By Edward Chaykovsky
IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch was very impressed with Anthony Joshua's ability to survive a shaky moment in the fight when he was wobbled in the second round of his December 12th grudge match with Dillian Whyte.
The hard punching heavyweight raised his record to 15-0, 15KOs when he stopped Whyte in the seventh round.
Froch himself was chin-checked in two fights - against Jermain Taylor and George Groves. He was dropped hard in both contests, but Froch was able to recover and stop his opponents in the championship rounds.
"For the first time in Anthony Joshua's career we saw him chin checked," Froch told Sky Sports News HQ. "He got caught with a left hook on the chin that wobbled him, hurt him. He got hit with a very, very hard left hook, flush on the chin when he was coming forward, so he moved into it.
"What I learned from that was firstly he's human and secondly that he can take a punch. He can adapt and showed that he can recover. Dillian Whyte was unbeaten, came in with lots of ambition, beat Joshua as an amateur. He came in confident with that little mental edge. Joshua came through that, got caught with that left hook and recovered, and got the stoppage finish."
Based on what he saw, Froch is now convinced that Joshua has what it takes to win a heavyweight world title.
Joshua is already ranked in the number 2 position within the WBC's rankings. He is very close to a world title opportunity. His promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport, is not going to rush him. They plan to pursue the European title route before challenging some for a world title.
"He's showed me there he's got the ingredients you need to become a world champion," said Froch. "Everybody is blowing the Anthony Joshua trumpet, that he's going to be a world champion - me as well - and that solidified my opinion that he will be a world champion one day.
"He's not quite ready for it yet. You don't need to run before you can walk. He needs to defend that British title if he can, take his time, and then when he gets to world level and wins a world title, which I believe he will, then he can remain dominant for many years."
