During a recent interview with BBC Radio Nottingham, former WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch made some controversial comments regarding a past Commonwealth defense. The Nottingham boxer discussed how he dragged a title fight into a later round to enable members of his family to benefit financially from betting. The boxer expanded on comments made in his autobiography, published last year.
According to Froch, he could have finished his 2005 Commonwealth title defence against Ruben Groenewald earlier than he did. Froch could have finished the fight in the fourth round but says he deliberately avoided doing so because of family members who made bets on a fifth round stoppage. The British Boxing Board of Control said it would now speak to Froch.
He said: "I've done it more than one occasion and it was round five but that's not illegal. I can say, 'right, I'll stop this kid in round five'. If I'm good enough to do that then fair enough. I don't gamble but my brothers and my friends, they did quite well off it."
"I can openly say that because if I'm good enough to step on the gas in round five and force the stoppage then that's my privilege, and that's what I did in this particular fight at the Arena for the Commonwealth title defence. But the problem with that is I held him up in round four. He was there for the taking and I held him up, I got him with a shot, I could have ended up getting done myself in round four."
However, during another interview - this time with Sky Sports News HD - Froch said he was wrong to make to make the "throwaway" comment over deliberately prolonging fights so members of his family could win bets. The former two-time world champion is now looking to clear up the matter, explaining that it is simply "too dangerous" to try and pick and choose when to win a bout and says he never took part in these type of activities.
"Every time I fight, when good fighters fight, they often make predictions. It's all part of the media hype beforehand," Froch said. "On that particular occasion I made a prediction that I would win the fight in a certain round. But the comments made about prolonging the fight were a throwaway comment that, in hindsight, I shouldn't have said. I shouldn't have said that because I have never done that.
"It's too dangerous to try and attempt to do that in a fight. My brother might have had £5 on it, and I think he lost as well. He's not done very well out my career, gambling wise."
