17 July 2023 , 14:29
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Anthony Joshua has joked Carl Froch's nose is evidence of poor training from his old coach Rob McCracken, who led both to world title glory.
The two former world champions have been engaged in an indirect war of words over the past year, with Froch regularly taking shots at Joshua and claiming he will leave a less than stellar legacy. And while Joshua doesn't always respond, he has taken his jabs at times, including during a recent interview with Boxing News.
Both Brits were brought to world honours by McCracken, but Joshua has since dropped his old trainer, first swapping for Robert Garcia before moving on to Derrick James. He is currently in camp for an August rematch with Dillian Whyte, with a December showdown against Deontay Wilder agreed if he wins.
"Rob’s a really good coach," he insisted. "The only thing I’ll say though is look at [Carl] Froch’s nose. He just didn’t teach me defence. And in heavyweight boxing, the level of competition I was facing at that stage of my career, I was getting hit way too much with clean shots.
"I was sparring Solomon Dacres... the tall six foot five guy, in Miami for [Andy] Ruiz, who’s five foot. Rob was in Japan for the Olympics. He only came back seven weeks before it. I just know it’s not good enough for where I’m at.”
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Last week, Joshua told Pro Boxing Fans that he "doesn't really communicate with Carl [Froch], outside of [the media]." He added: "I don't really communicate with him but everyone is entitled to their opinion. Like you are, like I am, I give my opinion and who's to say what's right or wrong.
"Froch is entitled to his opinion whether you agree with or don't is your choice. But for me, personally, legacy is a word, what is legacy? What have you done? I'm still doing it so whatever you'll make of it is what you want to make of it."
Carl Froch and Anthony Joshua's relationship has deteriorated (Getty Image)Do you believe that Anthony Joshua has an Hall of Fame legacy? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
The Nottingham native has claimed he has a far superior legacy to Joshua's after years of world title fights and defences against the top competitors in his division. He retired on top after headlining against Groves at Wembley Stadium, defending his unified titles by knockout.
“I don’t think Anthony Joshua ’s legacy can be compared to mine. You have to look at who you’ve fought, what level you fought at, the timing of the people you fought, and how many unbeaten fighters you’ve beaten," Froch told William Hill. “I beat Jean Pascal for my first world title, who then went on to become a light heavyweight unified world champion.
"I beat Jermaine Taylor, Arthur Abraham, Mikkel Kessler, Glen Johnson, Andre Dirrell in a very close fight, and then I went on to beat George Groves who was also unbeaten and 10 years younger than me, in not one, but two fights. When you look at that run of fights and that level of opposition, time after time, with back-to-back title fights, you can’t compare that to Anthony Joshua."