Carl Froch vs. Gennady Golovkin? Promoter says it could happen this year

BOSTON - Gennady Golovkin might be inching toward the marquee fight he yearns for.

Carl Froch, who is contemplating retirement, could be tempted to trudge on with GGG waiting in the wings.

"He's a bit sick in the head. He's not a normal person," Eddie Hearn, Froch's promoter, told Paste BN Sports on Thursday. "When Golovkin fights, Froch will call me up and say, 'Do you think he hits that hard? I'm like 'Yeah.' 'Yeah, I'd love to feel it.' But that's Froch. Sometimes the curiosity that might get him in the ring.

"And you have to ask yourself why would you want to fight again? He doesn't need the money. He doesn't really need the legacy. So what are you actually fighting for? To compete? He's a competitor, he loves to win. And all these people writing him off for the Golvokin fight just might spur him on enough to want to take it. And, of course, the money."

Froch, 37, is a full-fledged super middleweight so the fight would have to be contested at 168 pounds. It shouldn't be a problem for Golovkin. The 33-year-old Kazakh has maintained he'd move up a weight class for a big fight, and this would be a massive event in Froch's backyard. Hearn doesn't believe they could fill London's Wembley Stadium (approximately 80,000 capacity) but feels they could easily pack 40,000 into Nottingham Arena.

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Froch's last bout, a knockout of rival George Groves in a rematch, filled Wembley in May 2014, netting "The Cobra" more than $15 million. Hearn said if HBO covered Golovkin's side, the two sides wouldn't be far off with money. Tom Loeffler, Golovkin's promoter said "the fight makes sense for both sides as GGG has established himself as the most marketable opponent for Froch. It would be a huge event if Froch decides to fight again."

"Everyone's gone made for this fight. It's a great fight," the head of U.K. promotional company Matchroom Sport said. " … If Carl's not motivated for that fight he should never take the fight because it's a brutal fight. He has to prepare for 12 weeks like an animal, he has to want to fight Golovkin.

Golovkin has scored 20 consecutive knockouts but against mostly nondescript opposition. It's not by design. The 160-pound boogeyman has had difficulty baiting the sport's top practitioners into a bout, but Loeffler has wisely kept his fighter active, with plans to fight four times this year, all on HBO.

"The reason no one wants to fight him: One, because he's dangerous. and two, because the money's not there," Hearn said. "All these guys - Froch, Canelo (Alvarez), (Miguel) Cotto - they'd fight him if the money was there, but it's not there, so why would you fight him? It's not Golovkin's fault, but that's just life, isn't it? But it's 100 percent getting there."

The WBA middleweight champion is gaining a big reputation in the sport, and it shows. He brought 12,000 plus out to The Forum for his win Saturday vs. Willie Monroe Jr., the third-most viewed telecast on HBO in 2015. But if Golovkin wants to reach the next level, he needs a foil like Froch, and Hearn has a "sneaky feeling it might" happen.

Hopefully we aren't left wondering what could have been.