Nottingham boxing legend Carl Froch has laid siege to some of the biggest figures in his sport with a no-holds-barred attack on the likes of Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.
"The Cobra", who won the WBC, IBF and WBA super-middleweight titles during the course of his glittering career, has never been shy in coming forward since retiring from the sport.
Working as a TV pundit and podcast host, his views on the sport and the fighters involved have been forthright and often controversial.
And in an exclusive interview with BettingSites.co.uk, Froch has blasted the current state of the heavyweight division, particularly his fellow Brits Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
Froch blasted Fury’s decision to walk away from a unification bout with Oleksandr Usyk in favour of a match with MMA star Francis Ngannou.
He said: “Frank Warren’s just announced Tyson Fury will fight Francis Ngannou, who is an MMA fighter, so it's another crossover fight – load of rubbish. The game’s changed, it’s going to change the whole sport. I don't like swearing, but it's a load of s**t. We don’t want to see that fight. We want to see Tyson Fury in there with Usyk.”
Froch has been entered into the prestigious boxing hall of fame this year, an honour he doesn't think Fury deserves.
He reasoned: "Does Tyson Fury deserve to be in the hall of fame? Good win against Wladimir Klitschko, he was still decent at that stage and he came back after a big lay off, and then he had a trilogy with Deontay Wilder. If he beats AJ and Usyk then yeah, because he's dominated the division for years and he's the best of the best. So at the minute, if he retired straight away, he might slip in. Does he deserve to be in? I don't think so."
Froch was equally forthright in his criticism of former world champion Joshua, a man who has lost to Usyk twice and has now signed a deal to face Dillian Whyte, a man he has already knocked out.
Froch said if Joshua ever faces Fury it will end badly for him, stating: " They're not giving Anthony Joshua a chance against Fury. I think it's fair because he had back-to-back defeats to Usyk and he’s looking like a man that's fighting with no confidence.
"He doesn't come forward anymore. He's on his back foot, he’s defensive first and he gasses after 8-9 rounds. I don't think he's got the engine."
