Carl Froch on being cancelled, his ego, his earnings, and the likelihood of a comeback

[Ruthless-RKO]

Carl Froch on being cancelled, his ego, his earnings, and the likelihood of a comeback

“Well, it’s a good question,” says Carl Froch.

Froch has been asked whether his antagonistic online persona and the man behind the Froch on Fighting YouTube channel is the real Froch.

“I think it’s Carl Froch, a.k.a. The Cobra,” he says, referring to his fighting nickname. “And, I think my channel is very much The Cobra. Because that’s the ex-fighter. That’s the guy with a bit of an ego. That’s the guy that commands respect. The ego’s not there, really. Because, I’m not really arsed. I get to turn so much [media and TV opportunities] stuff down. The stuff I turn down, people say, ‘Why don't you do that?’ ‘Why don’t you do Dancing on Ice?’ ‘Why don’t you do that TV show?’”

Froch says he was tempted by reality TV show I’m a Celebrity, because his children watch it. He declined, more money was offered, and he declined again.

Froch, always forthright with his opinions and views, added: “I’ve already been cancelled. You couldn’t be cancelled on your own channel. You still do have to be careful.”

But Froch, like many ex-fighters, has done work on fights. He had an immediate post-boxing relationship with Sky Sports, but that ended several years ago.

“It’s quite hard. But, when you enjoy it, you don't mind it,” he said.

“Also, you're quite exposed to a lot of criticism as well, aren't you? And sometimes, with a mainstream broadcaster, you have to kind of go along with their bullshit narrative sometimes. Like, ‘which fighter’s going to win? Which fighter’s going to beat who? We’re backing AJ in this one. We need to really rebuild AJ.’ ‘What if he gets fornicating beat, and you can’t rebuild anything? ‘He’s got to win, hasn't he?’ And if you're going to ask me my opinion, who I think wins, I think he's going to get beat by this guy who he's fighting next, who he happens to then lose to. But they don’t want you to say that, because that might not sell pay-per-view as much. So, my argument would be, ‘Well, that might sell pay-per-view more if I say he’s going to get beat, because people might tune in to watch him get beat. Why have we got to go along with your narrative?’

“I think a lot of times, because they’re worried about, one, getting cancelled, two, not being invited back. Broadcasters, most of them are on ad hoc contracts. So, if you’re a freelance broadcaster, like a pundit, you want to play the game. Like, do what you’re told. Maybe that’s why I don’t get asked anymore.”

Unlike so many fighters who have struggled in retirement, Froch has not. He knows that, after the dramatic one-punch KO finish of George Groves in Wembley Stadium, there would be no sweeter note to go out on.

“I will be open and I'll answer you honestly and no,” he said, asked if he’d struggled when he walked away.

“I boxed Kessler on pay-per-view on Sky. I’d already made decent money in the Super 6, couple of mil, give or take, because it was about five, six million dollar tournament. Got to the final, got paid. And then I had Bute. Not mega money, I could have earned four times his money. I got paid 250 grand for that fight; I could have got a million quid for going to Canada. Speculate to accumulate, got him here. Got a Kessler rematch. After that was Yusaf Mack, which is a bit of a gimme, six, seven hundred bags at the end of that. And then I got Kessler on pay-per-view on Sky. Couple or three mil. Do you know what I mean? It's like, I'm fornicating done now. Right, I've got my house, I've got my property portfolio, I've got my kids, I've got my missus. Right, thank you God, I'm fornicating blessed.

“And then you've got Groves coming out of the woodwork and I'm thinking, ‘fornicate him, I can't be arsed fighting this ginger prick.’ Not in a horrible way, but it's like, I've dropped him in sparring, I can't be bothered with him. I had that first fight with him, which was pay-per-view on Sky, and it was a fornicating proper scrap, where I nearly got done.

“So I'm like, ‘fornicate me, can I go home now and just stay home and not bother fighting ever again?’ And then we got the rematch. Didn’t really wanna fight again. I had to fight again, but didn't really wanna. But to get that rematch at Wembley Stadium in front of all them people, and then to go out the way I did and get paid all that fornicating money, do you know what I mean? It was like, I'm fornicating done now. The camp for that fight was so hard, because I stayed away from home. My daughter Natalia was only like two, and she was born just before the Kessler fight, and I just wanted to fornicating go home and stay at home with the missus and kids, and I'd got enough money in the bank, and I'd had enough.”

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