Major Anthony Joshua worry highlighted by Carl Froch, which is biggest danger in Francis Ngannou fight

Carl Froch has suggested Anthony Joshua is ‘mentally’ fragile and expects Francis Ngannou to be extremely dangerous.

Joshua will face ex-UFC champion Ngannou in Saudi Arabia on Friday night, and will be eyeing a statement win in what will be only his rival’s second professional boxing fight.

AJ has faced questions about his recent fights, having now lost three times in his career, including back-to-back defeats against Oleksandr Usyk.

He has since bounced back with three consecutive wins over Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius and Otto Wallin, and a path to redemption is under way.

But Froch believes Joshua has yet to show he is back to his old ways ahead of his upcoming challenge against ex-UFC champion Ngannou.

He said on Froch on Fighting: “We already think that Anthony Joshua is a bit mentally fragile. He is tentative, on his back foot and has been holding on.

“He hasn’t shown me that he belongs with somebody who is coming to win, since losing to Ruiz.

“AJ doesn’t want to be in that pocket and uncomfortable with Ngannou, as he is the biggest puncher with a bigger chin and he has looked indestructible in MMA.”

Ngannou looked like a capable puncher against Tyson Fury, despite training footage with Mike Tyson setting an underwhelming tone beforehand.

He went on to drop the ‘Gypsy King’ on his debut, significantly exceeding expectations of his performance.

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And Froch believes Joshua may also struggle with the danger of defeat potentially spelling an end to his career.

He continued: “When AJ gets caught he stays caught. It takes him ages to recover, he blew a gasket against Kubrat Pulev.

“He won’t have that time with Ngannou, and some would say that it is a ten-round exhibition.

“It is kind of like an exhibition and this is why I think it is dangerous for AJ. He needs to go in there and get his won, earn his money which is the only reason he is doing it.

“This is potentially a real bad move for Anthony Joshua as a loss could be the end of his career.”

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