• Boxing

Froch 'happy' to fight Groves in rematch

The fight between the pair was stopped in the ninth round © PA Photos

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Carl Froch has revealed he is "happy" to give George Groves a rematch, but has his eyes set on a fight with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr first.

'The Cobra' retained his WBA and IBF super-middleweight titles after Groves was controversially stopped in the ninth round of their bout on November 23. Groves had been leading on all three judges' scorecards, and floored his opponent in the first round.

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While Groves says he is waiting for Froch to give him a rematch, Froch is set on fighting Chavez Jr, taking on the former WBC middleweight champion in Las Vegas.

"The fight with Chavez Jr is one of the five options that I do have and that's a fight that I can get motivated for, a fight that excites me," Froch told Sky Sports News.

"Going over to America and fighting in Las Vegas is something that all British pros with big aspirations to do big things in boxing [want to do]. To be on a pay-per-view channel in America - very, very few British fighters have done that.

"So as an option for me, that is a realistic option and one that I'm very, very seriously considering. In fact, we're closer to that happening that the George Groves fight."

Previously, Froch ruled out a rematch with Groves, but now he has opened the door to a potential fight later in the year, with Groves being one of the two fighters he could face.

"I will happily fight George Groves again, I'm happy to give him a return provided it makes sense and it's realistic. It's down to Eddie Hearn, my promoter, to make it happen and it's down to George Groves to be realistic," Froch said.

If I've got two fights this year - and I usually do fight twice a year - one of those I think should be George Groves and one should be Chavez Jr. But probably not in that order, Chavez Jr is the next fight, the big fight that we're closer to doing. I spoke to my promoter Eddie Hearn yesterday and that fight is pretty much nailed-on as being done and I'm happy with it."

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