IBF super middleweight champ, Carl Froch has vacated his world title in order to facilitate a big money showdown with either Julio Cesar Chavez Jr or Bernard Hopkins later this summer.
Froch, who is recovering from an elbow injury, wanted the fight with Chavez Jr. this spring in Las Vegas, but has been unable to properly train for the bout.
Weighing heavily on Froch was also the pressure from the IBF to defend the title against long-time no. 1 contender, British countryman, James DeGale. Rather than delay matters and cause all parties to wait on him, Froch decided to simply let the belt go and, perhaps, come back later to pick it back up.
“I know what it’s like to wait for a shot and I didn’t want to hold James up in fighting for a world title,” Froch told RingTV.
“I could have been awkward and tried to put up medical advice to delay the mandatory defense. But James is a great fighter and I hope he can go out and win that title and, who knows, we may even meet later in the year. I will fight him as and when I need to. I have nothing against the lad and he is British so I want him to win and do well.”
Olympic gold medalist, DeGale, will fight for the title on April 25, likely at London’s O2 Arena. He will be matched up against the next highest ranked contender, Andre Dirrell. If a deal can’t be reached between DeGale and Dirrell, DeGale would likely take on the next available contender, Mexico’s Gilberto Ramirez.
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