Carl Froch has backed referee Howard Foster's decision to stop his WBA and IBF super-middleweight world title fight with George Groves.
Despite being floored in round one, 'The Cobra' retained his belts in controversial circumstances as Foster stopped the fight in the ninth after a flurry of punches left Groves on unsteady legs.
Groves claimed that it "should never have been a stoppage", but Froch disagrees.
However, the Nottingham-born fight has suggested that he would be willing to contest a rematch.
"Howard is a very experienced referee," Froch told Sky Sports News. "George had his head low and I had a free shot and the referee had a split-second decision to make.
"It was dangerous and he had to put the safety of the fighter first. Let's have a rematch and sort it out."
Former world champion Joe Calzaghe described Foster's decision to stop the fight as "bulls**t".
