Former boxing champion Carl Froch has called out Anthony Joshua for a face-to-face meeting to resolve their ongoing feud. The two fighters, who were once training partners under coach Rob McCracken, have seen their relationship sour since Joshua parted ways with McCracken in 2021.
Froch recently revealed that he has been receiving “abusive” WhatsApp messages from Joshua, who allegedly called him a “p***k” in a new interview. Speaking to BestOnlinePokerSites, Froch disclosed, “I’ve shared 10 percent of the messages. It’s schoolboy stuff. It’s like plastic gangsters. It’s pathetic really, it’s childish and it’s a bit ridiculous.”
Despite the bitter exchanges, Froch expressed his willingness to resolve the matter maturely. “I’ve had a barrage of abuse directed to me, but I don’t mind meeting up and dealing with it like men,” he said. “If you’re going to do little backstab jibes and send me messages abusing me, and then deleting stuff, and then you don’t pick your phone up when I try to give you a call to have a conversation with you man to man, then what am I going to do? I’m going to expose you for what you are.”
The former super-middleweight champion also revealed that Joshua had messaged him overnight, only to delete four of the messages later. “I’ve kept 90 percent of what he’s said away,” Froch added. “He’s messaged me again, overnight, and deleted four of the messages.”
Joshua, who is scheduled to fight Daniel Dubois on September 21, has not responded publicly to Froch’s challenge. However, the ongoing feud has added an extra layer of intrigue to his upcoming bout.
In addition to the personal feud, Froch shared his thoughts on a hypothetical match-up between Joshua and Frank Bruno. “The Frank Bruno that fought Lennox Lewis in Cardiff back in the 90s – that Frank Bruno beats Anthony Joshua,” Froch stated. “It’s just all about timing and you can’t hold that against Anthony Joshua. The landscape of heavyweight boxing is not what it used to be.”
Froch concluded by commenting on Joshua’s recent career struggles. “I think if Anthony Joshua loses to Dubois, it could be the last we see of him. I’ve always said he’s a bit mentally fragile since losing to Ruiz. He got his soul taken away from him didn’t he, let’s be honest. He quit, didn’t he? It goes down as a technical knockout.”
As the boxing world watches closely, it remains to be seen whether Joshua will accept Froch’s invitation for a face-to-face confrontation or if their dispute will continue to play out through social media and interviews.
