ‘Well, he can go and fight Andre Dirrell’ [who challenged Froch for his WBC title in 2009, losing narrowly] and we’ll see how he gets on.
“Chávez is a big name. He’s lost one fight in 51, he’s got a massive Mexican and Latino-American following – and I think I can beat him comfortably enough. I don’t think it’s an easy fight, by any stretch of the imagination. But business-wise [it makes sense] – and don’t forget, professional boxing is a business first and foremost.
“People talk about [Gennady] Golovkin [the unbeaten middleweight champion] but he’s not pay per view. They talk about Ward; I don’t want to fight Andre Ward. I’m a fighter. I’m not bothered to go in there and say that Andre Ward, if I didn’t knock him out, he would beat me on points. But that is not a big fight. American TV don’t want to show him on box office. So why do I want to fight Andre Ward? What’s the point?”
All of which sounds perfectly logical. However, boxing only flirts with logic. It is Hearn’s task to convince Arum, one of the business’s most stubborn negotiators (as his five-year wrangle with Mayweather over a Pacquiao fight illustrates), that Chávez should be set free from his contract.
Froch is not entirely on sound ground about Chávez, though. While the 28-year-old Mexican does have enthusiastic support in the Latino community, much of it has been generated by his lineage. His father was one of the genuine modern greats and Chávez Jr has shown little to suggest he deserves comparison, having not fought since a points win in a turgid rematch with Brian Vera nearly a year ago – so he is there for the taking.
As for Golovkin, the Russian who stops nine of every 10 opponents defends his middleweight title against Manchester’s Martin Murray in Monte Carlo next month. Although Murray has performed with distinction in away-from-home world title challenges against Felix Sturm and Sergio Martínez (who survived a late knockdown to outpoint Chávez handsomely in 2012), beating Golovkin would be a strong early candidate for upset of 2015. Froch knows well enough which is the easier fight.
