<ul class="summary-list"><li>Insider had five votes in the modern men's category for the International Boxing Hall of Fame.</li><li>Ricky Hatton received the first tick on our ballot, as we believe it's time to enshrine the Brit.</li></ul><p>It's time to induct Ricky Hatton into <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/boxing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">boxing</a>'s international Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York.</p><p>Insider has a vote in the modern men's category, and he earned the first tick on our ballot this year.</p><p>The swarming, body-punching pitbull was one of the most electrifying British boxers of all time, unifying the super lightweight division and scoring a notable win over Hall of Fame fighter Kostya Tszyu in 2005.</p><p>Hatton was a Guinness-drinking everyman, a blue-collar hero, and the perfect foil for the money-loving <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/floyd-mayweather" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Floyd Mayweather</a> — a first-ballot Hall of Famer — to play off of during the build-up to their historic 2007 bout.</p><p>The 44-year-old commanded a fervent, soccer-style fanbase in the UK because of his deprecating sense of humor and his magnetism as a people's champion.</p><p>Hatton's fans drank relentlessly, brought big drums into Las Vegas boxing venues, and chanted, "There's only one … Ricky Hatton!" at the top of their lungs.</p><p>They told everyone who'd listen that they were "walking along, singing a song, walking in a Hatton wonderland."</p><h2>'There was nothing like Ricky Hatton,' Steve Farhood told Insider</h2><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gxw0Rqo5XXs" frameborder="0"></iframe><p>While Hatton was beloved in Britain, he also made significant inroads in the American market and featured on <a href="https://www.insider.com/a-proving-ground-for-young-boxers-shobox-returns-to-ballys-2022-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ShoBox</a> before booking boxing's biggest bouts in the super lightweight and welterweight divisions.</p><p>"For atmosphere, there was nothing like Ricky Hatton," boxing historian and Showtime analyst Steve Farhood told Insider recently, regarding the company's ShoBox graduate.</p><p>"We introduced him to the American audience, and he was a big hit," said Farhood. "For pure atmosphere, when 'Blue Moon' would play, I don't think there's anything like that."</p><div type="image" title="Ricky Hatton crowd." height="1340" width="2000" msid="95087153" hostid="261" sizebytes="297056"></div><p>Hatton easily embodies the "international" and the "fame," but, while he did not exhibit the defensive boxing wizardry of Pernell Whitaker, Hatton had all-time tenacity, heart, and cumulative bruising power. Together with his showmanship and popularity, he deserves to be inducted because of his fighting. He had that dog in him.</p><p>He finished Jose Luis Castillo with a fourth-round shot to the liver, overcame an early cut to knock out Carlos Maussa with a left hook in the ninth round, and battled through a cut that required 28 stitches to out-point Jon Thaxton.</p><p>Aside from an ill-advised comeback to Vyacheslav Senchenko in 2012, Hatton only lost to pound-for-pound superstars Mayweather, who was enshrined in Canastota's boxing museum earlier this year, and Pacquiao, who is a lock when he's eligible, too.</p><p>Hatton otherwise decisioned Luis Collazo in Boston, defeated Juan Urango in Las Vegas, and finished Paulie Malignaggi, too.</p><p>But, while Hatton was kind to boxing, his life after boxing was not as kind to him.</p><div type="image" title="Ricky Hatton." height="1657" width="2000" msid="95087154" hostid="261" sizebytes="210224"></div><p>Longtime boxing writer Kevin Mitchell described the start of Hatton's downfall for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2010/sep/19/ricky-hatton-downfall" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Guardian</a> in 2010 and observed that, according to "headline fodder" at the time, Hatton was "all of a sudden … a washed-up bum with a drug habit."</p><p>Since hanging up his gloves, Hatton has reportedly suffered from depression and suicidal thoughts, while battling addictions.</p><p>Mitchell wrote that Hatton would <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2010/sep/19/ricky-hatton-downfall" target="_blank" rel="noopener">drink up to 20 pints of stout</a> until he was black-out drunk. The boxer was <a href="https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2010/9/11/1683314/former-boxing-world-champion-ricky" target="_blank" rel="noopener">caught on camera sniffing cocaine</a> from the edge of a bar, according to now-shuttered tabloid News of the World, and he told the BBC in an interview in 2016 that he tried to kill himself <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/dec/29/former-boxing-champion-ricky-hatton-attempted-suicide-depression" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"several times."</a></p><p>After lengthy drinking sessions in the pub, Hatton would return home, take a knife from one of the kitchen drawers, and cry "hysterically" in the dark, he said.</p><p>Hatton, along with Frank Bruno, was one of the first boxers in Britain to openly talk about men's mental health at a time when it was regarded as taboo.</p><p>Hatton and Bruno broke down barriers, which allowed athletes that followed, like Tyson Fury, to speak more freely about their own depression.</p><p>Hatton continues to operate in British boxing today, and was even in Fury's corner for the first of the UK heavyweight's three historic fights with American rival Deontay Wilder.</p><h2>Making the Hall of Fame case for Carl Froch</h2><div type="image" title="Carl Froch knocked Mikkel Kessler down." height="1500" width="2000" msid="95087155" hostid="261" sizebytes="150642"></div><p>International Boxing Hall of Fame voters ushered three of Britain's modern-day great fighters into the Canastota museum grounds in recent years, including heavyweight king Lennox Lewis in 2009, undefeated two-weight world champion Joe Calzaghe in 2014, and freak puncher Prince Naseem Hamed in 2015.</p><p>That golden period for British boxers on the world stage crept through to Britain's next era, and the Hall should now pay serious attention to the careers of Hatton, as well as his compatriot Carl Froch.</p><p>A teak-tough fighter, Froch never backed down from a challenge. He dominated the local, national, and Commonwealth scene as a champion of those regions for the first half of his career, stepped up to the world level by beating Jean Pascal in 2008, and then performed valiantly against the elite for the rest of his career.</p><p>After a come-from-behind win over Jermain Taylor, Froch entered the landmark Super Six World Boxing Classic in 2009 and ran a gauntlet.</p><p>He beat everyone he ever faced except recent Hall of Fame inductee Andre Ward. Froch edged Andre Dirrell, went 1-1 with Mikkel Kessler, and finished Lucian Bute — who was regarded as a killer at the time — with ease.</p><p>Froch finished his career on the highest of highs, beating George Groves somewhat controversially by knockout in 2013, before winning the rematch the following year to claim a 2-0 result in a hostile rivalry.</p><p>The last move Froch made exhibited his ring IQ as he knew if he tapped Groves on the side of the face with his left, his opponent would try a hook, leaving his skull open and vulnerable to a powerful right hand.</p><p>The shot dropped Groves in a vicious fashion.</p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6juQJR0QT7E" frameborder="0"></iframe><p>Froch has intentionally become a parody of himself in the years since, as he's seemingly used every opportunity — on TV or on social media — to remind everyone who'll listen of what he did that night at London's premier venue.</p><p>His speech at Canastota, should he get inducted, would no doubt include countless references to the time he knocked Groves out in front of 80,000 people at Wembley Stadium. We're ready to hear that speech one more time.</p><h2>All-time great rivals Marquez and Vazquez should be inducted as a pair</h2><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nuBhYW7MG0g" frameborder="0"></iframe><p>The four-fight rivalry between Rafael Marquez and Israel Vazquez, which ended 2-2, is one of the most important and entertaining boxing rivalries in the modern era, ranking alongside Arturo Gatti's wars with Micky Ward, Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera's trilogy, and the four-fight series between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez.</p><p>Rafael Marquez is a two-time world champion from two weight classes, and scored wins over Mark Johnson and Mauricio Pastrana. Vazquez, meanwhile, was a champion at super bantamweight for three separate reigns.</p><p>It is what they created together, though, in their fights from 2007 to 2010, that will stand the test of time.</p><p>Farhood once described the fights as "an explosion of artistic brutality," as their first bout was voted fight of the year in 2007 and the rematch five months later contained a round of the year. The trilogy bout, in 2008, maintained that TV-friendly violence with another fight of the year winner.</p><p>As their careers are so entwined, it would be fitting for them to get voted into the Hall of Fame as a pair so that their fists get cast in bronze together.</p><h2>It's time to enshrine Diego Corrales</h2><div type="image" title="Diego Corrales." height="1349" width="2000" msid="95087156" hostid="261" sizebytes="139956"></div><p>Diego Corrales' 10th-round knockout win over Jose Luis Castillo, hailed as the best of the year in 2005, contained one of the most dramatic rounds in boxing history.</p><p>Castillo beat Corrales to the floor two times in Round 10. The referee deducted a point from Corrales for excessive spitting out of his mouth shield — a veteran's move to buy more time when one is close to a loss — and boxing coach Joe Goossen, a renowned 'say it like it is' type of trainer, told his fighter that he had to "get inside of him now."</p><p>Those few words seemed to resonate with Corrales as he came out the corner with rallying fists, dropping Castillo with a punch he later called "the perfect right hand," to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. He then swiftly finished his opponent to punctuate one of the most remarkable turnarounds combat sports has ever seen.</p><p>The mark Corrales made in that round, and in that fight, is immortal. And if he never did anything else in his career, it would still be enough to warrant inclusion in boxing's Hall of Fame.</p><p>But Corrales, of course, had an entire career's worth of highlights as a multiple-time world champion in two weight divisions, as a 45-fight pro, and for other historic bouts against Floyd Mayweather — which he lost — a trilogy with Joel Casamayor, and a victory over Acelino Freitas, who is also up for induction on this year's ballot.</p><div type="image" title="Insider's Hall of Fame ballot." height="618" width="824" msid="95087157" hostid="261" sizebytes="21690"></div><p>Corrales, like Hatton, Froch, Marquez, and Vazquez, should be enshrined permanently in the Hall of Fame.</p>

Now's the time to induct Ricky Hatton and Carl Froch into boxing's Hall of Fame

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="43688" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mike-Tyson">Mike Tyson</keyword> and <keyword id="135466" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Roy-Jones-Jr-">Roy Jones Jr.</keyword> exhibition could be contested at a very slow pace because they're both in their 50s.</li><li>That's according to the former super middleweight world champion <keyword id="143759" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Carl-Froch">Carl Froch</keyword>, who said the iconic fighters who take part in an informal November bout could end up "blowing out of their ass."</li><li>Froch also raised a fear that Tyson may become frustrated and bite Jones Jr., much like he did to Evander Holyfield in the 1997 "The Bite Fight."</li></ul><p>The Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. exhibition could flop as they'll both be exhausted after a few rounds.</p><p>That's according to the former super middleweight world <keyword id="6362171" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Boxing">boxing</keyword> champion Carl Froch.</p><p>Froch thinks that the combination of their ages — Tyson is 54, Jones Jr. is 51 — together with the 16-ounce weight of the boxing gloves, means a fast-paced match is unlikely.</p><p>The fighters will instead be "blowing out of their ass," Froch said on his podcast, <a href="https://talksport.com/sport/boxing/743464/boxing-news-mike-tyson-roy-jones-carl-froch/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Froch on Fighting</a>.</p><p>"Those 16-ounce gloves are going to be more difficult to knock his opponent out. And then they're going to be blowing out of their ass after three or four rounds, surely?"</p><p>Froch finished his career in 2014 with a professional record of 33 wins (24 knockouts) against two losses. The British fighter was renowned for his engine, heart, and wins over Lucian Bute, Mikkel Kessler, and George Groves.</p><p>"We're blowing out of our ass after four rounds as young professional fighters, we just manage the recovery and breathe differently and go a bit flat-footed through the fight.</p><p>"But when you're in your 50s, you're absolutely exhausted and you can't recover. Your fitness is your ability to recover and you can't recover when you're old.</p><p>"So there is a danger of this becoming a no contest after four rounds, there really is."</p><p>Froch also said Tyson might bite Jones Jr. on the ear, which is a fear a representative of Jones Jr. expressed recently.</p><p>Zsolt Barna, one of Jones' representatives, said last week <a href="https://www.insider.com/roy-jones-should-insure-ears-before-mike-tyson-exhibition-2020-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he is researching companies which could provide insurance</a> to protect Jones Jr.'s ears in case Tyson bites them like he did in the 1997 "The Bite Fight" against Evander Holyfield.</p><p>"Would he lose the plot like he did against [Evander] Holyfield and take a chunk of the old ear off? There could be a danger where he gets really frustrated," Froch said.</p><p>Tyson and Jones Jr., both former heavyweight champions, were originally scheduled to meet in an informal bout which would not count on their professional records on September 12, however, the date has been pushed to November 28, <a href="https://www.ringtv.com/607329-mike-tyson-vs-roy-jones-jr-exhibition-postponed-to-november-28-sources/#.XzBxTITBCvU.twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as reported by The Ring</a> and The Athletic.</p><p><strong>Read more:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/floyd-mayweather-leonard-ellerbe-says-hes-received-comeback-offers-2020-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Floyd Mayweather's business partner says he's received 'a few sick offers' as the retired boxer talks-up a $100 million exhibition tour</a></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/conor-mcgregor-is-teasing-a-boxing-comeback-manny-pacquiao-linked-2020-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Conor McGregor has been teasing a comeback, and one option could involve a $250 million mega-bout against Manny Pacquiao</a></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/watch-joe-george-land-an-uppercut-his-opponents-body-stiffens-2020-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">An unbeaten American boxer landed an uppercut so hard his opponent's body stiffened, losing by instant knockout</a></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/watch-seniesa-estrada-destroys-miranda-adkins-with-7-second-ko-2020-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A women's fighter destroyed her opponent with a 7-second knockout, and critics are aghast at the unequal mismatch</a></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/daniel-kinahan-ran-boxing-using-fear-and-bullying-sources-say-2020-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daniel Kinahan, a suspected $1.1 billion Irish gang lord, ran boxing using fear and bullying, sources say</a></p>

The Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. exhibition could flop as they'll both be exhausted after a few rounds, a former boxing champion said

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Jake Paul lost a fight for the first time in his fledgling boxing career.</li><li>Tommy Fury, a fellow novice, edged the American in a bout of below-average quality.</li></ul><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/category/jake-paul" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jake Paul</a> just lost a fight for the first time in his fledgling <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/boxing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">boxing</a> career.</p><p>The YouTuber-turned-prizefighter has made a fortune in recent years by feasting on an overmatched creator, a former basketball player, and past-prime <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/mma" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MMA</a> fighters.</p><p>However, at an event on Sunday in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, the 26-year-old faced an actual boxer for the first time and swiftly unraveled.</p><p>The fight transcended the boxing world to captivate mainstream interest because of Paul's status as an internet sensation, and his former reality TV star opponent, <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/tommy-fury" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tommy Fury</a>.</p><p>So, while this bout did not showcase the very best of boxing, Fury — a novice from Britain — still showcased a modicum of skill that offset Paul's vaunted power.</p><p>His boxing nous, cardio, and ability to pace the fight properly were also a stark contrast to Paul, who struggled to fight as competently toward the end as he did in the first half of the fight.</p><h2>Fury was, by far, the more productive fighter</h2><div type="image" title="Tommy Fury beat Jake Paul." height="1333" width="2000" msid="98261767" hostid="261" sizebytes="196526"></div><p>And, though Fury had to get up from the canvas after the American scored a mid-fight knockdown, he had still done enough to earn an eight-round decision win courtesy of three ringside judges.</p><p>Fury was by far the more productive fighter by the closing bell as he landed 88 shots from 302 thrown, compared to Paul's 49 from 157, according to Compubox data sent to Insider.</p><p>The judging was tight, with narrow scores of 74-75, 76-73, 76-73 separating the boxers.</p><p>"All the way through these two years, I had a dream," said Fury, in the middle of the ring, during his post-fight victory speech broadcast on ESPN pay-per-view in the US.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1629987382513524740">February 26, 2023</a></blockquote><p>"I had a vision that I would win this fight, and no one believed me," Fury said.</p><p>"Now I can stand up and everybody can take note. In my first main event, at 23 years old, I had the world on me. I had pressure on my shoulders, and I came through."</p><h2>Jake Paul: 'I fell flat'</h2><div type="image" title="Tommy Fury." height="1333" width="2000" msid="98261768" hostid="261" sizebytes="256536"></div><p>Paul, meanwhile, disputed the result, saying he felt like he had done enough to earn the win on the scorecards. "I don't think I agree with the judges," Paul said.</p><p>He later added: "But I lost … I'm not making excuses. I'm just saying it wasn't my best performance. I fell flat."</p><p>Other figures in boxing were not sympathetic to Paul's defeat.</p><p>Carl Froch, a Hall-of-Fame fighter from the UK, laughed at the verdict and lauded Fury.</p><p>"He's done professional boxing purists a massive favor by shutting up Jake Paul," Froch said on the BT Sport broadcast in the UK.</p><p>"He can't call himself a professional boxer because he's gone in against a novice pro and got absolutely whooped," the former super middleweight world champ said. "He got obliterated."</p><p>Paul is contractually obligated to a rematch against Fury but it is unclear if, or when, that bout will go ahead.</p>

Jake Paul loses for the first time in a fight against Tommy Fury in Saudi Arabia

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/555f5ce4eab8ea3e6e72d40e-1200-924/gennady-golovkin-punch.jpg" border="0" alt="Gennady Golovkin Punch"><p class="source"><span>Mike Stobe/Getty Images</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div>A few days after it looked like WBA middleweight title-holder Gennady Golovkin (33-0, 30 KOs) would <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/gennady-golovkin-opponents-2015-5">never get the opportunity to fight a major pay-per-view-worthy fighter</a>, rumors are swirling about a fight that would be the biggest of his career.</p><p>While any fight against Miguel Cotto and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez still isn't likely for at least another year, and <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2468964-why-gennady-golovkin-vs-andre-ward-wont-be-made-any-time-soon">a fight with Andre Ward seems even less likely</a>, Golovkin's next opponent may very well be former WBA and IBF super middleweight title-holder Carl Froch.</p><p>Froch, who recently gave up his IBF belt, and was <a href="http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/boxing/32650678">stripped of his WBA belt due to inactivity</a>, hasn't fought in nearly a year since his rematch against George Groves. Following a technical knockout of Groves, Froch planned to fight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., but an elbow injury sidelined him and <a href="http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/12194708/carl-froch-injury-puts-potential-julio-cesar-chavez-jr-fight-hold">forced Froch to call off the fight</a>.</p><p>Although Froch has recently contemplated retirement, his promoter, Eddie Hearn, <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/boxing/article-3089847/Carl-Froch-Gennady-Golovkin-talks-Wembley-fight-Brit-interested-taking-unbeaten-KO-king.html">told the Daily Mail's Jeff Powell</a> that a fight against Golovkin is very intriguing to him and they have opened up negations with Golovkin's camp:</p><p class="mol-para-with-font" style="padding-left: 30px;">"I've now spoken with Carl directly about this and he is interested. I only want him to take it if he's genuinely motivated because it is a high-risk fight. But it would be massive and we can fill Wembley again. Given Carl's interest, we have already opened negotiations with Golovkin's people and they are very keen."</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Golovkin has been persistent in attempting to secure a major fight to cement his claim as the second-best boxer in the world, and his promoter, Tom Loeffler, <a href="http://www.boxingscene.com/golovkins-promoter-ggg-biggest-fight-froch--91317">told Boxing Scene's Gregory Stangrit</a> that Golovkin is willing to move up in weight to make this fight happen:</p><p class="p1" style="padding-left: 30px;">"There is no question, that would be a tremendous fight. I've told Eddie Hearn many times that Gennady would move to 168 and fight [Froch]…we are ready to go to England without any problems. And it's also not a problem to have [the fight] at super middleweight…We'll see how we can put the pieces together, but right now that fight has the potential to be a great financial success-especially if we can get him one of the football stadiums."</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">A fight against Froch would easily be Golovkin's biggest fight yet, and his most profitable. Froch's last fight against Groves drew a crowd of nearly 80,000 people at Wembley Stadium, and made over $24.3 million in revenue.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/555f5cf5eab8ea0e7672d408-1200-924/carl-froch.jpg" border="0" alt="Carl Froch"><p class="source"><span>Scott Heavey/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Carl Froch.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Despite being arguably the second-best boxer in the world, Golovkin has had trouble in the past in his attempts to land a big-time fighter, mainly due to his ferocious power and penchant for knockouts (his 91% knockout percentage is the highest in middleweight title history). There have even been reports that <a href="http://en.espn.co.uk/boxing/sport/story/277733.html">opposing fighters are scared to face him</a>.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Froch, however, <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/boxing/article-3089847/Carl-Froch-Gennady-Golovkin-talks-Wembley-fight-Brit-interested-taking-unbeaten-KO-king.html">told Powell he isn't afraid of Golovkin</a>, and is up for the challenge.</p><p>"If I fight Golovkin I will back him up, take what he's got and beat him up," he said.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">While Froch remains steadfast in his belief that he would defeat Golovkin if a fight did, in fact, happen, Hearn told Powell he doesn't share his fighter's confidence:</p><p class="mol-para-with-font" style="padding-left: 30px;">"Golovkin is the most feared fighter in the world now, and Carl doesn't need this fight. But, he says he is intrigued by how he would deal with him. He's crazy that way."</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">If Golovkin vs. Froch does come to fruition, it could make for some must-see television.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-burpee-full-body-workout-2015-3">This simple exercise will work out every muscle in your body</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="lyeGY3dDqIOrfWUeyzqcSzvAuvKi9t3n" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'lyeGY3dDqIOrfWUeyzqcSzvAuvKi9t3n',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

The 2nd-best boxer in the world is getting closer to the biggest fight of his career

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/555b689a69beddbc0a8b4574-1200-900/gennady golovkin.jpg" border="0" alt="Gennady Golovkin"><p class="source"><span>Stephen Dunn/Getty Images</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Over the last few weeks undefeated boxers Andre Ward and Gennady Golovkin have traded barbs in an ongoing dispute over a possible fight.</p><p>The initial attacks began in February when Golovkin's trainer, Abel Sanchez, repeatedly<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYQmxyhWmQs"> called out Ward</a>. He said Ward wouldn't last 12 rounds with Golovkin, and that he hasn't put in the effort needed to make the potential fight happen.</p><p>"Three years ago I said that nobody from 154 pounds to 168 pounds will go 12 rounds with Gennady, I say that now," Sanchez told FightHype's Luis Sandoval. "Not even Andre Ward would go [12 rounds]. But Andre Ward's got to call [Golovkin's promoter] Tom Loeffler, his people have got to call Tom Loeffler, make an offer. ... Make an offer then that way the fight will get made. You just keep talking it's never going to get made."</p><p>Ward then responded with <a href="http://www.boxingscene.com/andre-ward-golovkin-8-9-different-excuses--92249">a full fledged rant in an interview with</a><a href="http://www.boxingscene.com/andre-ward-golovkin-8-9-different-excuses--92249"> Boxing Scene's Rick Reeno</a>, calling Golovkin and his camp liars and saying they're the ones that have been ducking and making countless excuses:</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">"Guys like [Carl] Froch, or even [Gennady] Golovkin, these guys have had at least eight or nine different excuses - from 'we'll fight everybody but him, we've got to build it up, he's scared, he's just talking.' It's just ridiculous...You can't come to my weight class and side-step me. Just because a trainer or a promoter says something, it doesn't make it true. ... All of the different narratives that they come up with, all of the different excuses and even lies they come up with - I am not going to get caught up in that and you are not going to hear me calling this guy's name no more."</p><p><a href="http://www.boxingscene.com/andre-ward-golovkin-8-9-different-excuses--92249">Ward also insinuated</a> that Golovkin is "begging" for a fight with Miguel Cotto or Canelo Alvarez because the two weigh much less than the current 172-pound Ward:</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">"He's going to cross his fingers that Canelo or Cotto take a fight with him. He's literally begging these guys, who are smaller guys, to step in the ring and fight with him, but you can't have this reputation that you want to claim without fighting the best."</p><p>When Golovkin was made aware of Ward's comments, he didn't hold back any punches in <a href="http://allboxing.ru/news/20150615-2239/gennadiy-golovkin-uord-hvatit-boltat-za-soboy-smotri">an interview with AllBoxing</a>. While the interview was in Russian,<a href="http://www.badlefthook.com/2015/6/16/8788845/gennady-golovkin-blasts-andre-ward"> SB nation has a translated copy of the transcript</a>:</p><p class="p1" style="padding-left: 30px;">"Hey, Ward, wake up! Why are you talking trash about other people? Speak for yourself. If you're trying to make a name for yourself by mentioning me to build up your own fight, then be a man about it and tell the truth. At our meeting with HBO they asked us whether we are ready to box. You know our answers - I said yes, you said no. You said something about your shoulder or promoter - I'm not interested in the reason, I only heard your "no." But you remember that HBO said then that they would need a long time to build-up the fight. Then what the f--- are you talking about excuses?"</p><p class="p1" style="padding-left: 30px;">"If you do provocative attacks, do not even think that Loeffler [Gennady's K2 promoter] will buy into them. You haven't been interesting to anyone for a long time, so he will no longer engage in the promotion of your name. Go and build your own image. Although everyone already knows what you are, and because of this, they do not go to your fights."</p><p class="p1" style="padding-left: 30px;">"You shouldn't worry about who I'm going to box or have boxed. You, like the rest, were lucky with the 'Super Six' tournament because you got your opponents by contract. And who are you fighting now? The fourth-fifth ranked fighters in England. ... If I say that I'm ready to box any middleweight and ready to rise to 168 for a big fight, then I am responsible for the words. And I have nothing left to discuss with you. As a man, you are dead to me."</p><p class="p1">If these latest attacks are any indication, expect a heated bout between the two if they ever do manage to get into the ring together.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-floyd-mayweather-unbeatable-oscar-de-la-hoya-pacquiao-boxing-2015-5">Why Floyd Mayweather is impossible to beat</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="s3OTB1dDooH6JVhs6zmjefvR53XIs7VY" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 's3OTB1dDooH6JVhs6zmjefvR53XIs7VY',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

You Searched For "Carl Froch" and got 5 results

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