Carl Froch has given his support to the referee who controversially oversaw Amir Khan's defeat to Lamont Peterson last weekend.

Joe Cooper has been in the spotlight after Khan lost his WBA and IBF light-welterweight belts in Washington.

Khan has since lodged an appeal over Cooper's decision to dock points for pushing.

"I thought the referee did an absolutely fantastic job, and that's not taking anything away from Amir Khan, because I think he's a great fighter," Froch told boxingscene.com.

"You know, the knockdown [for Khan] was questionable early on and the points deductions were taken because Khan was pushing him and holding on, and pushing his head down.

"[Khan] was complaining that the guy's head was low, but Khan was pushing his head down. So there's two sides to every story, and depending on how you look at the fight, and who you do and don't want to win, depends how you judge it. I'm judging from a non-biased point of view, and I thought the referee did a great job."

Froch takes on Andre Ward on Saturday night.