Even a few years ago, Anthony Joshua was far more deadlier inside the ring than he is now. Recently, Carl Martin Froch pointed out precisely when Joshua lost a little of his fearsome fighting prowess.
On April 1st, at the O2 Arena in London, UK, following twelve rounds of action between the two heavyweights, Joshua prevailed over Jermain Franklin on points. The two boxers engaged in a fierce battle, although many felt that AJ wasn’t in his usual aggressive state and was instead a tad lacklustre.
The former unified heavyweight champion has been having a tough time. The British boxer lost to Andy Ruiz in 2019 for the first time. Even though AJ won the subsequent rematch, he had no idea that his worst days were yet to come.
AJ’s collapse began when he lost to Andy Ruiz Jr. at Madison Square Garden, according to Froch, a former super middleweight fighter, who made this claim in an interview with Simon Jordan’s Up Front programme.
Carl Froch and Anthony Joshua’s rivalry
Carl and Joshua don’t have a strong rivalry because they compete in different weight classes and their professional paths haven’t crossed. Froch, however, believes that when Ruiz destroyed AJ, he took away a piece of Joshua’s soul.
“Since he [Joshua] lost to Ruiz, I’ve said it before, I think a piece of his soul was destroyed – whatever that means, he took his soul. The belief, the desire and that innate instinct to stand in front of your opponent and fight when it gets hard and exchange leather.” Carl said.
Following the loss, there was immediate analysis in the boxing community, with some criticising Joshua’s lack of preparation, while others applauding Ruiz for his performance and tenacity in the ring. Carl thinks as a heavyweight, the serious damage Anthony used to do he can’t do it now since that fight.
Update on Anthony Joshua vs Dillian Whyte bout
There is a lot of excitement in the boxing world about the highly anticipated fight between Dillian Whyte and Anthony Joshua. But recently, Dillian has said things that are completely at odds with what Eddie Hearn has said about the fight’s development, making the fight a bit challenging to happen.
Even though there hasn’t been any fixed contract, Hearn claims that Dillian’s side was initially pleased to accept their offer. Whyte, meanwhile, claimed that there had been no communication regarding the fight and that everything had simply collapsed.
Do you think Anthony Joshua will regain his peak performance against Dillian Whyte? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section.
