ANTHONY JOSHUA’S win over Andy Ruiz Jr was “meaningless” and Tyson Fury is the favourite if the two finally get into the ring, according to Carl Froch.
AJ, 30, was stunned back in June last year when he was knocked out by the Mexican-American at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Carl Froch doesn’t think that AJ’s win over Ruiz Jr means that he is ‘back’
He recovered to finally overcome Ruiz Jr in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, in December, but former super-middleweight champion Froch isn’t convinced that it means AJ is “back”.
The 42-year-old told iFL TV: “Who’s the number one heavyweight?
“If I had to pick one I’d probably say Tyson Fury and that’s just because I think he’s probably a 55/45 favourite.
The avenged rematch doesn’t mean anything because of how the fight went and the state Ruiz turned up in: 20 stone; slow, a slob; lazy.
Carl Froch
“It’s almost an even-money fight and I’d edge towards Fury just because of how AJ got dismissed by Ruiz.
“He got beat up in that first Ruiz fight and that’s a bad chink in his armour, a real bad one.
“The avenged rematch doesn’t mean anything because of how the fight went and the state Ruiz turned up in – 20 stone, slow, a slob, lazy.
“Fair play to him, he did the job. I’m not criticising him. But it wasn’t the kind of fight that makes you think AJ’s back.
“He’s back from a bad beating. And that’s the only fight he’s had since a bad beating – a non-fight.
“Since he got beat up I’ve not seen anything that’s told me he’s back to what he used to be.”
Joshua had been due to fight IBF mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in June.
But the bout has, for now at least, been KO’d by the global coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, Fury is contracted to a trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder.
The Gypsy King, 31, produced a stunning performance to beat the American in February, knocking him out in the seventh round.
And Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn believes that an all-British unification bout could be moved forward, but only if Pulev and Wilder were to step aside.
The Matchroom boss said: “Knowing Deontay Wilder, I cannot imagine in a million years he will step aside, he has too much pride.
“But if Bob Arum rings me up and says Wilder wants to step aside, there is a conversation to have, but I cannot see it.
Fury brutally defeated Wilder back in FebruaryCredit: Reuters
“I have not offered Pulev any stepaside money, Never ever.
“If Bob could speak to Wilder and Pulev and get them to step aside, then we would be willing to go straight into the Fury fight.
“Would Pulev take it at this stage of his career? Probably. But would Wilder? Probably not.”
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Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
