Three Reasons Why Gennady Golovkin vs Carl Froch Would Make For An Epic War
By: Jordan Seward
Carl Froch is considering coming out of retirement for a mega fight with the WBA, IBF, IBO and WBC middleweight kingpin Gennady Golovkin.
A fight between the pair has been mentioned in the past but with Froch’s retirement in 2014 it seemed like another potential show stopping fight that had slipped through our fingers, but Golovkin’s promoter, Tom Loeffler, has dropped hints negotiations have begun.
Loeffler met with Matchroom chief Eddie Hearn in Monaco last week and it seems there’s genuine intentions on Golovkin’s behalf. There are talks of Golovkin fighting Daniel Jacobs in March but that one is yet to be signed and sealed.
Former world super-middleweight champion, Froch, 39, hasn’t been in the ring since his famous knockout victory of George Groves at Wembley in May 2014. As an active fighter Froch regularly spoke of a legacy and although in his mind his is secured a fight with Golovkin wouldn’t do his any harm, especially if he won it.
Although there is continued speculation and calls for Golovkin (36-0-33KO’s) to fight Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, ‘Triple G’ obviously enjoyed his UK debut when he beat Kell Brook in their showdown at the O2 in September and there may be more chance of a UK return for Golovkin to fight Froch at Wembley.
If he can entice Froch (33-2-24KO’s) out of retirement, the pair would be set to make $10million each in what would be an out and out war that you couldn’t take your eyes off and here’s why.
Stylistically
There’s a saying in boxing that styles make fights, Golovkin and ‘The Cobra’ share similar styles in that they like to march forward and have a tear up. We’ve seen it throughout Froch’s career, for the lack of natural and technical talent he certainly makes up for with grit, determination and willingness. Froch goes to the trenches and although Golovkin assuredly possess’ the better technical boxing skills he is very capable of doing the same thing. At times Golovkin seems to enjoy fighting on the inside and trading and we would have seen more of this from him if he could find an opponent who could absorb his power. Froch has been rarely involved in a boring fight if ever and with his and Golovkin’s style they just mesh. It all points to one thing – a war.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEj5NFuD7hU
The Fist vs The Chin
Froch is naturally the bigger man and he is a big super-middleweight with proven power, it’s interesting to think this could be a fight where we look at Golovkin in a completely different light. For a while we’ve wanted someone to ask questions of Golovkin and there’s no guarantee Froch would do that if the fight was to materialise but certainly for once instead of talking of Golovkin’s power there will be a thought on what’s coming back. Golovkin’s chin is relatively untested, so could Golovkin handle Froch’s power? All through Froch’s career there has been no doubts on his chin but he has been put on the canvas twice before, once by Jermain Taylor in 2009 and once by George Groves in their first meeting, although it’s significant to remember he still won both those fights. Nevertheless, in a particular fight against Golovkin, with his power you’d have to consider whether or not even the strongest of jaws could take such punishment. So, there’s a few unanswered questions here that need to be answered.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWmNoJ–DP4
Legacy
Carl Froch can happily look back on a glittering career but lest we forget that after the fight with Groves, Froch was after one more mega-fight preferably in Las Vegas but for whatever reasons talks broke down with Chavez Jr and other hosts of names. Comparisons are regularly made between Froch and Joe Calzaghe and debates, often fierce ones, have started about who’s been the best UK super-middleweight boxer. A win against Golovkin who many have at the top of their pound-for-pound lists, could help settle this longstanding battle, so there’s more in it for Froch than just a crock of gold. Golovkin has struggled to find credible opponents that to some don’t justify the hype. In a division that is sparse of bill-topping names the Kazakhstani is desperate for wins over notable names and needs them more than ever. Even the victory over Kell Brook has done little to solve his legacy problems as Brook went up two weight divisions to take the fight. But, if Golovkin was to go up to super-middle and knockout Froch, who is well famed for a granite chin, well that might just justify what the hype is all about.