by James Slater — Unbeaten 31-year-old Carl “The Cobra” Froch sees himself as the man to take over at super-middleweight now that Joe Calzaghe is all but finished. Froch, currently, 25-0(17) is in training for his very first crack at a world title but still found time to give his opinion on the upcoming Calzaghe-Roy Jones Junior fight..
Talking to ITV at the weekend, the man who will be facing Canada’s also unbeaten Jean Pascal for Calzaghe’s vacated WBC super-middleweight belt said he feels both Jones and Calzaghe are well past their best and that the fight is a tough one to call.
“It is still Roy Jones Junior we are talking about,” Froch began. “If he can pull back 50-percent of his old skill and that magic he used to have Calzaghe will be in a lot of trouble. It’s an interesting fight because I think Calazaghe is past his best as well. He struggled against Hopkins. I’m not impressed with his work in his last couple of fights. I think he has struggled.”
While it’s strange that Froch was/is not impressed with Joe’s excellent win over Mikkel Kessler, when he unified three titles at 168 pounds, “The Cobra” is not alone when he refuses to give Calzaghe top marks for his laboured win over Bernard Hopkins. Actually, joining a minority group, Froch thinks Hopkins deserved the win over the Welshman.
“That fight was close and I felt that the judge who gave it to Hopkins was the correct judge,” Froch stated. “It’s [Jones v Calzaghe] still a decent enough fight for the fans though as you’ve got an old legend fighting against someone who is looking to hang the gloves up. So it’s definitely one I’m going to be watching with interest.”
Huge interest is something November 8th’s fight has had no trouble in attracting. But Froch wishes it was he who was in there with Calzaghe, not Jones.
“Everyone knows I’ve been trying to get a fight with Calzaghe for the past eighteen months,” the 31-year-old said. “I’d be the WBC champion. We’d both be unbeaten and what better way for him to end it than a fight against a young gun coming through who is at the very top of his game? It’s a fight people want to see.”
A Calzaghe-Froch showdown would be a huge fight in Britain, for sure. And Froch is still hopeful it will happen, as he explained.
“If you have read something saying that Mick [Hennessey, Froch’s promoter] says he has put down a £5 million offer for me to fight Calzaghe then he has obviously sat down with the TV companies and discussed it. Nothing has been made official at this stage, it’s all about getting the finances in place to make this fight happen. You know it’s realistic, a £5 million offer. Although it’s not been put down on paper yet it’s a genuine offer that he worked out and will hopefully be put to Calzaghe after he does his job against Roy Jones.”
There is something of a chance then, that “The Cobra” will get the fight he says he has wanted for so long. But will Calzaghe be interested in fighting again, against anyone, after November 8th?