Froch vows to RETIRE if Manny Pacquiao moves up to super middleweight

Carl Froch has been in fine fettle this week. He had time to talk about Manny Pacquiao, his relationship to Rachael the mother of his son Rocco, his future, and just what it would mean to him to have the WBC supermiddleweight title belt - which he held for 17 months – back in his possession. It will be a rugged encounter with Armenian Arthur Abraham. Firstly, though, Manny Pacquiao. We talked of the Pacquiao v Antonio Margarito contest two weeks ago, and Froch, a warrior himself thought the contest an antidote to what we had seen hours earlier between David Haye and Audley Harrison. “Pacquiao is brilliant to watch, and how he has come up the weights and retained his power and speed is incredible. If he comes up to supermiddleweight, I’m going to retire straightaway!”. He was joking, but in that comment, you could see his admiration for the Filipino fighting phenomenon. Froch, indeed, is at the other end of the spectrum in profile. Hugely respected within boxing, he has not crossed into the mainstream as a sporting star. Clearly wrong. David Haye is one who admires Froch. But Froch remains clear on his goals. “Legacy,” he says, is the most important thing. “Money is great, but it has always been legacy over money. I have never been driven by money. I’ve earned good money, I have a property portfolio, I’m financially secure, but going home with that belt over my shoulder on Sunday and parading it on the pitch at Notts Forest on Monday means more to me than anything money could bring me.” That is why he is admired. In a freezing Helsinki tonight, he puts it all on the line again. Across the sports pages there has been a chorus of agreement today that Froch is under-exposed, and deserves more attention than he has been given. Frank Warren said as much in The Sun today, Barry McGuigan in The Mirror, and across the sports pages it is reflected clearly – with a word of warning. Box Abraham – don’t battle him, though at some point in the fight Froch will need to do exactly that. The safe money is on a points victory for Froch, yet he may have to go into the trenches to do it. There is another school of thought that Abraham’s style plays into Froch’s hands. This fight promises so much. Article taken from The Times.