Carl Froch stripped of WBA title
Carl Froch (33-2, 24 KOs) has been stripped of the WBA super middleweight title and promoter Eddie Hearn admitted his fighter may not fight again.
Froch has not fought since his knockout win against George Groves at Wembley Stadium last May.
The 37-year-old had already vacated his IBF title in February and countryman James DeGale will fight American Andre Dirrell for the belt in Boston on May 23.
The Nottingham man injured an elbow in training, which forced him to abandon plans to ight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in Las Vegas in March, and the WBA belt has now been taken from him after failing to secure another defence.
A rematch with WBA 'super' champion Andre Ward, who fights Britain's Paul Smith on June 20, still remains a possibility for Froch.
Ward beat Froch by a unanimous decision in December 2011.
Hearn said: “The WBA ordered Andre Ward to face Froch a few months back. Ward requested a special permit to have an interim bout against Paul Smith which was accepted by the WBA and now following his bout with Smith, Ward must face Froch for the title.
“We have no problem with the decision from the WBA. Carl has been out of the ring for nearly a year now and there is certainly no guarantee that he will fight again.
“They need to keep their belts active and that's not possible with Carl's current position. It's likely we will make a further announcement regarding Carl's future over the next week or so.
"It's been a year since he fought, so they have to do what they have to do to keep the belt active. It's a decision we expected."
Fedor Chudinov and Felix Sturm will fight on Saturday for the vacant WBA title in Frankfurt, Germany.