By Jake Tiernan: Carl Froch is keen to see Anthony Joshua face Dillian Whyte next for his fight in July after what he feels was a lackluster win or Jermaine Franklin last weekend.
While boxing fans on social media have largely dismissed the badly washed 34-year-old Whyte (28-3, 19 KOs) as a good option for Joshua’s next fight, Froch feels Dillian would be a “great fight” and one that “people want to see.”
Unfortunately, the 45-year-old Froch sees it through the prism of an older person who remembers when Whyte was a top contender 2,000 yesterdays ago before he had the stuffing beaten out of him.
Younger boxing fans in England are aware of Dillian being past it, and they want to see Joshua fight a quality opponent in July, not a guy that was knocked out by Tyson Fury and Alexandr Povetkin in the last three years.
Fans want to see Joshua fight one of these guys next:
- Tyson Fury
- Joe Joyce
- Deontay Wilder
- Andy Ruiz Jr
Whyte has lost two out of his last four fights and should have two other defeats against Franklin and Oscar Rivas. It’s fair to say that Whyte is beyond shot. Whyte should have three losses in his last four fights.
Will Joshua vs. Whyte rematch interest fans?
“Now Dillian Whyte, he went the distance with Jermaine Franklin, he got the win also, probably not as convincingly as the AJ win. But if AJ is going to jump in with Dillian Whyte, people would want to see that,” said Carl Froch on his Youtube site.
“Is that a fight AJ could win? Whyte will go in there believing in himself, and he’ll do what Jermaine Franklin didn’t do tonight, and that’s stick it on AJ,” Froch continued about his desire to see Joshua fight the struggling 34-year-old journeyman Whyte.
“He’ll lean on him; he’ll get rough; he’ll push him back. He’s strong, he’s determined, and he wants to prove himself,” Carl said about what he thinks Dillian will do against AJ.
“A rematch for Dillian Whyte is so dangerous for AJ, but it’s a great fight; it’s a fight I want to see.”
“The performance was limited because he wasn’t busy enough,” said Carl about Joshua not doing enough against Franklin to make a statement.
“I think he was happy, stuck in second or third gear, happy to get the win,” Froch said about Joshua. “I don’t blame him in some sense because in his last two fights, he lost to Usyk. He’s in there, he’s nervous, and he’s trying to make a statement, but it’s not quite happening for him.
“Franklin is a counterpuncher, and I feel he struggled with the second phase attack. You have to throw volume punches to get a stoppage, and AJ wasn’t prepared to commit in there. I don’t know why.
“Was he worried about getting clipped on the chin by the counter-puncher, so he was a bit nervous about getting hurt, or did he not want to gas? If he’s busy early on, then he’ll get tired down the stretch. Whatever it was, only he will know,” Froch said about Joshua.
