By James Slater: As Carl Froch has said himself, and as any fight fans must concede, “The Cobra” is one-hundred-percent entitled to a relatively easy ring opponent for his planned May 5th return. With the top names Froch has been in with in his last half dozen or so fights (think Ward, Kessler, Dirrell, Abraham, etc!!) he is more than entitled to ease his way back into the win column with a “safe” opponent.
But, as Froch himself also said, that’s just not the two-time WBC super-middleweight champ’s style. Website Livefight.com did a great job in getting to speak with Froch earlier this week, and the 34-year-old future Hall of Famer (in my opinion anyway – how about yours?) spoke about the names that are being mentioned as possibilities for his in-the-works May 5th bout.
“We’re looking at May 5th at the Nottingham Arena,” Froch said. “I was all set for taking on [Lucian] Bute in Canada, but as everyone heard Showtime were looking at an American opponent for Bute’s next fight.
“I don’t want a gimme at this stage of may career, even though I’ve earned one. I don’t want some bum who nobody has heard of. My fans don’t deserve a patsy and I won’t fight one. They’re going to be top names and/or with a top ranking at 168-pounds. [Kelly] Pavlik’s name was kicked about. But it’s possibly [going to be] Librado Andrade or the WBC number three; a lad called Noe Gonzalez.”
Of the three names Froch mentioned, former world middleweight king Pavlik would have been the most intriguing and exciting in my opinion. The two former champions have had their names put together a number of times in the past and the match-up would have a definite sizzle to it. But from Froch’s words it seems it will not be “The Ghost” on May 5th (Pavlik, after all, despite his recent troubles, is nobody’s tune-up).
Of the two remaining names, tough Mexican warrior Andrade, 30-4(23) looks the most interesting. Best known for his two tussles with Bute – the first fight, in Oct. 2008 especially – Andrade has since lost a decision to Aaron Pryor Junior but bounced back with a stoppage win over Matt O’Brien. Stopped just once (by Bute, with a vicious shot to the body), the former three-time world title challenger will, I’m sure, give Froch a tough night. If the fight gets made.
As for Noe Gonzalez, the Argentine (based there, born in Uruguay) is a fighter Froch admits to knowing precious little about. Aged 32 and 28-1(20) he has not lost since dropping a 12-round UD to defending WBA middleweight boss Felix Sturm in 2007. Gonzalez, who has a number of quick KO wins to his name, could be a real danger man.