Froch, 37, was informed the by International Boxing Federation on December 31 that he must begin negotiations with DeGale within 30 days, leaving the three-time world champion with just a short time to make up his mind.
“We notified Froch to start negotiations with Degale on December 31, ‘2014’. Right now, he has 30 days from that date to negotiate,” IBF Chairman Lindsey Tucker told World Boxing News.
‘The Cobra’ is known to be pushing promoter Eddie Hearn in a completely different direction as he tries to nail down a massive retirement fight in Las Vegas against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and could be ready to vacate the red belt at any moment.
Whether Froch can be convinced to extend his career by a further bout and agree to a British clash with ‘Chunky’ whilst talks continue with Chavez for the summer is anyone’s guess, although DeGale seems to be more likely to fight the next challenger in line for the vacant belt in the coming months.
More is set to come to light in the next two weeks on exactly where Froch stands on keeping both versions of his world titles, but facing Chavez in a huge pay-per-view send off, even without any title at stake, would still be a massive draw on both sides of the Atlantic.
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