Boxing fans have made their feelings known on the spat between Anthony Joshua and Carl Froch, with the vast majority believing that the latter was well within his rights to criticise AJ following his latest fight. The former WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight champion is currently on the lookout for his next opponent after defeating Jermaine Franklin last time out.
Joshua notched his first victory since 2020 by earning a unanimous decision over Franklin, who put up a stern fight and had his moments at the O2 Arena. But the nature of the win didn’t leave everyone convinced, including Froch, who did not see the hunger needed for the 33-year-old to return to the top of the sport.
“I don’t understand why he’s fighting,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live. “I just don’t. It’s a dangerous sport. Money can’t be the motivation when you’ve earned over £100million. I’ve not seen anything in that performance that he wants to be a world champion again.”
AJ responded in his post-fight press conference, stating: “These people don’t get me. Not on my wavelength. Not at my level.
“I don’t use boxing as a platform to rant and rave and disrespect other fighters. I won’t talk about my enemies online. I prefer to stay silent. These people want me to talk back but why should I get dragged in by clowns?”
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Froch on Fighting, the former super-middleweight world champion refused to apologise for his honest assessment, clarifying: “When we talk about him, it can come across as being negative, and I’m not. I want Anthony Joshua to do well, I want him to be back at world level and achieve great things.
“But he’s got to want to do it. I’ve got to be honest in my opinions, I stand by my convictions when I speak about somebody. If I don’t think somebody has improved, like AJ since the [Andy] Ruiz Jr. loss, I will be honest about it. I don’t think he’s the same since that loss.”
In a survey conducted by Express Sport, an overwhelming 76 per cent of respondents believed that Froch did not have to apologise for criticising his countryman. A similarly resounding 78 per cent of participants voted that, unlike Joshua, Tyson Fury would have knocked out Franklin before the final bell.
With both AJ and Fury on the wrong side of their 30th birthdays and searching for another opponent, only 20 per cent of respondents felt that Joshua was ready to take on the undefeated Gypsy King, despite returning to winning ways last time out.
There has been talk of a bumper night of boxing at the end of the year, when Anthony Joshua vs Deontay Wilder could co-headline an event in Saudi Arabia along with Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk, although the fights are yet to be confirmed.
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