How many tear ups has Pacquaio had, plus the two KO's he's suffered. Surely Pac - Man is shot if anything?? What about Marquez at 37, how many wars has he gone into; probably the best 37+ year old out there today. No.... I don't buy into that, going to war in fights doesn't make you 'shot'. I hope we see him fighting into his mid 30's atleast; hopefully some big domestic shown downs; I see it like this: He'll lost in the Super 6 final, so he'll never be the best in the division (the likes of Dirrel, Ward, Bute, Kessler will always be better than him but he gives each of them a good run for their money). So hopefully he'll be looking for some big money making fights with slightly lesser/upcoming oppoenents such as Degale/Cleverley which will be huge domestic dust ups and big money spinners for Froch which will entice for those last big paydays boxers usually look for. The good thing is that they'll be in England with Warren throwing big money at Froch to make the matches. I think Clevelry will do him UD, Cleverly has shown great ability and the toughness to take a shot... But if he did meet Degale I hope Froch KTFO out of Degale but I feel Degale maybe a bit too slick for him when it comes down to it.
I think you're overstating these fights. Taylor - This was probably the toughest, where he did take a lot of good shots. Dirrell - Really not that bad, got hit a lot but a lot of the shots weren't that substantial. Apart from when he was hurt. Kessler - Didn't take that many headshots, rewatch this. Clean headshots by Kessler are at a premium. kessler won it with bodywork which is why Froch was gassed as well. Abraham - Took next to nothing. Plus when you weigh up his age, you've also got to say he's a young 34 because he reached world class very, very late.
All these people acting like Bute is a walkover are delusional. Bute has plenty of weapons to worry Froch with.
(I meant to say that he wouldn't last 12 against Bute, of course! Froch's style would cause Bute problems, so Bute would be forced to force the stoppage, if Froch boxed at range, intelligently. If Froch, however, looked for the knockout, he'd get KOed himself in the process).
Assuming he comes through Johnson and meets Ward in the final, that's a pretty good resume for any boxer to retire on and hopefully he's squirrelled plenty of money away from these fights. If he makes it past Ward, which I personally doubt but would love to be proved wrong, then a final fight with Bute would be a great way to sign off. Or maybe try to pick a belt up at LHW first.
Froch may come up short against Ward or Bute. Then again he may not. If he fights smart he has the ability to beat both IMO.