British and Commonwealth super middleweight champion Carl Froch has gone under the knife to rectify a long-term ligament problem after WBO champion Joe Calzaghe refused a £1.6 million offer to defend against him on a Hennessy Sports event this summer.
The undefeated 29-year-old, who should shortly find himself in the WBC #1 position, first damaged his right knee around four years ago in training. A scan at the time revealed that the anterior cruciate ligament was only partially torn and would in all likelihood heal sufficiently naturally, so after a short rest he went on with the business of storming through the 168lb ranks.
The Cobra’ however, has remained under ongoing observation after being advised that the ligament remained a potential weak-point and that through continued use the injury could re-occur at some point in the future if not corrected with surgery.
A few tweaks in the knee whilst training recently have convinced him and his team to sort the problem once and for all, especially now that the possibility of a marquee all-British affair against Calzaghe is out of the question before the summer break.
“It’s been niggling me for a while now,” Froch said of the injury. “I have felt the odd twinge and it’s been there in the back of my mind, but it hadn’t caused too much of a problem until about three weeks ago.
“I was doing a bleep test and I felt the same thing happen as four years ago. There was only a little bit of swelling and it had almost healed, but I wanted to remove any room for doubt in the future
“I would have loved to fight Calzaghe in July and could have been ready. I could have gone back into training next week, but I don’t think Calzaghe and his team wanted to risk sampling the power of my right uppercut!
“His promoter made an offer to me that I felt was derisory. They also turned down a very generous offer of £1.6 million from my promoter Mick Hennessy, which valued the fight at twice their amount if you work on the standard terms of the split for a purse bid.
“Bearing in mind that there were no options involved, you can make of that what you want.
“I have now heard his hand injury has ruled him out until September anyway, so the fight isn’t happening right now. I could have fought somebody else in July, but the European title is tied up in politics at the moment and a final eliminator for a world title couldn’t be arranged in that time.
“In the absence of a major fight, it made sense to start the summer break early and sort out the injury once and for all.”
The unbeaten Froch underwent surgery in Sheffield last week with one of the country’s top knee surgeons.
“I took the advice of Nottingham Forests’ Steve Devine and Gary Fleming. They’ve been a God send for me; they are also going to help me with getting back to the top, fitness wise,” he added.
“It was a complete success. The surgeon has told me that the new ligament will be stronger than ever before. The really big fights are round the corner for me now and I can go into them knowing that everything is 100%. My training won’t be restricted from now on; it won’t be in the back of my mind.
“I was annoyed at first when this injury reoccurred, but I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. There was a chance it could have gone in a world title fight instead. It could have gone against Calzaghe, but now I have had surgery there is no reason that should happen.”
“I will start rehab work straight away and can start running on it again in July. My fitness will be phenomenal by the end of September. Hopefully by then the world title situation will be a bit clearer.”
There is, however, a domestic matter that Froch would still be happy to clear up.
“By that time, Glen Catley and Robin Reid should have fought their final eliminator for my British Title,” he added. “The winner of that might make for a good final defence of my Lonsdale Belt.
“I see Reid was shouting off the other day, saying he wanted to be the first to demolish me. That’s a bit rich given that he has been offered the chance to fight me several times. He went Missing In Action when he was offered the opportunity to challenge me earlier this year.
“I have always respected Reid; I always thought he had more class than to say one thing to the press and then not back it up behind the scenes. Maybe he’s looking for a last payday and he knows I’m the biggest attraction out there. Either way, there is some unfinished business there now.”
