Exclusive – Groves hopes Froch’s wounded pride will lead to world title re-match

George Groves is hoping Carl Froch’s injured pride will convince him to agree to a re-match.

Londoner Groves was controversially stopped in the ninth round of Saturday night’s WBA and IBF super-middleweight title fight in Manchester, and the almost unanimous verdict was that referee Howard Foster had stepped in too soon.

The decision was met with derision in the venue and the fans made their feelings clear by loudly booing champion Froch while cheering the defeated challenger to the rafters.

There will now be a clamour for the Cobra to put his belts on the line for a second time against Groves, although the challenger is not convinced that is a fight the 36-year-old will want.

“Froch said he would give me a re-match but I think he was saying that to try to get a few cheers!” he told the Weekend Sports Breakfast. “If he truly believes what he said in his post-fight press conference that he was coming on strong and it was only a matter of time [before he stopped me] then he will take the re-match. He is a proud man and I don’t think he’ll be satisfied with that win.

“If it was the other way around this morning I couldn’t have woken up and been happy with it. I would have given him a rematch, so hopefully he feels the same.

“His trainer said in the post-fight press conference that they weren’t keen on the fight to start with and they knew I was awkward for Froch and I showed that.

“When the ref jumped in my legs were fine, my head was clear, there was nothing that would lead me to think I was in trouble. I was punching back and landing big shots, and in all fights if both fighters are still landing there is no reason for the fight to be stopped. And considering it was a world title fight I would happily have put it all on the line for the win.

“I had him in trouble a lot and I was going to come on strong in the last three rounds. That was what we had planned. I genuinely still believe Froch wouldn’t have heard the final bell.”

Groves admits the fans’ reaction to the fight is some consolation, but insists it doesn’t take away the pain of defeat.

He added: “I feel more numb than anything else. I’ve not just spent ten weeks preparing for this fight, I’ve spent a lifetime preparing to be world champion and watching it back I feel it was unjustly stopped and I should be world champion right now.

“Carl tried to talk the talk in the build-up to the fight, and so did I, but I think it was clear I was the one who walked the walk. Carl said he was landing clean shots and had a free shot on me, but when the fight was stopped I was fighting back and landing big shots myself. It was the first time he had got into the fight and landed anything meaningful.

“I was hurting him through the rounds and think I’m a victim of the reputation that Froch has a granite chin and I have a reputation for having no chin, but any question marks about me I’m sure won’t be there anymore and I’m sure I made a lot of new fans.

“But I wanted to be world champion this morning so that’s the saddest thing.”