ON Sunday boxing forums were alive with the news that Carl Froch had publicly told Amir Khan to retire following his crushing loss to Danny Garcia. Upon hearing this, Khan reacted, suggested Froch was jealous, and before we knew it, Britain?s two leading boxers were the best of enemies.
But serious flaws lie in the roots of the conflict. Namely, Froch did not advise Khan to quit at all.
?I did an interview on Radio Five and my quote was taken out of context on the BBC website on their news pages,? Froch explained. ?I didn?t say ?If I was Amir I?d retire,? I said, ?If it was me, I?d retire.? I?m 35 years old, I?m three times world champion, if I?d have lost like that, I would have retired. I don?t think Amir Khan should retire! That?s ludicrous. Why would I tell a 25-year-old to retire? Now Amir Khan has read a false quote and come back and said something silly. But I don?t hold that against Amir at all. He was just reacting to a misquote.?
The affable IBF super-middleweight champion, likely to defend his belt in November, is fed up with having his words taken out of context by the media and although the article has since been removed, he has not received an apology.
?I was asked what I?d do if I lost like that, they didn?t ask me what Khan should do,? Froch said. ?If they?d have asked me what Khan should do I would have said, ?He should go back to the drawing board, he?s got plenty of years left, he?s very talented.? If he keeps his range long and uses his feet he can outbox people, he could have outboxed Garcia. I?m not saying he would have won, I?m saying he could have won. And early on, when he was doing well, I was excited that he was winning.?
The retirement misquote was not the end of the misrepresentation. Froch?s voice rises as he explains further.
?This was even worse, I was quoted as saying ?Amir Khan?s career is a write off.? I didn?t say that. I said the fight was a write off. It?s very different isn?t it? I?m not pleased about that at all. Khan?s been a world champion, of course his career isn?t a write off ? do me a f****** favour.?
In fact, Froch wishes nothing but the best for his countryman.
?Good luck to the kid, I?m behind him every time he steps in the ring,? Froch revealed. ?He?s a British fighter and he does British boxing proud. The more world champions we?ve got it?s better for our sport, it?s better for the attention around what we do, around what I do for a living. We need Amir Khan to win titles, we need positivity around the sport. We don?t need negativity and we don?t need bad press.
?That?s why I was so delighted when Haye and Chisora did boxing proud. I was delighted by how that ended after the build up to it. And I was devastated when I got up the next morning to see Khan lose.?
