Former super middleweight champion, Carl Froch, has responded to recent criticism from Anthony Joshua.
Froch has been vocal on Joshua’s recent performances, claiming AJ has never been the same since Andy Ruiz Jr beat him and ‘took a part of his soul’.
Joshua didn’t take kindly to the comments and called Froch a ‘clown.’
“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?”
Froch was in attendance for Joshua’s decision victory over Jermaine Franklin on Saturday night and responded directly to the comments.
“I’d like to address Joshua said something about me and Amir Khan. He’s talking about people talking rubbish about him, I’m being choice in my words there.
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 Ruiz loss I will be honest about, I don’t think he’s the same since that loss.”
‘The Cobra’ went on to say he wasn’t about to apologise for his ‘honest’ assessment of Joshua.
“If I sound like I’m being too critical of Anthony Joshua, then I offer no apology, because I’m talking from the heart and I’m being honest.
He’s going to have to put in a great performance, not to just convince me, but to convince himself. It’s nothing personal from my point.”
Joshua’s return to the ring against Franklin wasn’t the performance fans were hoping for, with the former heavyweight champion admitting himself that he was disappointed not to get the knockout.
Dillian Whyte, who has been tipped to face Joshua next in rematch, seems to agree with Froch and says his rival has ‘lost all his aggression’ and is ‘hesitant’ to let his hands go.