Amir Khan tells Carl Froch to retire after controversial win over George Groves

Carl Froch retained titles after a brutal battle with George Groves

Amir Khan believes Carl Froch is past his 'sell-by date' and has urged the Nottingham man to retire after his controversial win over George Groves.

Froch retained his WBA and IBF super-middleweight titles after referee Howard Foster hastily stepped in to signal a stoppage victory over Groves following a brutal battle on Saturday.

Groves floored Froch heavily in the first-round and hurt the 36-year-old on a number of occasions before the champion's late rally prompted Foster's swift intervention.

There have been widespread calls for a rematch, but Khan insists Froch showed clear signs of decline and called on the Cobra to quit rather than risk another gruelling fight with Groves.

"Froch should retire. He's on top at the moment with the belts, I really think in his next fight he'll lose those belts. He got a very close win against Groves because he was losing almost every round."
Amir Khan

"He's past his sell-by date," Khan told the Daily Mail. "Froch should retire. He's on top at the moment with the belts, I really think in his next fight he'll lose those belts. He got a very close win against Groves because he was losing almost every round.

Big fights

"The referee stopped the fight too soon, the fight would've gone the distance and Groves would've won on points."

Froch appeared to drag Groves into a dogfight in the later rounds, but Khan revealed how the Londoner told him he wanted to stand and trade.

Khan, who spoke to Groves after his defeat, said: "He told me he fancied working on the inside, that's why he took a few shots getting in. That's why he got caught.

"He wanted to take a few shots, sometimes that drives a fighter. He didn't seem hurt. Even when the ref stopped the fight you could see his head was fine."

Having won world titles himself, Khan is confident that Groves can follow in his footsteps and become Britain's next champion.

"He's got some big fights and some big names out there for him," said the former WBA and IBF light-welterweight champion.

"He can cause anyone problems. I think he has world titles ahead."