CARL FROCH has named the only man to down him in sparring.
The former world super-middleweight champ revealed that a fellow British hero "tried to knock me out" in training - and once "nearly did".
Granite-chinned Froch was floored just twice in fights - recovering to beat Jermain Taylor and George Groves.
And the sole man to send him to the ground sparring was a weight division heavier than him - Tony Bellew.
The Liverpudlian, now 45, was world cruiserweight king from 2016-17, whereas 45-year-old Froch from Nottingham reigned many times in the division below from 2008-14.
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The pair regularly sparred and Cobra said on his YouTube channel: “He didn’t bully me or anything or try and knock me out – well, he did try and knock me out, and he nearly did once.
“The only person to put me down in sparring was Tony Bellew.
"I backed him into a corner, threw a bit of a lazy right hand, he counter-punched me and I walked straight onto it.”
Froch's admission comes after he warned ex-UFC hero Darren Till he'd willing settle their social media feud in the ring - despite retiring in 2014.
Till, 30, from Liverpool, is considering a go at boxing and has relentlessly trolled one of Britain's all-time great fighters.
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But the legend responded to "The Gorilla" on his Froch on Fighting podcast by saying: "So he’s giving ‘The Cobra’ some beef and he’s never boxed?
"What’s going on? Does he not like being alive? Does he not like breathing?”
“I’ve been retired 10 years, but you know what I’m like.
"I’ll exchange banter, and if it makes sense I’ll step in the ring and give one of these MMA fighters or YouTubers an absolute pasting, just for the sake of boxing.”
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