Hearn concedes that fight with Chavez Jr. in Las Vegas looks unlikely…
Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has revealed that James DeGale is likely to be Carl Froch’s next opponent, and their domestic dust-up could happen in Nottingham.
Following on from Froch’s win over George Groves at Wembley back in May, it has been unclear as to what the IBF super-middleweight champion will do next, with retirement even being discussed.
However, the Nottingham-born fighter has made no secret of his desire to fight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in Las Vegas before he calls time on his career, but according to Hearn, that fight doesn’t look like it will happen.
“I met with Carl Froch last week and the first thing I could see is that he is getting itchy knuckles again. This guy wants to fight,” Hearn said, the Nottingham Post reports.
“There are a lot of discussions going on at the moment and as it stands it looks to me like a fight with Julio Cesar Chavez is not going to happen.”
As a result, Froch’s mandatory challenger for his IBF strap, DeGale, has become the strong favourite to get the fight and it is likely to take place in either February or March next year before the defending champion is forced to vacate the belt.
Hearn insists that Froch is too proud a fighter to allow that to happen and he now envisages that DeGale will get his world title shot next year, and he has already been looking at possible outdoor venues to host what will be a huge domestic fight.
“I have had some discussions about possible venues and I am looking at a few outdoor stadia, including the City Ground in Nottingham, Carl’s hometown. He has filled big arenas from Manchester to Wembley to the O2 and this is the kind of fight and venue that excites him. We are working on it.”
DeGale has insisted for years that he is “all wrong” for Froch and is unlikely to be too concerned with the venue provided that he finally gets his chance at a world title.
With Groves now moving on to a different path which will see him return to the ring to face Christopher Rebrasse this month, British boxing fans are now likely to be rewarded with another memorable night with DeGale looking to finally dethrone the ‘Cobra’.
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