By Edward Chaykovsky
Retired former world champion Carl Froch is hoping that we get a heavyweight showdown between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury in 2017.
In November 2015, Fury (25-0, 18 KOs) pulled off what many thought was impossible by traveling to Germany to outbox Wladimir Klitschko to win a twelve round unanimous decision to capture the IBO, IBF, WBA, WBO heavyweight titles. It was Klitschko's first loss in over a decade.
Not long after stunning Klitschko, the IBF stripped Fury of the title for failing to make a mandatory defense against Czar Glazkov. Last January, Charles Martin stopped Glazkov in three rounds to win the vacant IBF belt. Then in April, Anthony Joshua (18-0, 18 KOs) crushed Martin to win the IBF world title.
A rematch between Fury and Klitschko never happened, because Fury withdrew from two scheduled dates and then vacated his remaining titles after suffering a mental breakdown.
The vacant WBO title was captured by Joseph Parker last month, after winning a close decision over Andy Ruiz. The vacant WBA and IBO titles will be up for grabs when Joshua and Klitschko collide on April 29th at Wembley.
Froch is backing Joshua to beat Klitschko - but many fans and critics alike will simply view the victory as a repeat of Fury's accomplishment. Adding to that, Klitschko will be 41-years-old and coming off a very long layoff.
Should Joshua win, a domestic fight against Fury will be a must - but nobody knows when Fury will actually return to the ring. According to uncle and head trainer Peter Fury, an April return is their current target.
"I think Joshua is going to beat Wladimir Klitschko but it is going to be harder than I originally thought, and when he does he'll have done what Fury did. That just leaves one question: which one of them is the best. Fury is unbeaten, Joshua is unbeaten, it's just a natural fight we will all want to see," Froch told Sky Sports.
"We need Fury back first and foremost because he is a great addition to the boxing world and you just never know what you are going to get from him. When he beat Klitschko we were all amazed and you wouldn't right him off against Joshua either. Let's hope it's not just a dream fight this year because we all want to see it."
