Anthony Joshua has been warned he could be in serious trouble facing Francis Ngannou, with Carl Froch believing Joshua might not be very tough mentally. Despite Ngannou’s inexperience with boxing since leaving UFC, Joshua is potentially looking at his hardest fight since losing to Oleksandr Usyk twice.
Ngannou caused plenty of difficulties for Tyson Fury, the WBC Heavyweight champion, during their October 2023 match. Despite it being his first-ever professional boxing fight, the man from Cameroon was able to knock down the “The Gypsy King” in round three before suffering a rather questionable loss by split decision.
Ngannou showed enough in that bout to suggest he will be a big threat in future—to such an extent, Froch feels he can do some serious harm against Joshua on Friday.
“I’m picking AJ to win, but wouldn’t be shocked if he gets F*#**ed Up! What are your thoughts?” tweeted the former super-middleweight world champion.
On his YouTube channel, Froch gave a more in-depth view of the fight, stating that Joshua might not be resilient mentally. “We already think that Anthony Joshua is a bit mentally fragile. He is tentative, on his back foot and has been holding on,” Froch said.
“He hasn’t shown me that he belongs with somebody who is coming to win, since losing to Ruiz. AJ doesn’t want to be in that pocket and uncomfortable with Ngannou, as he is the biggest puncher with a bigger chin and he has looked indestructible in MMA.”
Joshua is gearing up for his fight with Ngannou, feeling strong after winning against Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius, and Otto Wallin. Since his losses to Usyk, Joshua has changed his fighting style to be more careful and smart, which might help him against someone like Ngannou who isn’t used to boxing.
But Froch is worried about how Joshua will handle getting hit hard by Ngannou in their 10-round match. “If he hits AJ on the chin like [he did against Fury], AJ gets caught, he stays hurt, he takes ages to recover,” Froch said.
“He blew a gasket against Pulev. He was boxing, moving doing well then he needed four or five rounds off before he got the job done. He won’t have that time with Ngannou. Ngannou will put him on it, it’s only a 10-round fight.
“It’s kind of like an exhibition, which is why it’s dangerous for AJ. He needs to go in there and get it won and earn his money, which is the only reason he’s doing it. AJ is trying to get this undisputed fight with the winner of Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, but that’s still going to be there for him, so this is potentially a real bad move if it goes wrong for him, as it could be the end of his career.”
