Carl Froch Considers 'Easy' Return from Boxing Retirement Against James DeGale

Former world champion boxer Carl Froch is training hard and contemplating a sensational return to the ring to reclaim his super-middleweight belt from James DeGale.  

Froch retired from the sport in July after a 14-month absence from competitive boxing, which allowed DeGale to swoop in and take the title he vacated.

However, the Cobra now says he wants it back and could lace up the gloves for one “easy” night only to teach the former Olympic champion how it’s done, per BBC Sport:

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It's an easy job for me and he's world champion. Get my old belt back, show them all how it's done and then retire. There'd be something satisfying about that. I always said once I've retired, I won't come back, but 18 months on from my last fight, I'm starting to think to myself 'I'm fit, strong, in good shape’.

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May 2014 saw Froch earn victory against George Groves in far from “easy” circumstances to bring the curtain down on his career, yet he still thinks he can be ready for another bout as soon as the spring.

Next year will be the cutoff, though, as the 38-year-old said that after 2016, he definitely won’t be coming back, per Press Association Sport (via the Guardian):

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If I did fancy it, I’m thinking spring next year, get Christmas out of the way. I’m training every day. I’m not doing much punching but my fitness is up. If I was going to fight again, and it’s a big if, I’d be ready for next year. Another slice of the action, another snippet in the limelight, a massive fight, all the attention on me—I’m not an attention-seeker but it’s just relighting that old flame. 

I’m not missing it. I’m not saying I’m going to come back and fight again but, if I was going to, it’d have to be next year or the door’s definitely shut. I did always say ‘never say never,’ and there comes a point when I can and that’s the end of next year.

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Froch has always been a confident boxer, yet taking on DeGale—a man nine years his junior—after so long away from the ring will be far from a walk in the park.

The Brit faces a fight in Canada against Lucian Bute on November 28, when he can really cement his status as world champion.

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Bute was picked off easily by Froch back in 2012 and hasn’t been the same fighter since, which gives DeGale the perfect opportunity to lay down a super-middleweight marker.

Should DeGale dominate and improve on his victory over Andre Dirrell to claim Froch’s former belt, then the Cobra may not be so desperate to get back in the ring.

As it is, though, the Nottingham-born fighter is still determined to prove that he’s still got it; based on his illustrious career, it would be far from a surprise to see him come back and teach a lesson to the new kids on the block.

The ball is now very much in DeGale’s court.