Carl Froch says stepping on stage to pick up his International Boxing Hall of Fame ring was the “proudest moment” of his illustrious fighting career.
On Sunday, more than nine years after retiring, the 45-year-old four-time world super-middleweight champion was honoured in Canastota, New York.
He hung up his gloves in 2015, while still holding both WBA and IBF belts.
“To pick this bit of bling up, this hall of fame ring, has immortalised me as a fighter,” he said.
“To get this highest honour in professional boxing is really humbling. I’m so proud.
“So few people get inducted into the International Hall of Fame.”
Froch has previously spoken about thinking it was “a wind-up” when first contacted about the honour in December.
‘Seal of approval after conquering world’
For the boxer nicknamed ‘The Cobra’, being added to the most distinguished list of fighters from across the generations is “the highest accolade” possible after a career in which he proudly says he “conquered the world”.
“I had a great career, fighting the best of the best in the division,” he told BBC East Midlands Today.
“I had 12 world title fights back-to-back, from when I beat Jean Pascal in my first world title here in Nottingham right through to my final fight at Wembley Stadium.
“It’s nine years ago – 31 May 2014 – when 80,000 people turned up to cheer me on. Me and George Groves, because he played his part and got flattened.
“We are now friends, so I can have a bit of a joke. I have a lot of respect and admiration for him because after getting flattened by me at Wembley he went on to become a world champion.
“Luckily for him that wasn’t his defining moment, getting dropped at Wembley, but for me it was the last punch of my career. To finish at the national stadium on that kind of high seemed really fitting.
“To have such a great career, then be acknowledged and inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame is the rubber stamp, the seal of approval.”
