Carl Froch banned his son Rocco from pursuing a professional career in boxing after dropping him with a body shot in sparring.

The former super-middleweight world champion has become known for making some pretty bold claims in his retirement - including claiming he would've beaten Gennady Golovkin and Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez if they fought in their primes.

During an appearance on The Matchroom Boxing Podcast, Froch spoke candidly about his career and was quizzed by David Diamante about whether he would allow his children to follow in his footsteps.

"It's a strict no-no," Froch explained.

"I teach Rocco how to fight. I even body spar him. I dropped him the other day.

"Left hook to the body, his right hand was too high, he didn't have the elbow in. He's only 10.

“And my daughters, I’ve got them on the pads as well. I want them to be able to fight and defend themselves.

“‘Rocco Froch’ – if you’ve got a name like that, you’ve gotta [sic] be able to fight.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - NOVEMBER 17: Boxer Carl Froch after being awarded an MBE by the Duke of Cambridge during an Investiture Ceremony at Buckingham Palace on November 17, 2015 in London United Kingdom. (Photo by Jonathan Brady - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

"I take him on the pads and have a bit of a body spar with him, but boxing for me – the reason I was so successful in boxing was because I needed boxing.”

The Cobra also revealed he had a tough childhood growing up on the streets of Nottingham after his parents separated when he was a six-year-old boy.

He told the podcast: "I had quite a lot of street fights as a kid and I grew up in pubs.

"Quite often on a Friday or a Saturday night I'd be outside rolling around on the cobbles and I have a joke about having a street fight and rolling around on the cobbles but I used to have quite a few street fights.

"And when you're bareknuckle, these fights are over quite quick.

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 31: Carl Froch celebrates after his victory over Geroge Groves during their IBF and WBA World Super Middleweight bout at Wembley Stadium on May 31, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Scott Heavey/Getty Images)

"Every now and then, you'll have a roll around and you'll have a guy who's got you in a headlock or you've got him in a headlock.

"And then you get separated, you land one punch, and he's pretty much done.

"A lot of the time I'm fighting someone whose had too much to drink and they want to start on you because you're not going to serve them anymore because it's time to close the bar.

"But that toughness and that upbringing that I've had from a young age... My parents separated when I was six years old. My parents split when I was six. I stayed with my dad.

"I was asked, 'Do you want to live with your mum or do you want to live with your dad?' My mum and dad were there with my two brothers, and I was like, 'I want to live with my mum...'"

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 25: Carl Froch of England celebrates his victory over Mikkel Kessler of Denmark during their Super Middleweight Unification bout at the O2 Arena on May 25, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Scott Heavey/Getty Images)

However, it seems Froch's request fell on deaf ears.

He then continued: "I ended up staying with my dad, my mum left, and took my two brothers.

"So I stayed in Colwick and went to the local school still, and I feel like my dad resented me a little bit because I said that, but I was six years old...

"From a very young age I learnt to become self-sufficient pretty quick, kind of looking after myself, and my older brother was the same as well.

"Although he left with my younger brother because he went to a different school so I had a few years on my own with my dad.

"My dad loves me and I love my dad, it's great, it is what it is. But it was tough.

"I moved into pubs at quite a young age, 14 years old I moved into pubs, and I stood the door as well with my dad working as a doorman.

"A skinny 19 year old having fights and having rows on a Friday and a Saturday night...

"It toughens you up, it gets you acclimated to being a tough, rough guy who can kind of take punches, have a fight.

"I was nervous as an amateur, but I was nervous because I didn't want to lose, I wanted to win.

"The fear of losing was more than the fear of getting hurt or fighting. I used to love fighting."

READ MORE: Tom Aspinall praises Tyson Fury ahead of Alexander Volkov fight