• Carl Froch v George Groves II

Hearn left 'frustrated' as Froch v Groves II talks stumble

Eddie Hearn does not believe Carl Froch will give up his belt after the IBF ordered a rematch with George Groves © PA Photos

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Promoter Eddie Hearn has hinted talks of a possible rematch between unified super-middleweight champion Carl Froch and George Groves have started to stall.

Froch stopped Groves in the ninth round of their November 2013 bout when referee Howard Foster controversially stepped in to end the fight. At the time, Groves was ahead on all three judges' scorecards and had knocked Froch down in the opening round.

Earlier in January, the IBF ordered a rematch between Froch and Groves but later rejected the Hammersmith fighter's appeal over the 85%-15% purse split. Froch also released a statement which claimed Groves had rejected a seven-figure offer to fight again; Groves was reportedly unhappy with several clauses in the contract.

Hearn believes the IBF's decision to order a second fight has both "helped and hindered" talks between the two camps, but the promoter is hopeful the situation will soon be resolved.

"We're still going. I think purse bids will be called this week and it will take 28 days until they happen. During that time you can still negotiate," Hearn told Sky Sports.

"It's frustrating. Earlier this week it felt like we were quite close and then it was not so close a few hours later. I'm still hopeful we can get there, as I have been from the start.

"Both fighters have probably got to loosen their belts a little bit and then hopefully we can get there. It's frustrating at the moment but we're still hopeful.

"The IBF's decision to call for the rematch both helped and hindered the possibility of the fight. It helped because Carl doesn't want to vacate his IBF belt really, so he probably will fight George.

"But it hindered because they ordered the purse bids with an 85%-15% split, which ultimately lowers George's bargaining position, which doesn't really work that well in negotiations between two people who don't particularly like each other. So it's helped and it's hindered the process but I'm still confident we can make it happen."

Meanwhile, Groves recently admitted he had written to the British Boxing Board of Control in order to get the result of the original fight deemed a 'no contest'.

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