Carl Froch has been linked with a comeback to boxing recently to fight YouTuber, promoter and boxer Jake Paul.
Many have poured cold water over this while at the same time some would like to see him flatten Jake Paul.
Renowned journalist Gareth A. Davies got into a little bit of a beef with Froch this week in an interesting back and forth.
Per Talk Sport here is how Froch and Davies‘, well, some their exchange, went:
“Let’s hear from Carl Froch—he’s been talking about Gareth A. Davies on his podcast this week. But first, he responded to our interview last week when we spoke to Nikisa Bidarian, Jake Paul’s manager.
“You said, ‘Who am I?’ yet here you are on TalkSport, breaking down my record,” Froch said.
When I think about someone like Carl Froch, who has repeatedly tried to discredit Jake Paul, I consider Froch’s amateur career with over 30 fights. Compare that to Jake Paul, who, in just his fourth fight, faced Tyron Woodley, a UFC champion who has competed on the biggest stages and is a certified killer in mixed martial arts. Woodley transitioned to boxing to face a relatively inexperienced Jake Paul.
Meanwhile, in his fourth professional fight, Froch—after 30 amateur bouts—faced an opponent who had 55 losses and ended his career with over 100 losses. When you turn professional, you’re supposed to build your career by fighting journeymen and learning the trade, working toward becoming a bona fide world champion. That’s a path Jake Paul will likely never take.
But this isn’t comparing apples to apples. Jake Paul fights MMA fighters or former MMA fighters who have little to no boxing experience. He’s only faced one actual professional boxer: Tommy Fury. And he lost that fight.
Now, about some so-called boxing journalists—Ariel Helwani, for instance. Last week, he exposed his limited knowledge of professional boxing while discussing the sport on his show. Then there’s Gareth A. Davies, who’s clearly just thrilled to be part of the conversation. Davies has made it known he’s a huge supporter of Jake and Logan Paul, claiming what they’re doing is “great for boxing.”
Really? “Great for boxing”? Give your head a shake, Gareth. You’ve shown your bias by admitting you appreciate the access they give you—access to locker rooms and interviews. It’s embarrassing. Stop kissing up and focus on the fighters themselves.
And as for anyone suggesting Jake Paul could beat me, that’s ridiculous. No one outside Jake Paul’s camp or his fans would believe such nonsense. Gareth, get real, mate.
The ideal situation after Carl’s podcast would be for Carl and Gareth to have a proper conversation. But Carl’s busy tonight—he’s at Galal Yafai and Sunny Edwards’ event. However, I’d love to hear from him later.
Carl Froch needs to tread carefully. He’s becoming a super troll in the boxing world, calling out everyone, from Eddie Hearn to Anthony Joshua. Froch is 48 next year and has been retired for 11 years. Yes, he was a four-time world champion and a Hall of Famer, but claiming he could beat Jake Paul with one hand tied behind his back is ludicrous.
If Jake Paul challenges Carl to a fight—let’s say at Wembley Stadium—and Carl loses, it would be catastrophic. He wouldn’t be able to show his face in Nottingham, let alone anywhere else in the UK.
Carl has successfully made himself relevant again with his podcast, but he’s playing a risky game. If he wants to keep his legacy intact, he’d be better off letting this Jake Paul talk go. Time waits for no one, and Carl, despite his fighting spirit, isn’t the same man he was at the peak of his career.
Let’s be honest—if they fought, the world would want to see Carl Froch knock out Jake Paul. But at nearly 48 years old, the odds aren’t the same as they once were.
For now, we’ll wait to hear more from Carl later.”
Very interesting.
Indeed, Froch’s podcast is really taking off as is Andre Ward’s, two former super-middleweight champions of course and former opponents.
It is good to see some of the boxer’s podcasts do well and obviously in the podcast world they compete with Talk Sport’s podcast as well.
Other good boxing podcasts are Teddy Atlas’ one in America and The Stomping Ground in the UK.
The podcast world is really blowing up at the moment as is new media in all facets whether social media, websites, YouTube channels or podcasts — the new media versions of them all are all growing while legacy/old media brands continue to die all the time.
Elon Musk proved right once again of course in that regard too.
From a boxing point of view, sport and boxing are no different in that regard and surely Froch and Davies’ can settle their disagreement above by going on one another’s podcasts soon.
