British boxer Carl Froch has been stripped of his WBA super middleweight belt because of a failure to defend his title since last May. The WBA says Fedor Chudinov and Felix Sturm will fight for the vacant title May 9 in Germany. Froch hasn’t fought since beating George Groves in an all-British bout at Wembley Stadium on May 31.
Since last May, Carl Froch has been waiting on a fight with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Talks were ongoing last year, but the fight never came up. Froch then dropped his IBF title instead of facing mandatory James Degale citing an elbow injury that would keep him out of the ring. Then the talks began again for a possible Froch-Chavez Jr. fight that could lead to what Carl Froch has always wanted, a big fight in Las Vegas. Assuming Chavez got by his April opponent in Andrzej Fonfara, the talks would likely move forward for a pay-per-view fight in Las Vegas. Chavez ended up quitting on his stool after being knocked down and with that went waste side, Froch’s fight with Chavez.
Froch has hinted here and there that he could retire now and not look back, which would certainly be his choice as he has had a great career. But what about the loss on his record to Andre Ward?
The WBA said in a statement that Froch will be the mandatory challenger for super champion Andre Ward if the American boxer beats Paul Smith in a non-title fight June 20. Ward beat Froch in 2012.
The two have traded barbs back and forth with Froch challenging Ward to travel to England. At first Ward was hesitant but then he said he would travel to England, but he wouldn’t travel to Nottingham, England, Froch’s hometown. Many in England appreciate Ward so a fight with Ward could be a stadium fight should he travel.
