Former super-middleweight world champion Carl Froch has criticized Anthony Joshua's latest performance just days after the heavyweight's seventh-round knockout win over Robert Helenius on August 12 at the O2 Arena in London.
Joshua had previously been critical of his former trainer, Robert McCracken, after linking-up with his new American coach Derrick James. This seemingly led Froch to leap to the defences of the man who had trained him for the entirety of his professional career.
“Here’s my analysis of the fight between Anthony Joshua and Robert Helenius — it’s time to hear the truth," he said on his YouTube channel, Froch on Fighting.
Froch expressed concern that if Joshua is not ready for the significant jump in competition it will be, going from fighting Helenius, to stepping into the ring with knockout artist Deontay Wilder, which is expected to take place in Saudi Arabia early 2024.
“Anthony Joshua, if he’s looking at fighting Deontay Wilder, it was terrible," Froch said. "That performance was awful; it was such a bad performance in so many ways. He was tentative, he was gun shy, he looked like he didn’t want to be in there at times, [and] he was getting outboxed by a poor, weak jab. It was easily timeable.”
For Froch, Helenius should have been knocked out in rounds one to two so that he could send a message that his finishing ability could be compared to Wilder's, as the American separated the Finish fighter from his senses very quickly, last year.
“If someone throws a jab like that to you, step to the right-hand side and throw a big uppercut, or step to the outside and throw three or four shots. [Helenius] would have been out of there in one or two rounds like what Wilder did to him. Joshua was sitting there confused, looking scared to through.
“He’s not ready for the Deontay Wilder fight," Froch said. "That performance does not set him up for a big showdown with Wilder.”
