TALKS have started again for Carl Froch-Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr. How likely is that fight?
Eddie Hearn: The talks have started again. Bob Arum has mentioned the date January 24, but weโve given ourselves 10 days to two weeks to decide what weโre going to do. Itโs still a long way from being down and weโre still looking at other options as well, but we want to get moving now.
WHAT other options are there?
EH: [Mikkel] Kessler and [James] DeGale. Itโs still a three-horse race. Carlโs talking about potentially not fighting until 2015, but if he is going to fight this year we want to know sooner rather than later. So in 10 days to two weeks, weโll be finalising our plans.
HAS too much been read into his comments about Gennady Golovkin?
EH: He made those comments before the Groves rematch on a Facebook debate with [Skyโs] Adam Smith. A lot of those comments were off the cuff while he was playing mind games with Groves. Weโve since had a chat about Golovkin and Carlโs definitely aware of Golovkinโs power and ability, but the bottom line is, as weโve been told from HBO, Froch-Golovkin is not pay-per-view so you canโt consider that as an option, but Froch-Chavez is pay-per-view.
People are telling me on Twitter that Froch-Golovkin is PPV, but the people who actually make the decisions at HBO are saying otherwise. What people have got to realise is, to the hardcore boxing fan, Golovkin is God at the moment, but outside of that, heโs not quite there yet. Iโm sure in six months or a year, he probably will be. Then we can talk about that fight. If the deal was right, Froch would have absolutely no problems fighting Golovkin at all. But, there would have to be huge money on the table, and for that, it has to be a dual PPV.
WERE you impressed with Golovkin?
Yes I was. But if you break down his opponents there isnโt really anything on there. But no one had done that to Geale before and that was the impressive thing. Geale, and I donโt like to use the word quit because heโs brave to get in there in the first place, but he didnโt want to know once heโd got up. If you want to be critical of Golovkin you can break down his opponents and show theyโre not absolute elite level. Thatโs not Golovkinโs fault because you have to pay an absolute fortune to get anyone to fight him. The problem youโve got is thereโs not enough money in the pot for the bigger names to fight him. He hasnโt got the commercial name to draw the casual fans yet. There is not 10million in the pot to tempt the likes of Cotto or Chavez to fight him, which is the sum theyโd want for that kind of fight. Itโs definitely a career-threatening fight. Itโs all well and good the fans say make this fight, but it would be like me saying to you, โIโve got this job for you, but you wonโt get paid anywhere near what you should be, but everyone wants you to do it, so do it.โ Youโd turn round and go โF*** off!โ Yes, Froch is financially comfortable, but that doesnโt mean heโll get in the ring for less than he deserves, and that is a horrible, dangerous fight.
HOW close is Nathan Cleverly-Tony Bellew II?
Cleverly is away at the moment and weโll sit down at the weekend and talk. November 1 at MEN, and November 29 at the [Liverpool] Echo are the frontrunners. The good news is theyโre both desperate for the fight so itโs just about getting the numbers right. Iโm a bit nervous about Manchester, but we know it will fill Liverpool, but will it do 20,000 at Manchester? My gut feeling is it will happen at Liverpool.