Froch: “Calzaghe will have no choice but to fight me.”

Nottingham’s Carl Froch will make his US debut against the highly respected Costa Rican Henry Porras on April 21st when he headlines an HBO Latino bill at the Avalon venue in Hollywood, Los Angeles in the first of a series of fights that will force WBO champion Joe Calzaghe to face him. “I’m going to spend the next few months

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doing exactly what I feel Calzaghe has spent his entire career running away from – going to the States and taking on highly ranked opponents,” said British and Commonwealth champion Froch. “Then he will have no choice but to fight me. I have called Joe out several times, but he has either gone quiet or his daddy has tried to price him out of the market by asking for £1 million. But when I come back from America he will have nowhere to hide.

I’m going to be in his face constantly and by that stage the British public will be clamouring for the fight, as I will have been giving them what they want to see: homegrown talent competing against the best – anyone, anywhere. I see there is a lot of talk about Joe fighting Jeff Lacy after he has fought Mario Veit. In my opinion that is a load of hot air. Lacy is the latest in a series of names that he has meant to be fighting: Roy Jones, Bernard Hopkins, Glencoffe Johnson. Need I go on? Besides, he hasn’t even proved he is currently the best in Britain. He has been happy to spend his time recently defending against the likes of Mger Mkrtchian and Kabery Salem.” But I will force his hand sooner or later by backing him into a corner. And when we’re face-to-face and toe-to-toe there’ll only be one outcome: a Froch victory by way of KO. I’m going to put him to bed and tuck him up tightly. I am already the best super middleweight in the world, over the course of this year I am going to prove it.”

Whilst the unbeaten 27-year-old has Calzaghe firmly in his sights, there is no danger that he is going to look past the tasks in hand.

“Porras is a dangerous proposition; that is why he is ranked at #12 by the WBC,” explained “The Cobra’. “He has fought at Championship level nine times and has only been beaten by the very best. He also has a stiff punch, having knocked out 21 of his 29 victims. This isn’t the usual type of hand picked opponent that British fight fans have so often had to put up with. With just 14 fights under my belt I could have chosen a far easier opponent – I could have hung around until the likes of Tony Dodson and Brian Magee grew the courage to fight me, but I am not like that. I want to prove I am the best by beating the best. I don’t want to take any shortcuts.”

Froch’s fight against Porras will be his first of three in America this year under his promoter Hennessy Sport’s recently formed strategic partnership with Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions.

“These are exciting times for everyone at Hennessy Sports,” added Froch. “What other British fighters get the experience and exposure that fighting regularly in America brings? Me and Junior Witter will be the first to benefit this year and we both fully intend to take full advantage. We are world class operators who will take on world class opponents on a world stage. In the process we will travel the traditional title route. We are not interested in bogus titles; they are for bogus fighters.”