Former super middleweight champion Carl Froch is very excited by the heavyweight division at the moment – and you can see why.
Every heavyweight on the planet is gunning for Tyson Fury right now after the Mancunian cracked the division wide open by ending the 10-year reign of former champion Wladimir Klitschko.
Now the Ukrainian’s decade-long stranglehold on the division has been broken, everyone from Anthony Joshua and David Haye to Deontay Wilder is eyeing a big money clash with Fury.
Legendary Nottingham boxer and Sky Sports pundit Froch named Fury as the Number 1 heavyweight in the world at the moment – but he told JOE the 6ft 9in monster is more than beatable.
With Haye back in the mix and Joshua edging closer to a world title shot, Froch believes the heavyweight division is really the one to watch at the moment.
JOE: You’ve named Fury as your number one heavyweight. Can anyone beat him at the moment, do you think?
Froch: Yes – he’s heavyweight and a lot of them can punch. When someone lands one on his chin he gets put over, Fury.
He gets up to win, but he’s been put down a couple of times in his career. He’s been on shaky legs and there are questions marks around his ability to take a punch. Although when he does take one he seems to get up and win.
It’s exciting. But any of the heavyweights could (knock him out) – like Deontay Wilder, he’s a massive puncher. It’s something like 36 wins, 35 knock-outs on his record. That’s some KO ratio. If he lands flush on Fury’s chin, he’s putting him to sleep.
You’ve just got to land the shot. But he might not land it – Fury’s big, rangy, awkward and horrible. You saw that with Klitschko. He just fiddled his way through the fight and took the title off the champion who had dominated for over 10 years.
You’ve got to put Fury, with that win, as the best heavyweight at the minute in the world. But that doesn’t mean he’s unbeatable, because he isn’t.
We have seen it so many times in history with all the great heavyweights
It’s heavyweight boxing. Lennox Lewis got knocked out by Hasim Rahman and Oliver McCall and he was one of the best heavyweights who ever lived.
Mike Tyson got beaten by James Douglas and Mike Tyson was an absolute fighting machine. He was the best fighter, in my opinion, in any weight division to ever live. He was just a big, aggressive, angry, horrible fighter.
I met him once and I didn’t even want to go near him because even when he’s smiling, he’s frowning. He’s got this big angry head on him.
I had a good chat with Lennox Lewis but I kept out of Tyson’s way because the bloke frightens me. I don’t know why you’d get in a ring with him.
That was half his game. Intimidation. He is just such a powerful character and such a fighting machine, even though physically he was only 5ft 10in. Even he got knocked out by Douglas, so it just shows that anyone can get beaten.
The whole heavyweight division has just changed now Fury has the title and people like Joshua are coming through.
Exactly you’ve got Deontay Wilder, David Haye, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua coming through – the division is good.
It’s all about timing fighters and passing the torch onto the younger generation.
What’s in it for Haye now? It’s going to be difficult for him. Nobody will want to fight him because he’s a dangerous fighter and the heavyweight rankings are crowded?
He’s got to fight a couple of highly ranked opponents and take a couple of risks and do a good job on them. Then he will put himself in the mandatory spot. I think the only way he’s going to get a chance is if he gets mandatory.
Tyson Fury has already said he won’t fight him. He said he’d rather give up the belt than give him a pay day because he pulled out of two fights, which I think is a bit harsh on Haye.
Yes he pulled out twice, but he pulled out with two genuine injuries. One was a cut that required attention and the other was shoulder rotator cuff surgery that put him out for two years, so it wasn’t like he was saying he had a cough or a cold.
Do you think if the money was on the table and the public wanted it, Fury could turn it down?
Yes I think the fight would happen. Fury’s fighting the rematch with Klitschko, which I think he wins. Then if Haye becomes mandatory, I think he’ll look at that and say ‘you know what, this is a big fight, there’s big money, I’m the champion so I can demand the lion’s share’ and I think it would happen.
It’s going to be hard for Haye, but he’s willing to fight his way back and he’s got such a big name and reputation. Two more fights and he’s going to be in contention for a world title.
He’s already in the top 10 for most of the governing bodies. It would be a hugely entertaining fight to watch to. Haye has got fast hands and he’s a gunslinger. That’s why they call him the Hayemaker because he throws them punches.
We’ve got a real welter of champions at the moment is there anyone coming up that could be making big waves or becoming champion this year?
It’s hard to not get excited about the heavyweight division to be honest. Everyone is getting quite excited about Anthony Joshua because of his Olympic medal and he’s such a nice guy outside of the ring.
I’m actually genuinely excited about Joshua. Heavyweights are always great to watch because they’re always one punch away from winning but they’re always one step away from walking into something.
Callum Smith in the super middleweight division – it has been great to see him step up. The winner of Frampton and Quigg, that is going to be exciting to watch. Lee Selby is world champion and he’s a great little fighter and he’s always on form when he fights.
But the man I’m really excited about it Anthony Joshua and with David Haye coming back and it would be great to see someone like Haye in with Joshua in the next year to 18 months.
Carl Froch is working in partnership with Sony Mobile to integrate the Sony SmartWatch 3 into his fitness regime.
As part of the campaign, Carl used the SmartWatch 3 to monitor and track his fitness and achievements over one week. You can see the results …
https://youtu.be/qj1GDsjJrrM
