Hall of fame boxer, Carl Froch, has given his opinion on who he wants to see Anthony Joshua fight next.
Many observers were left underwhelmed by ‘AJ’s performance, with fans hoping to see a return to the aggressive style under new trainer, Derrick James.
Froch has been vocal about Joshua’s recent form, claiming it all started when the Brit suffered a shock defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019. ‘The Cobra’ thinks Ruiz ‘took a piece of his soul’ that night and the former heavyweight champion has been gun shy ever since.
Joshua himself admitted he wanted the knockout against Franklin, hoping a statement win would put him in contention for an all-British blockbuster against Tyson Fury.
Froch thinks the 33 year-old should stay well clear of both Fury and Deontay Wilder for the time being.
“People have asked me tonight, ‘where does he go from here?’ after that performance. Well I’ll tell you where he doesn’t go, he doesn’t go Deontay Wilder, he doesn’t go Oleksandr Usyk, he certainly doesn’t go Tyson Fury, because the top 3 heavyweights, based on that performance for me would destroy him.”
Speaking on his Froch on Fighting YouTube channel, the TV pundit instead wants to see a rematch against old foe Dillian Whyte.
“Now Dillian Whyte, he went the distance with Jermaine Franklin, he got the the win also, probably not as convincingly as the AJ win. But if AJ is going to jump in with Dillian Whyte, people would want to see that.
Is that a fight AJ could win? Whyte will go in there believing in himself and he’ll do what Jermaine Franklin didn’t do tonight, and that’s stick it on AJ. He’ll lean on him, he’ll get rough, he’ll push him back. He’s strong he’s determined and he wants to prove himself.
A rematch for Dillian Whyte is so dangerous for AJ but it’s a great fight, it’s a fight I want to see.”
Froch might get his wish as Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, has hinted that a Whyte will be next to give his man more time to work with his new trainer.