Carl Froch is never afraid to give a bold prediction and now he has done just that for when it comes to what he thinks Francis Ngannou will do against Anthony Joshua.
These two big hitters meet across 10 rounds. It is only former UFC champion Ngannou’s second fight following his debut against Tyson Fury in October, while it will be Joshua’s fourth contest in 12 months following on from a points win and two knockouts in 2023.
Speaking to Grosvenor Casinos, Froch laid out a game plan for Ngannou who is not short on confidence.
“He needs to get up close to him, stick it on him, move his head like Mike Tyson to get close to AJ and when he’s close push on him, lean on him, hit him around the body and throw that big haymaker.
“He has to go for it in the first three rounds. Empty the tank. I think he should go for broke, he has to go out aggressively. If he sits on his back foot and allows AJ to take the centre of the ring, he’s going to get outboxed. AJ will be too smart.”
He did then recognise that Joshua never shies away from a challenge, even if one former opponent thinks he is beatable.
“You have to give AJ credit for what he’s done in the sport, he’s taken on all-comers, he’s been 24 rounds with Usyk.
“He’s shared the ring with the best of the best, so really, if Ngannou doesn’t get close to him he is doing himself an injustice, because he’s definitely got a puncher’s chance if he closes the gap and goes for broke.
“That’s going to be his game plan. Look what Ruiz did when he connected and even when Dillian Whyte hurt him, Kiltschko had him down. We know AJ can be hurt.”
Finally, he said the fight will play out however Joshua wants it to.
“You’ve seen Ngannou drop Fury with that hook, but realistically it’s as easy as AJ wants to make it. And I think it could be really easy for him if AJ just boxes behind his jab with plenty of movement.
“He doesn’t want to run and make it a boring fight, he should throw combinations and stay in range and have a bit of a mix up because he’s being paid a lot of money, he needs to have a go, but it’s as easy as AJ wants to make it.”
Joshua would love for the fight to go as well as Froch thinks it could and open up a huge fight with the winner of the undisputed contest on May 18.