Carl Froch has suggested that Anthony Joshua’s decision to fight Jake Paul will dent his legacy, as “AJ” prepares to fight the YouTuber-turned-boxer.
Joshua, a former two-time heavyweight champion, will box Paul in Miami on 19 December, in one of the most-unusual match-ups in boxing history.
While Joshua, 36, still desires a third reign as heavyweight champion – and a long-awaited all-British clash with Tyson Fury – he is content for now to face Paul in a professional contest in which knockouts will be allowed.
AJ and the American, 28, will square off across eight three-minute rounds, wearing standard 10oz gloves. The heavyweight fight will stream live on Netflix.
“Does this damage AJ’s legacy? Well, I don’t want to be horrible, but what legacy? What is AJ’s legacy?” said Froch, a former two-time super-middleweight champion, speaking on his YouTube channel.
“For me, AJ’s legacy is bringing boxing to the forefront, filling stadiums back-to-back – filling stadiums, what, four or five times? I mean, I did 80,000 [people] at Wembley Stadium [in 2014], and he took off what I was the catalyst for.
“Me and George Groves doing Wembley Stadium was a post-war attendance record, and then he took it on from that. And fair play to him, he’s been involved in big fights, the general public got behind him. He climbed off the canvas with [Wladimir] Klitschko and wallop, he was catapulted to success.
“And fair play to him, but when he’s stepped up to elite level, he’s been found wanting. Even at mediocre level, with the [Andy] Ruiz loss. He got beat up that night, didn’t he? And then he lost twice to [Oleksandr] Usyk, and he got absolutely flattened, ironed out by Daniel Dubois – we all saw it. And for me, that was the end of him, and that was over a year ago.”
Joshua has not fought since his stoppage loss to Dubois in September 2024, when his fellow Briton dropped AJ four times. Previously, Joshua was stopped by Ruiz in 2019 and outpointed by Usyk in 2021 and 2022.
“So his legacy, for me, will be what he did for boxing: bringing boxing back to the general public, bringing it back to a crossover fan, the armchair fan,” continued Froch, 48. “People want to come and watch him fight not because they enjoy boxing, but because they want to be involved in a big event and a massive occasion.
“So that’s great for boxing, and that gets all eyes on the beautiful sport that I love, so fair play. But that’s his legacy. He’s not had a Hall of Fame career. I’m not showing off, but you’ve got to have back-to-back world-title defences and you have to be successful against elite-level fighters to be in the Hall of Fame. It’s got to be acknowledged, and that’s no slant on him.”
Joshua has in fact recorded back-to-back successful world-title defences before.
“Does this [Paul fight] damage his legacy? A little bit, because he’s fighting in the clown world, isn’t he? But it’s big [money]. He’s cashing out, and fair play to him, but to what detriment to his legacy? A lot, really.”
Paul last fought in June, beating former world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr on points. Twelve months ago, Paul outpointed heavyweight icon Mike Tyson, who was 58 at the time.
Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua’s private talk: The inside story of the weirdest fight ever
KSI drops verdict on arch-rival Jake Paul agreeing to fight Anthony Joshua
Anthony Joshua vs Jake Paul: Fight rules explained and will knockouts be allowed?
When is Joshua vs Paul? Date, time, undercard and which TV channel will it be on
How Paul and Joshua’s private talk helped make the weirdest fight ever
Anthony Joshua vs Jake Paul official as strange but seismic fight looms
