On December 23rd, heavyweight stars Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder will step into the ring at a major Saudi boxing show. Although not against each other yet, many observers see the whole thing as an overture for a blockbuster by the co-experts in 2024. A British boxing great makes a clear prediction should Joshua and Wilder finally meet – which should shock the united fists.
“Deontay Wilder knocks him out in one round. I’ve always said that and I still think it’s true,” said former super middleweight world champion Carl Froch on the “In The Zone” podcast. Joshua is now “afraid of his own shadow,” the 46-year-old joked. “I think if Wilder catches him with a bomb that hits him in the chin, he’ll go down and won’t come back up.”
That’s also the reason why the two aren’t fighting against each other yet, Froch claimed. “Because if that happens, his (Joshua, editor’s) career will be over and the curtain will fall once and for all.”
According to Froch, Joshua has problems especially in the mental area. “If he clears his head, he can definitely win the fight.” The “old AJ,” who fought with Dillan Whyte in 2015 and knocked out Wladimir Klitschko in 2017, “could do the job” and “outbox” Wilder, said Froch.
Boxing: Froch criticizes Joshua’s choice of trainer
The ex-champion does not believe that Joshua’s recent coaching changes will have a positive effect. “Rob McCracken should be his trainer, he would clear his head for this fight. But the respect is gone, they will never get together again.”
McCracken had already trained Joshua as an amateur and later made him a world champion as a professional. After his defeat against Oleksandr Usyk in 2021, Joshua separated from his long-time companion and hired US coach Robert Garcia.
With Garcia in his corner, Joshua also lost the revenge against Usyk in 2022. Since then he has been looked after by star trainer Derrick James. For the fight on December 23rd in Riyadh, Joshua is relying on ex-Fury coach Ben Davison because he did not want to travel to James’ training camp in Dallas due to the short preparation phase and the time difference.