By Sanjeev Shetty BBC Sport Online boxing editor

In this week's boxing column, Carl Froch's promoter tells BBC Sport Online that he is thrilled with his man's progress so far.

Froch on the charge

Carl Froch's promoter believes the young unbeaten super middleweight is destined to make it to the top and in no time at all.

Mick Hennessy says that Froch should be fighting for the British title by the end of 2003 and that he could surpass the achievements of some of British boxing's most illustrious stars.

"He is something special - he will do for British boxing what Roy Jones did for boxing in America," Hennessy told BBC Sport Online.

"I'm looking to put him in with the British champion by the end of the year, hopefully against David Starrie and it is a fight that he will win.

"And Carl is going to be one of the biggest stars we have ever had, as good as the likes of Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank, Naseem Hamed."

Hennessy was delighted by Froch's precise performance against Valery Odin on Tuesday but says that finding opponents for his young fighter is becoming more and more difficult.

The promoter also enthused about Howard Eastman's progress and says he would like to possibly match the European middleweight champion against American William Joppy by the end of the year.

Domestically, Hennessy would like Eastman to fight WBO super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe but says that attempts to set up a bout with Robin Reid have proved fruitless.

Alexander pulls out

The proposed junior middleweight showdown between Wayne Alexander and Steve Roberts has fallen through.

Although Barry Hearn's Matchroom Boxing, which promote Roberts, won the purse bids for a fight which was to have taken place on 22 February, Alexander decided not to go through with the contest.

Another junior middleweight, Richard Williams, will fight Andrei Pestraiev in March.

Russian Pestraiev ended Roberts' unbeaten streak last year.

Maloney unhappy

Veteran boxing figure Frank Maloney faces an enquiry from the British Boxing Board of Control on 5 February regarding his part in the BBC's celebrity boxing programme.

And Maloney is unhappy about the fuss that has been made about the show.

"I'm not concerned (about the enquiry) - I think it's laughable and I think the board have more to be concerned about," he told BBC Sport Online.

"Celebrity boxing gave the sport good publicity and good press.

"Now that they have made a big fuss about this, they should look at everything else - starting with unlicensed boxing and the white collar boxing."