The 2013 boxing year is only a few months old, but the biggest question for the previous year still remains. Manny Pacquiao, the 8 division world champion was defeated in a way we have not seen many top fighters lose, and people wonder if he can ever reclaim what he lost the last time we saw him in the ring. During the 186^th edition of “ON THE ROPES” I spoke with Carl Froch about the future of Manny Pacquiao and he gave a very interesting take on where the one time P4P fighter should go from here.

Carl also spoke on his own future in the sport, and how long he sees himself fighting at an elite level. Additionally he touched on some of the fights he would like to see happen this year, a potenital rematch with Andre Ward and his official prediction for his rematch with Mikkel Kessler. Here is what Carl Froch had to say is part 2 of my Exclusive interview. (Click here for Part One.)

Jenna: You mentioned fighters retiring and you mentioned top fighters out there. Manny Pacquiao got knocked out in December in devastating fashion and a lot of people are calling for his retirement. I’m curious for your perspective, do you think he should retire and also do you think he can even come back from such a devastating KO?

Froch: Well I think he can come back from such a devastating KO yeah. He got hit with one punch on the chin and it flattened him because he walked into it. Let’s not forget the guy who knocked him out was 39 years old so you can’t look at Manny Pacquiao and say he’s finished because of his age or because of that one punch knockout that he got caught with because this is boxing. It’s not a great sign, it’s not ideal, I think he’s done enough in the sport to retire if he wanted but I’ve made the mistake of saying people should retire in the past so I’m not going to say whether or not someone should retire. It’s their own decision and my opinion really counts for nothing in terms of whether I think Manny Pacquiao, or Ricky Hatton for that matter, should retire. It’s down to the fighter and I don’t know what his personal life is, I don’t know what he does outside boxing and I don’t know how good his team are around him. It’s his decision, if he wants to he should keep fighting. If he doesn’t want to he should retire. It’s his decision only.

Jenna: I just have a couple more questions before I let you off the line. Most fighters, they generally decline as they get older but for yourself you’ve seemingly got better. Why is that?

Froch: I think, to a certain point, age is a number...to a certain point. I’m 35 years old at the minute and I feel at my physical peak. I’m sure when I’m 45 years old I won’t feel in my physical peak. I’ll be on the other side of the hill and things aren’t going to get any easier or better for me. I think between my early thirties and where I am now in my mid thirties I’ve gained so much experience from fighting the top top level fighters fight after fight. I’ve learnt so much, I’ve developed as a boxer. Physically I could still do it at 35 because I was quite a late bloomer. I was 25 when I turned professional so I’ve only been a professional for 10 years. I’ve only had 32 fights. I think a fighter is only as “old” as the amount of punches they take and I don’t take too many punches when I fight. So I’m quite young and fresh in terms of fighting years, I feel I’m in my physical peak. Genetically I’m quite lucky because I don the way very easily which is one thing Ricky Hatton never did, he always struggled with the weight, struggled to get down to the weight and that can limit the longevity of your career. So I just feel that genetically I’m very lucky.

The desire and the will to win and the enjoyment for the sport is still there for me. As long as the desire’s there I will continue to box as long as my body physically lets me do that. At the minute I get up in the morning and do my runs and I’m smashing times and I’m hitting the same targets as I was hitting in my mid 20s. I’m feeling stronger than what I’ve ever felt so physically I’m bang on it, mentally I’ve still got the desire. So as long as that’s still there, as long as those 2 things are still there, because one day they’re obviously not going to be there anymore, I’m not superhuman. I’m a human being, I’m like any man. I will deteriorate with age but at the minute I think I’m on the crest of a wave. I think I’m in my peak so what do we say? 18 months? 2 years? Or do we say 2, 3, 4 fights? I don’t know, let’s see how it goes. Let’s take one fight at a time because the next fight with Mikkel Kessler is certainly going to be a tough gruel. It’s not going to be an easy task and it’s a 12 week camp which is quite a lot of impact on the body and the mind. So I’m going to take one fight at a time at this stage of my career. I’m in a good place and I’ve achieved above and beyond what I thought I would achieve when I first turned professional over 10 years ago. I’m happy with my career, I’m happy with where it’s headed and where I’m going. If I have one more fight and then decide to retire I’ll retire a happy man. If I have 2 or 3 more fights....it’d be nice to beat Mikkel Kessler and then get a rematch with Andre Ward. It’s a fight I think I can win. It’s gonna be tough, he’s very tricky, he’s awkward, a spoiler. You know, he does what he does to get the win but I know what I need to do and I know where I need to change and adapt to get the win. So after the Kessler fight I think the only realistic fight out there for me that’s a big big fight is a rematch with Andre Ward maybe in the UK or maybe in a different part of America. I was over in Atlantic City twice... I think Las Vegas maybe, it’s quite neutral territory and it’s a big place for top level boxing. It’d be nice to finish my career over there but we’ll see. Like I say, one fight at a time, Mikkel Kessler’s a serious threat and that’s next on the agenda. It’s exciting.

Jenna: Alright, what is the official prediction from the Cobra for your fight against Mikkel Kessler on May 25^th and how do you expect it all to play out?

Froch: I think it’s going to be a tough fight. It’s as tough as I want to make it though. Mikkel Kessler’s very very strong. He stands and fights when he needs to. He can box and move if he wants to, he can stand up and get behind his jab and work the ring but in all honesty I just feel that I had him tired in the first fight. I was catching him with shots and I was only throwing single punches and I was throwing 2s and 3s punch combinations. Now later on in my career I’m putting shots together in bunches. I’m throwing 6, 7, 8 punch combinations, body and head. I’m doing raiding attacks so I’ll attack my opponent and stay on him and then I’ll back off and then I’ll attack him again. It’s geared towards the way I train as well now so I don’t think Mikkel Kessler can live with the intensity that I’m going to set on him. He needs to be in the best physical possible shape of his life, which I think he will be because he’s taking this fight very seriously, he trains very very hard. But I just feel that the way I’ve developed later on in my career now and the style in which I fight and the way I put my punches together and the fact that I was drained in the first fight because of the late complications...which I won’t go on about but it’s a fact. I flew in there late, I took a bit of weight off, it wasn’t ideal because of the volcanic ash cloud but this time things are different. The fight’s in the UK, he’s got to jump on a plane this time. I’m gonna be ready. I’m gonna be super fit.

Mentally I’m in a great great place. I know I can beat Mikkel Kessler. So to answer your question I think it’s going to be, well it’s definitely going to be a win for me but it could even be a late stoppage. I don’t think it’s going to be an early stoppage, I don’t think anybody in the world can stop Mikkel Kessler early. He’s too tough, he’s too strong, too experienced. He’s a good fighter, a great fighter in fact but I feel that if I do what I know I can do and things go to plan I can force a late stoppage in one hell of an entertaining fight. Look forward to it because it’s gonna be tough, it’s gonna be brutal, it’s gonna be vicious, it’s gonna be very entertaining. One not to be missed. I’m not trying to sell the fight because I don’t need to sell it, it’s already sold. People just can’t wait for this fight to happen and I’m one of them. So strap yourself into your seat because it’s going to be one hell of a ride and one that I know everybody that I talk to is looking forward to. The Cobra’s gonna win, that’s for sure, the Cobra’s gonna win. I’ve got to win this time, I lost the first one, I’ve got to win this time that’s for sure.

Jenna: Awesome, Carl, one final question for you. We’re in 2013 right now and boxing fans are looking forward to seeing the big fights, your fight with Mikkel Kessler is one of the bigger ones. What fights would you like to see be made in 2013?

Froch: You know what, there’s not really...the heavyweight division’s being dominated by the Klitschkos at the moment so there’s not much happening. There’s a couple coming through in Britain, you’ve got David Price and Tyson Fury. That’d be a fight I’d like to see but it’s probably not going to happen. Then you’ve got Frampton who’s just had a great win, it’d be nice to see him fight Quigg but that’s a fight that’s probably not going to happen as well because of the promotional divide. On an international level for me, outside of Britain, it’s difficult to try and pick some fighters. Like we said earlier Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, they’re at the end of their career. That’s a fight I think everybody wants to see happen but there’s talk about Manny Pacquiao maybe retiring and I’m not so sure how many Floyd Mayweather wants to have. He can go on as long as he wants, Floyd Mayweather, but I’m not sure how much he wants to fight anymore. So it’s difficult, there’s not real big fights that jump out at me but there’s some great fights coming through definitely. With Tony Bellew and Darren Barker who are a couple of personal friends of mine who are on the crest of world title fights but in all honesty there are no 2 names that jump out except for Carl Froch and Mikkel Kessler. I’m just looking forward to that one to be honest.

Jenna: Alright, any message you want to pass on to the fans that will be seeing Mikkel Kessler Vs Carl ‘The Cobra’ Froch?

Froch: Don’t miss it! This is gonna be an unbelievable fight between 2 genuine warriors who both want to genuinely win. I want to win this fight, I need to win this fight. I know Mikkel Kessler doesn’t want to lose because I know what kind of man he is. For me it’s redemption, this fight will be anyway, it will be watched by everybody. People who love boxing and people who aren’t really fussed about boxing, they’ll be tuning in. So don’t be one of them that misses it cos it’s gonna be explosive.

Jenna: Certainly will be and I can’t wait to see the fight myself. Carl, thank you again for appearing on the show. It was fantastic to get your views on the upcoming fight and I look forward to seeing more of you in 2013.

Froch: Yeah definitely, the year of the snake by the way, the Cobra is on fire! Always a pleasure, thank you very much for having me

Special thanks goes out to Lunny of CheckHookBoxing.com for helping to bring this article to Doghouse Boxing readers.