Gennady Golovkin confirms he would travel to Britain for Carl Froch fight

WBA middleweight title-holder Gennady Golovkin has talked up a prospective meeting with Carl Froch, confirming that he would come to Britain to contest such a bout.

The big-hitting Kazakh, a former Olympic silver medallist who has won all 33 of his professional fights to date, has been mentioned as a possible next opponent for Froch, although The Cobra is yet to reveal whether or not he intends to announce his retirement. Froch has not stepped into a ring since his second victory over George Groves in May 2014.

That aforementioned grudge match, which ended emphatically in the eighth round courtesy of a devastating right hand from the Nottingham native, drew a British-record crowd of 80,000 at Wembley Stadium and Golovkin is evidently eager to replicate such a spectacle as he seeks to test his impressive credentials against a four-time world champion.

"Froch is a proven warrior in the ring with a big punch," he said.

"He filled Wembley in his last fight with George Groves and I have fought in some of the biggest arenas in the US, so it would be a huge worldwide event and a big test for me.

"I was in London a few months ago and the people there invited me to come over again, so yes – I would come to Britain. I think you'll see a lot of action and a KO if the fight with Froch takes place."

Eddie Hearn, promoter and managing director of Matchroom Sport, addressed the possibility of a showdown with Golovkin in May.

Although he stressed that it remains uncertain if Froch would fight again – having vacated his IBF super-middleweight title in February and been stripped of the WBA equivalent last month – he did not rule out the possibility and revealed that tentative discussions have taken place.

"I've seen reports regarding a potential fight with Carl and GGG. It's a huge fight and we are certainly talking," Hearn told Sky Sports. "At some stage that fight becomes too big to ignore but at this stage we still don't know if Carl will fight again.

"You know Carl will fight anyone and if it's a fight he can get up for and it does happen then it will be a huge event. I can't rule it out but I also can't rule out Carl retiring."

Having signalled a desire to fight in Las Vegas before calling it quits, Froch was set to meet Mexican Julio Chavez Jr in March only to withdraw from negotiations due to an elbow injury suffered in training.

A second meeting with Andre Ward has been mooted and a potential bout against fellow Briton James DeGale remains a possibility, although Froch would prefer the former came to Nottingham this time, while he has never appeared particularly receptive towards the latter.

Unbeaten Ward returned to action after 19 months on 20 June with a comfortable win over Paul Smith. DeGale won his first world title after beating Andre Dirrell by unanimous decision last month.

Golovkin, meanwhile, last fought in May when he eased to a sixth-round TKO victory over Willie Monroe Jr at The Forum in Inglewood, California.

Miguel Cotto, Canelo Alvarez, Erislandy Lara and Ward are believed to be the other contenders to face him next.