As Saudi Arabia continues its aggressive pursuit of the biggest events in the biggest sports, Carl Froch has revealed he’s been offered a mega payday for a middle eastern fight.
In recent times, Anthony Joshua fought his rematches with both Andy Ruiz Jr and Oleksandr Usyk there, and the country has since played host to Jake Paul-Tommy Fury.
Its strongest promotional entity, Skill Challenge Entertainment, has penned a deal with Usyk for some future bouts, and Tyson Fury has recently announced a crossover bout in association with Riyadh Season that will see him face MMA Star, Francis Ngannou, on October 28.
With ties now to the two heavyweight champions of the world, the people behind the boxing in Saudi are making no secret of their desire to stage huge events and spectacles, and there are similar plans for football, golf and motorsport.
On an episode of TalkSport’s Talk Boxing whilst discussing Fury’s recent announcement., Froch revealed he is the latest fighter to have been made an offer to fight there.
“The reality is, [Fury’s] doing it for the money, cause he’s getting paid a fortune – and fair play to him, it is what it is.”
“I’ve just been offered a potential fight in Saudi for seven figures by my old mate, The Hayemaker. I’ve got the message on my phone. I’m not gonna go into it, cause it’s talk at the minute.”
As for opponents, Froch clarified that Haye was only doing the business, and that no names had been mentioned to him.
“No, David Haye’s out there, moving and shaking, and he sent me a message saying ‘how about fighting in Saudi around Christmastime, decent bunce.’ No names at all. Apparently it don’t need to be a name.”
It would be an exhibition bout given ‘The Cobra’ has been out of the game now since 2014.
When Joe Calzaghe was mentioned as a potential opponent, the former super-middleweight champion said it wasn’t realistic as it would very quickly turn into a real fight.