Carl Froch has vacated his IBF super middleweight title due to an elbow injury.

Fellow Brit James DeGale will now fight for the belt in April.

Froch was preparing for a clash with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr when he damaged his elbow last month.

"It's been a frustrating couple of weeks with the terms agreed for the Chavez fight, only for me to to be unable to proceed in camp due to injury," he said in a statement. "I know what it's like to wait for a shot and I didn't want to hold James up in fighting for a world title.

"James is a great young fighter and I hope he can go out and win that title and, who knows, we may even meet later in the year."

Froch won the IBF super middleweight title when he beat Lucian Bute back in 2012.