• Super Middleweight

Froch: Retirement option very much on the table

Carl Froch has told ESPN that retirement is "very much on the table" after his stunning knockout victory against George Groves.

Speaking on Buncey's Boxing Podcast, Froch weighed up potential opponents for his next fight after knocking out Groves at Wembley, but admitted that the option of walking away from boxing was under serious consideration.

Time is right for Froch to quit

Carl Froch knocked out George Groves in the eighth round © Getty Images

• Carl Froch may want a big fight in Las Vegas after surviving battles in the ring for supremacy and outside the ring for respect, but he can surely walk away with his head held high after conquering all the doubters for the last time, writes Steve Bunce.
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"That is very much on the table, very much so," Froch told ESPN after ranking the merits of four potential opponents should he decide to defend his IBF and WBA super-middleweight titles once more.

James DeGale is the IBF's mandatory challenger after defeating Brandon Gonzales on the undercard of the Froch-Groves rematch, but Froch believes he has earned a voluntary defence if he so wishes, with a Las Vegas showdown with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr or a chance to avenge his defeat by Andre Ward his preferred options.

"The only reason we'd be discussing DeGale is because he's put himself in the mandatory position, to be honest - otherwise I wouldn't give him the time of day," Froch said.

"Chavez - definitely, that's a big fight that could happen in Las Vegas.

"Andre Ward? On my night I beat Ward, so that's got potential - he's the only guy out there who I've faced that I've not beaten. That's an automatic one that makes sense. Unfortunately for Ward, it's not a big fight in America. People aren't that interested in him, which is a shame but you can see why.

"Mikkel Kessler's on about coming back, and it's one-all so why not have the decider?"

Kessler, for his part, has confirmed he wants one final showdown with Carl Froch before bowing out of boxing.

Kessler announced last month that he was coming out of retirement because "I owe it to myself and my fans to retire as champion".

Kessler and Froch have gone toe-to-toe twice, including the Dane's last fight in May 2013 when he lost his WBA super middleweight title.

But having watched Froch's knockout victory over Groves on Saturday, Kessler knows who he wants for his 50th and final fight.

Writing on his Facebook page, Kessler said: "I'm more than ready to fight Carl for the decider, and I feel very confident that I will win that fight.

"The fight in the O2 Arena a year ago was not one of my best. I started out slow and had the chance to stop Froch in the eleventh round but failed. That won´t happen again.

"No excuses though. Carl fought brilliantly and I can´t take anything away from him. It was close, but he won the fight."

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