Carl Froch contradicts past Anthony Joshua comments as he blasts the boxer’s CV

Carl Froch has been an outspoken pundit since retiring from the sport in 2014, and this time he’s aimed his comments at Anthony Joshua.

The 2023 Hall of Famer left the sport after a knockout victory over bitter rival George Groves at Wembley Stadium, but since then, he’s taken to punditry, where his opinions have often been rather bold.

One such name that has been the focus of his criticism is former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.

Joshua and Froch are former gymmates who both trained under Team GB coach Rob McCracken.

Following his loss to Daniel Dubois, the former super middleweight felt the Watford fighter had ‘gone backwards’.

Carl Froch doesn’t believe Anthony Joshua has a ‘Hall of Fame’ career

Now, in his most recent comments, he has responded to claims that AJ has a Hall of Fame career.

Speaking on Froch On Fighting, he said: “He’s had a great career. His legacy will be bringing boxing back to the forefront.

“Bringing boxing to the mainstream audience, which is great, but he’s not had a Hall of Fame career in terms of who he’s beaten.

“Something that Eddie Hearn said about Anthony Joshua, he said he’s fought everyone? No, he hasn’t.”

He listed opponents such as Charles Martin, Francis Ngannou, Robert Helenius, and others as doing ‘no favours’ for his résumé.

The former world champion also slammed Joshua’s signature win against Wladimir Klitschko as the long-reigning title holder was ‘old’.

Froch contradicts original AJ comments from two years ago

However, these new comments on his opponents contradict the opinion the ‘Cobra’ held in 2023.

Prior to the Wallin fight, not only did the 47-year-old respond to claims he ‘hates’ AJ, but also his career.

Carl Froch had his say on wether Anthony Joshua should come back after his knockout loss to Daniel Dubois and questions Eddie Hearn’s plan.

With Anthony Joshua’s future in boxing uncertain, former world champion Carl Froch believes he is finished.

Joshua has had a three-fight plan revealed by promoter Eddie Hearn as he heads towards the end of his career, but Froch believes ‘AJ’’s loss to Dubois is all she wrote. 

In a recent upload to his YouTube channel – Froch on Fighting – ‘The Cobra’ launched a strong assessment on Joshua’s career and where he should go from here. 

Joshua and Froch are former training partners with the Nottingham man being coached by Rob McCracken at the same time ‘AJ’ was training at the England Institute of Sport in Sheffield. 

Froch saw Joshua in his promising amateur days but sees the Olympic winner’s career as good as done. 

“He has had his career, he’s made his money, and he has got found out.

“As soon as he stepped up in class he got flattened

“He has been ironed out, finished, El Sparko against Dubois that for me is all she wrote.

“That should be the end of ‘AJ’s career

 “I’ve got no interest in it, I don’t wanna see him fight again.”

Eddie Hearn recently featured on Journalist, Ariel Helwani’s talk show and proposed a plan for Joshua as “2026 will probably be his last year in the sport.”

The 46-year-old remains hopeful of an all-British mega fight between ‘AJ’ and Tyson Fury despite ‘The Gypsy King’ remaining retired for the time being. 

He also proposed Joshua go for revenge against Daniel Dubois, who knocked him out in their fight last September.

Froch didn’t seem interested in this plan as he believes Fury will not come out of retirement and said Joshua would not beat Dubois if they fought again.

“It’s obviously a cash-out plan, he wants to fight fury twice then he wants to fight Daniel Dubois again.

“I don’t think the Tyson Fury fight is happening anyway, Tyson Fury is a messer isn’t he.

“I think he’s (Fury) done, he’s finished, he has £200,000,000 or whatever he’s got, he’s not gonna fight again.

“He will still make noise and talk bit of bollocks, but I don’t think he is coming out of retirement anytime soon.

“He wants not one fight but two fights with Tyson Fury, Eddie Hearn really is trying to get the old Bunsen burner, isn’t he?

“Talk about cashing out, this is a f**king proper cash-out, isn’t it?

“This would be like winning the Euro Lottery on the way home. 

“I don’t think he will even get one fight with fury I think he’s done. I made that clear. 

“A fight with Daniel Dubois, forget it, Daniel Dubois f**king flattens him again.

“He cannot beat Daniel Dubois; he would frighten to death of getting hit on the chin.

“he will get hit on the chin and when he does, he will be rendered unconscious again.”

Froch discussed some other possible fights for Joshua, including Moses Itauma, Dillian Whyte and Joseph Parker, but remained uninterested.

“Who do we say ‘AJ’ fights? We’ve got Parker. I mean I think Parker beats him.

“We have Dillian Whyte, but he’s going backwards, isn’t he? He beat him ten years ago.

“Dillian Whyte, I think, is about finished and he wants to fight Moses Itauma.

“I think Moses Itauma is gonna absolutely outclass and probably flatten Dillian Whyte and that’ll be the end of him.

“I wouldn’t put ‘AJ’ in with Itauma because for me that’ll be another beatdown.”

Boxing pundit Carl Froch has advised Anthony Joshua to avoid a rematch with Daniel Dubois, fearing another devastating defeat.

Froch’s comments come after Dubois brutally knocked out Joshua in the fifth round of their heavyweight world title clash at Wembley last September.

Joshua notably turned down the opportunity to immediately avenge that loss and recently underwent elbow surgery, delaying his return to the gym.

Meanwhile, Dubois is set to make his first appearance since last autumn when he faces Oleksandr Usyk in a highly anticipated rematch at the national stadium next month, aiming to avenge his stoppage defeat by the Ukrainian two years ago.

While Joshua is targeting a return to the ring later this year, potentially against Tyson Fury if the latter reverses his retirement decision, Froch believes a second encounter with Dubois would be ill-advised.

“Another fight with Daniel Dubois? Forget it. Daniel Dubois will flatten him again,” Froch declared on his YouTube channel. “He can’t beat Daniel Dubois; he will be frightened to death of getting hit on the chin, and when he does, he will be rendered unconscious again.”

Joshua has remained calm about his next opponent as Fury continues to insist on his retirement, having hung up his gloves in January after two consecutive defeats to Usyk. Other potential opponents for Joshua include a rematch with Dillian Whyte or a possible August clash with rising star Moses Itauma.

Adding to the speculation surrounding Joshua’s future, his promoter Eddie Hearn has revealed that the Olympic champion could retire as early as next year. Hearn believes that a confrontation with long-term rival Tyson Fury is the final frontier for Joshua before he hangs up his gloves

Carl Froch has sent a stern warning to Anthony Joshua over the heavyweight boxer’s future fight plans and believes a certain match-up is a no-go for the former two-time world champion.

Joshua has not fought since being knocked out by Daniel Dubois in an IBF heavyweight showdown at Wembley Stadium last September. The all-British affair was a disastrous night for AJ as his opponent put him down onto the canvas on multiple occasions before the referee eventually put an end to the fight after the final knockdown early in the fifth round.

Joshua has since been nursing an elbow injury, which meant he was not able to schedule a fight for this summer. The Brit has recently undergone successful surgery on the injury, however, meaning plans for his return to the ring by promoter, Eddie Hearn, can resume again. Having said that, though, it may be a little while before the former world titleholder can return to training as rehab could keep him sidelined for up to two months.

Anthony Joshua’s Return to Boxing

AJ’s next fight will likely be his most important

Once Joshua is back to full health, there are a number of fighters he and Hearn may select as an opponent, such as Deontay Wilder, Dillian Whyte, Agit Kabayel, Joseph Parker, and Filip Hrgovic.

Another contest under consideration and one British boxing fans are still keen to witness is between Joshua and former two-time world champion, Tyson Fury, despite the fellow Brit retiring from professional boxing early this year. Many are sceptical about Fury’s retirement announcement, however, as he has made similar comments in the past but has still gone on to compete in the ring.

An obvious next step for Joshua by some people may be to avenge his loss to Dubois and naturally face him again in a rematch. Joshua has taken immediate rematches before, when seeking to avenge defeats to Andy Ruiz Jr and Oleksandr Usyk, respectively. He managed to defeat Ruiz Jr in a rematch and reclaim his world titles at the time, but he was unable to get the better of Usyk in his second attempt.

Carl Froch Sends Warning to AJ Over Next Fight

There is one guy Froch does NOT want to see Joshua fight next

However, Froch is adamant that Joshua should not face Dubois again because the result would be no different. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Froch on Fighting, he stated: “Another fight with Daniel Dubois, forget it, Dubois, f****** flattens him again. He can’t beat Dubois, he will be frightened to death of getting hit on the chin, and when he does, he will be rendered unconscious again.”

Froch, a former world champion himself, has made negative comments about Joshua’s performances and future in boxing before, and his latest comments are unlikely to go down well with the heavyweight fighter. Nevertheless, Dubois is not an immediate option for Joshua right now as the IBF titleholder has bigger priorities in the imminent future.

Dubois is currently gearing up for an undisputed heavyweight fight with Usyk on the 19th of July at Wembley Stadium, in what will be his chance to become the first British undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis held the mantle 26 years ago. Dubois previously faced Usyk two years ago when he suffered a ninth-round knockout defeat to the Ukrainian.

Carl Froch and Anthony Joshua have had a rocky relationship over the years.

The two British boxing stars first started to clash when Joshua parted ways with former Froch coach Rob McCracken after he lost on points to Usyk in 2021.

Joshua would go on to lose again to the Ukrainian the following year, and after some rebuild fights, suffered his fourth career defeat last time out at the hands Daniel Dubois, where he was brutally knocked out in the fifth round.

However, Froch believes it was ‘AJ’s first ever loss that has caused fragility in the former heavyweight champion. That came against Andy Ruiz Jr back in 2019, where the Mexican-American caused one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight boxing, putting the unified champion down several times before stopping him in the seventh round.

Speaking to BestOnlinePokerSites, ‘The Cobra’ believes ‘AJ’ quit that night and has never fully recovered.

“I’ve always said he’s a bit mentally fragile since losing to Ruiz when he got his soul took away from him that night let’s be honest.

“He quit. It goes down as a technical knockout, that’s never happened to ‘The Cobra’ by the way, which I did tell him, ‘The Cobra’ don’t get knocked out. But he quit on his feet, whichever way you want to look at it he quit on his feet. I’m not going to hold it against him because he stayed with it and he came back.

“He’s tried to be great again but he’s realised he’s not at the level, because every time he steps up to the level he gets asked a question and he gets beat.”

Joshua hasn’t fought since the Dubois fight last year due to injury and is targeting a return to the ring later this year following minor surgery. Fans hope that will come against Tyson Fury, though ‘The Gypsy King’ is adamant that he is retired.