Carl Froch Predicts AJ Vs Dubois & Chatting With Turki Al-Sheikh

Speaking exclusively to Coinpoker.com, former boxing world champion Carl Froch shared his predicted outcome ahead of the highly anticipated Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois. Drawing from his own experience, he also shared any advice he would offer each fighter.

Additionally, Froch reveals his hopes to chat with Turki Al-Sheikh at Wembley before the fight.

See the full interview below.

Question: If you could give Anthony Joshua one piece of advice in the dressing room before the Dubois fight, what would you say to him? 

Carl Froch: “I’d probably say the same to both guys. AJ has got a lot of experience fighting on big occasions. He’s been at Wembley a couple of times. The Principality as well in Cardiff and he’s headlined big shows so he’s used to being under the spotlight and he’s used to the pressure. I think he’s under a lot of pressure for this one because if he loses this, this could be the end of him. He probably won’t go away because there’s that much money for him available in Saudi Arabia. He’s kind of already been resurrected from the dead because once he lost to Usyk in that rematch. He was struggling to sell tickets for the (Jermaine) Franklin fight. Like, the place was half empty, according to somebody in the arenas. He was getting booed. So, his fan base was dropping. People weren’t really liking what he was doing, saying, outside of boxing. And he got beat. And when you lose in boxing, you kind of get back down to the drawing board, usually. But he’s been saved by Saudi Arabia because of paying an absurd amount of money.  A ridiculous amount of money for these big fights. For whatever reason they’re doing that for. I can’t think why they’re doing that. But they’re putting a lot of money into sports. And Anthony Joshua has been a beneficiary of this money. And after that fight with Usyk, when you usually go back to the drawing board or rebuild, when you don’t earn the money, he’s been able to fight Franklin. Otto Wallin, (Robert) Helenius.. And then he boxed Francis Ngannou who was a cage fighter. So he’s had four easy fights, but been paid big money. So fair play to him. He’s the one getting in the ring. He’s the one doing the training and getting punched in the head. But most people, when you lose twice to the same guy and you’re no longer World Champion, that’s the end of it. And now he’s got this fight for the IBF world title. You know, my opinion on that. Just get yourself on Froch on Fighting and listen to my take on what I think about this. But this should not be for a world title. I don’t care how many people write letters to me and send me messages, direct messaging me and try and convince me that it is justified that this fight is for a world title. I’ll never ever agree with them. Because you’ve taken the world title off the World Champion just because he, he’s not gonna defend it. World Champion’s still a World Champion. Both fighters that are fighting for the IBF title have lost to the guy that had the IBF title. So they’re fighting for a paper title. I said this should be for a British title. I think the British title is a fantastic belt. I think it builds fighters the correct way. Then you’re ready for a world title. If I can win the British title and defend against people like Robin Reid. And who else did I defend against? Even Tony Dodson and Brian McGee was a former World Champion. I had those 12 rounder fight that went late on and that got me ready then for a 12 round fight with Jean Pascal. And I feel like, that’s how you build a proper fighter to become a World Champion. When they’re World Champion, they stay World Champion, not just the flash in the pan world Champion. So good luck to Dubois and AJ and may the best man win. My advice would be to relax, enjoy yourself, take in the moment because you’ll blink your eyes, you’ll look back and your career’s been over for ten years. Robbie McCracken used to say to me, ‘enjoy it while you can’. It’s like, ‘how can I enjoy it? I’ve got to walk out in front of all these people. I’ve got to fight and I might get knocked out’. But you’ve got to enjoy it because if you enjoy it, a happy fighter is a good fighter. So you’ve got to not get too wrapped up in the politics. Not listen to too much criticism from whoever’s giving it to you. Even if they’re telling the truth, just ignore it. Get in there on the night, enjoy it. So that advice would probably be better for Dubois because Dubois is the one that’s kind of a fish out of the water. He’s the young one coming through.

“But he’s been in there with a few decent fighters, hasn’t he? He’s had a couple of decent ones, Jarrell Miller. He’s just beat (Filip) Hrgovic. And he’s kind of on the run at the minute. Where AJ’s knocking over, knocking over, let’s be honest, the fighters he’s beaten, Franklin, Helenius, Wallin. They’re doormen! Like I’m not being horrible, but they’re not World Championship level fighters.

“They never have been, never will be of that calibre. He’s knocked over four people before this fight. And Dubois is going to go in there and although I think Dubois is going to be under pressure when the headlights hit him. The crowd 96,000, that might just motivate him, that might just bring him on to that next level. Some people rise to the occasion, some people shy away and fall. So it’s fight or flight. And Dubois has had a few rounds with Usyk. He’s been in there with Hrgovic in his last fight. He’s riding high, he’s happy.”

Question: He’s only 26, he’s got potential. When you were 26, you’d had 8 pro fights. You know, this is a massive moment in his career. Do you think Frank Warren’s fast tracked in for his own financial gain, Warren’s seen the pound signs and thought just get him in there before he’s really ready?

Carl Froch: “No, I mean, there’ll be an element of Frank Warren thinking, ‘I’ve got a good fighter here and he can make me some money and it’s good for Queensbury’. But no, I think he’s doing the right thing, he’s making the right decision. He’s doing a good job. And he’s looked after, he’s got the manager, he’s got his trainers, he’s got Don Charles training. So he knows the game. And he ought to be advising him, saying ‘listen, this is a chance for you. This is a chance for you to fight somebody who’s actually not that good’. And that’s not just me saying he’s not a good AJ, that’s the general consensus. Every time he stepped up, he’s got beat. Andy Ruiz, can’t punch the skin off a rice pudding. He absolutely filled in Jarrell Miller with every shot on the board. He doesn’t knock many people out, he’s not a big puncher. He had AJ all over the place, made him quit on his feet. Knocked him down three or four times, made him quit on his feet. So then he steps in with Usyk and gets done twice. You’re going to look at that and say, right, he’s done him. He’s been done twice there. He looks a bit shellshot in his next four fights. Doesn’t really want to go for it. Doesn’t really want to let the shots go. It looks like PTSD, whatever you want to call it, what Simon Jordan said. So, do you say, ‘no I’m not fighting him, I’m not ready for him, this is a dangerous fight, this could be the end of my career’. Or do you say, ‘well hang on a minute, I’ve seen that he’s been beat, I’ve seen him get tum tucked out there, and do the leg jelly damage’. And he struggles and Dubois is a big puncher, so you go for it. Dubois dazed him in sparring apparently. Robert McCracken said to me years ago when I was doing heavy sparring, ‘sparring is the closest thing you can get to fighting’, But he also said, ‘but it’s absolutely nothing like fighting’. I was like, ‘what do you mean?’ You’re wearing gloves, you’re punching each other. And then when I had my pro debut I realised, those little 10 ounce gloves, no head guards. The pressure of the lights and the cameras and the crowd. And you’re in that ring, jabs hurt you. Jabs open your face up if you’re not careful. Sparring, you can let big shots go, land big shots. And you can exchange and have them work on things, practice things, and you can have good spars and tough spars. You can get knocked over in sparring.  But when you’re fighting, and the gloves are hitting, little gloves with a tape underneath, I’m fine with that. Honestly, it’s a different game.”

Question: You’ve had a bit of a war of words with Simon Jordan recently. I think Simon Jordan said Anthony Joshua would enter the realm of immortality with a win over Dubois.

Carl Froch: “Have we got that on record, him saying that, because he’s denying it. He said it. And just for his sake, I like Simon Jordan. I think he’s class. I think he’s very articulate. Even though he’s new to boxing, and he’s from a football background, he does his due diligence. He does his own work. And he’s good. I like his points. I like the way that he doesn’t sit on the fence. He stands by his conviction, and he’ll stick it on people like Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren and Turki Al-Sheikh, he’ll give his opinion and he’ll stand by it. Whether it’s right or wrong. And if he’s wrong, he’ll admit it. He’ll sit back and say, listen, I’ll take that one on the chin. Okay, I stand corrected. So I like that. And he said, if and when AJ beats Dubois – if he beats him, he enters the realm of immortality, that’s what he said. Heard him say it with my own ears. And like I said, that’s a load of bullshit, but there’s no problem. Me and Simon Jordan get on. And we had a chat about two hours after that got released. Yeah, he said ‘what the fuck are you doing Froch?  I never said that’  I said, ‘you did say it and i’m gonna get it. I’ll tell you what I’ll spare you the clip that i’m gonna put on social media. I won’t put it on. You definitely said it, but you’re entitled to your opinion. I’m just keeping my take on it on my channel!’ And we get on me and Simon Jordan. Honestly, we’re going to be playing paddle board. So we’ll settle the argument on the paddle court.”

Question: Anyway the fight (AJ vs Dubois), 19.99 pay per view,which is quite amazing considering it’s 89.99 for Canelo (Alvarez) against (Edgar) Berlanga. It’s quite surprising that Dubois AJ is so much cheaper. But I think it’s to prevent people streaming it and watching it for free. That’s the plan. 

Carl Froch: “You have to remember that the model that they’re using for the pay per view and the ticket sales on the night, I mean, they’ll still put the tickets up because they still want to make money. Tickets won’t be cheap. But they don’t need to make money. Because they’ve already got so much. They don’t need to make money. Saudi Arabians, they lose money on events. No promoter wants to lose money. Frank Warren doesn’t want to lose money. Eddie Hearn doesn’t want to lose money. Especially not Eddie Hearn. He doesn’t want to lose any money. He wants to make money. 100%. He wants to take that money. Trust me. Turki Al-Sheikh is running the boxing model now on a profitable business. So he’s able to inject 50 million quid for one fight and not worry that he’s only going to make 10 million on the gate and 10 million on pay per view. So he’s 30 million down. He’s not worried. And when you’re, when you’ve got that luxury, you can put the pay per view up for 19.90 or 19.95 to make it accessible to the fans. So I think it’s brilliant. It is good. It is great that people probably might be put off illegally streaming it and, and getting a stream that’s probably not so good or they don’t know who’s gonna be commentating on it. You know, get yourself on Sky or DAZN or TNT, buy the fight view 20 quid and you’re getting value. Because 20 quid’s reachable for most people to sit and watch a good boxing match at home. Very true. But the only reason he is able to do it is because Al-Sheikh has got plenty of money hasn’t he?”

Question: Do you think boxing will eventually go with the kind of UFC model contracts, contracts with fighters?

Carl Froch: “Potentially. Yeah. We’ve had the debate. I’ve talked about it quite a few times with Eddie Hearn. Talking about the model, but the need for boxing promoters may cease to be a thing. You might not need promoters. If you’ve got the broadcaster, as an investor, if you’ve got the broadcaster and you’ve got the fighters. Then you’ve got the fight. I don’t think it’s gonna happen overnight because fighters are under contract and then the promoters have got the contracts with the broadcasters.  If Turki Al-Sheikh is that interested in boxing and he loves the sport that much, which for me he does appear to really love boxing. He’s a big fan of it and that’s why I’m a fan of Turki Al-Sheikh because he’s a fan of boxing. And I think if he keeps doing what he’s doing, he keeps putting these big fights on, he’s brought a fight to Britain, brought it to Wembley Stadium. Didn’t think that was going to happen. He’s now making the pay per view accessible to more fans. He says, ‘I’m going to open the doors and the floodgates for more people, more eyes on boxing’. So it’s brilliant that Turki Al-Sheikh is doing this. For our, for my beloved sport and the people that love boxing, they should be really happy about it. I think, I think it will eventually, not straight away, if he does have his Dana White day (Turki) then why do you need these promoters? You need advisors, you need people managing, but you don’t need a promoter. It’s part of the kind of overall spectacle, a bit WWE style, you know, you can have Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn. Table, ladders, chairs match or something. Get them involved.

“Listen, Eddie Hearn is what he is. He’s had a great career as a promoter. Frank Warren’s in his 70s. He’s a baron, he needs to down his tools. He’s got to get ready to retire soon. And then you’ve got Ben Shalom now, has been brought to the mix. And what that does is that just opens up the doors for all of the fighters to mix. So it depends on which commentary you like. Obviously Sky Sports would have sold nearly all the pay per views if they still had Carl the Cobra Froch on there commentating.But I’m not on there anymore because I’m on Froch on fighting.”

Question: What’s your take on Conor McGregor saying he’ll run for the role of Irish president?

Carl Froch: “I love that. I think it’s great, because he’s identified that there’s a big problem and he wants to sort it out. He grew up on the streets, didn’t he? He was a council estate kid. He didn’t have anything when he was growing up and he’s absolutely smashed it. I know I like to give him some stick, and sometimes you try and poke the bear a little bit, and then you’re like, you might get the fight just for the fans – like the Jake Paul stuff. I’ve got a lot of respect for Conor McGregor because he’s took the fights and he’s had his ankles and legs snapped, and he’s had his head caved in a few times, and he’s been strangled out, choked out, but he gets in there, puts on a performance and he took the UFC to the next level as far as I’m concerned. He was the main guy in the UFC at the time, I don’t think he should be fighting now. I know he wants to fight, but I don’t think he should. That’s my advice, for what it’s worth. But, running for President of Ireland, I think it’s great, I think it’s brilliant. Fair play to him. Whether or not he’ll get elected is a different thing.”

Question: Have you ever considered a move into politics?

Carl Froch: “I think it’s a waste of time because I think that the politicians, whether you’re a Democrat or Republican, whether you’re left wing or right wing, or extreme right wing or extreme left wing, which you’ve got, I don’t think that that ultimately is going to change anything. I think the people above them, the people that actually make the decisions, the puppet masters,  won’t change their plan on global domination. Ultimately, I think that an all wily and draconian western world will be inevitable. I think people like [Donald] Trump getting in will slow it down and put a spanner in the works but I think unfortunately, the west at the minute, if we stay on the same path we’re on, is doomed – but we’re not here to talk about politics and this might be the reason I’m not running for Prime Minister because I might be wrong. I’ve got my beliefs, I’ve got my opinions which I’m entitled to. I can’t really complain about it because I don’t vote, I think it’s a waste of time.”

Question: What’s your prediction for Canelo v Berlanga this Saturday?

Carl Froch: “Probably (a straightforward win for Canelo Alvarez). I can’t believe he’s still fighting. He’s been going for years. Is he getting on for 65? He’s a national treasure in Mexico. They absolutely love him, he can fight as well. He only fights on national holidays in Mexico now. Fair play to him, he has fought everybody. He is allowed to have a couple of easy fights. I know Caleb Plant wants his rematch, but he got done in round 11. He has literally fought everybody. He lost to [Floyd] Mayweather. He’s fought Triple G (Gennady Golovkin), what, is it three times? You’ve got to give him his credit. He’s been beaten, but he’s never been badly beaten and he’s got that absolutely fantastic KO against Amir Khan, which I don’t know why, but it always brings a smile to my face, that one – and there’s nothing personal there. It’s just one of those knockouts where, you know when you get chinned and you roll over and you’re just on the floor, you’re just spread eagled.”

Question: Amir Khan has had your name in his mouth once again, labeling you as “bitter” & “jealous”. Do you have a response to his comments? 

Carl Froch: “Listen, I’m not the one trying to sell a poxy wedding venue that looks like it’s surrounded by a recycling centre in the middle of Bolton for £12 million and made myself a laughing stock. What a bad venture that was. If he wants to come and take some advice on property investment from the Cobra – residential, now commercial, mainly commercial, new builds, building, retaining, don’t sell much, retain if you don’t need to. It’s a working asset. It’s more valuable if you own it. It depends if you’re hedging it. It depends what your loan to value is, but the Cobra is cash rich. You know what I mean? I’m not in that spot and I’ve sold a couple but retained 90 percent of my stock and if you do it right, in the correct areas, with the right tenants, the right commercial leases, you won’t be in a position where you’re trying to sell a wedding venue in the middle of a council estate in Bolton, surrounded by old fridges and dirty mattresses and dumping sites, which is not good. And I’m not gloating. I’ve made him an offer, but he didn’t come back to me. There’s no beef between me and Khan really. He stepped out of line, I straightened him up on ‘Froch on Fighting,’ get a look at the Amir Khan roast. He didn’t come back with anything. I roasted him. I invited him on for a chat. He went quiet. To me that’s a win, isn’t it? It’s a KO.”

Question: De La Hoya has caused controversy by openly saying he’s going to be in attendance to watch UFC 306 instead of the Canelo fight. Is that sending the wrong message to Boxing fans?

Carl Froch: “He’s going to say something to have a little dig, but he’ll be watching the fight. UFC is a grown up sport and for me, it’s a good model, the way the fighters fight each other. I want to see the Jon Jones fight with Tom Aspinall. I’m getting into UFC. That’s the fight you want to see because Tom Aspinall is actually the interim heavyweight champ and we haven’t got two or three or four titles in UFC. But when you’ve got Aspinall, who’s the interim, you’re like, well, who’s the heavyweight champ? Well, it’s Jon Jones. He’s getting on, he’s ready for retirement and you can’t give him stick because look at his form, look at his record – but that’s the fight I want to see.”

Question: BJ Saunders has not fought since 2021 is not eyeing an imminent return but will we ever see him fight again?

Carl Froch: “I don’t know. Can he lose that weight? Can he get back in shape? Is he motivated or is he just looking at getting money? Because that’s the wrong reason to come back to boxing. There’s been a lot of talk about Eubank Jr, they hate each other. It’s quite an interesting fight because Eubank Jr, I mean, how many years ago was that? I’ve been retired for 10 years, they fought before I retired I think. But anyway, it was a long time ago and the first fight was great because Billy Joe Saunders dominated the first half of the fight and in my opinion, Chris Eubank Jr dominated the second half of the fight – and I think it was a split decision. It was a very close fight and Billy Joe Saunders, probably rightly so, had his hand held, but it was close. It could have gone either way, so a rematch would have been great a few years ago. Right now, I’m not so sure, but there is an appeal. We get excited about fights that shouldn’t be happening now, don’t we?”

Question: Eubank Jr. next fights on October 12 where he faces Kamil Szeremeta on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol. Bit of an underwhelming match?

Carl Froch: “It’ll just be another knockover fight, won’t it? It’ll be a glorified sparring session just to get him back in the ring after his year layoff, which is the problem with Chris Eubank Jr, what is he, 34-years-old? He’s having a year out of the ring at a time. I don’t think he’s got any ambition to become an actual bonafide world champion. I think Chris Eubank Jr just wants to make money and that’s it. If pro boxing is not for you, that’s fine. I get it. It’s a tough sport and it’s a lifestyle and you’ve got to be 100 percent committed and dedicated – and Chris Eubank Jr isn’t. Well, he’s had some tragedies in his family as well to be fair. He has, it was a crying shame what happened to his brother, just tragic, and to cope with that and deal with it, I get it. One can only imagine, I’ve got two brothers and it’s very, very sad, but what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. God sends tests, sometimes punishing tests for you to pass and Chris Eubank Jr, I think he’s come to terms with what’s happened. He still wants to fight, so let’s see him get in there and build himself now and have a good finish to his career. He’s 34-years-old, he’s fighting this guy whose name we can’t pronounce, no disrespect to the geezer – but he’s a nobody in the boxing world, so it’s another gimme for Eubank. After that, what’s he going to do? He’s calling Canelo [Alvarez] out, but I don’t know if he’s big enough. Canelo’s now a complainant at super middleweight and he’s a real strong force at that weight. It’s an interesting division though, the super middleweight with Canelo, Caleb Plant and David Benavidez as well, it’s a great division. I feel like I could have been in the mix with them, they’ve been involved in some great fights.”

Question: You must’ve seen Caleb Plant’s interview where he’s called you out for a fight, you’ve said you would only do a big fight against Jake Paul, why do you think Caleb is calling you out? 

Carl Froch: “What’s he saying? He said you would only do a big fight against Jake Paul, I think he’s questioning why you wouldn’t fight anyone else. I told him that I wouldn’t disrespect boxing enough to think that I can get back in the ring at world level and compete with a world level, elite champion at 47-years-old. But somebody like Jake Paul, I wouldn’t really train for, because I train anyway. I hit the bag for half an hour every other day. I still lift weights, I’m still in good shape. Don’t be disillusioned by the Cobra’s age. I retired without getting badly beaten up. Retired a champion with belts intact, and that’s kept me fresh, but not fresh enough to jump in the room with world champs. I do think that I’d be able to hold my own, but that’s in my head. I might learn a very hard lesson if I actually went through with it. But somebody like Jake Paul, come on, do me a favour. I’ve already said what I need to say about Jake Paul. He can’t fight. You’ve seen him fight against Tommy Fury, who’s not even British level and he got beat. Full stop.”

Question: Tyler Denny Vs Hamzah Sheeraz. All the talk is about Hamza’s talent but Tyler has always been an underdog and people are quick to write him off?

Carl Froch: “Hamzah Sheeraz is probably one of the best, if not the best prospect now coming out of Britain. That’s how highly I rate him. Ben Whittaker though? Yeah, Ben Whittaker’s a good fighter. He’s kind of proven at amateur level and he’s expected to do great things, but he’s still got a lot to show me in a professional boxing ring against a fighter that’s coming to win – that’s actually a good fighter. Hamzah Sheeraz has come through the raw way on the British level and there’s no guarantee that he’s gonna step up and become a world champion. If I had to say who was more nailed on to become a world champion, Ben Whittaker or Hamzah Sheeraz, bearing in mind we’re gonna pick Ben Whittaker’s opponents more wisely and given the safer route and be quite cute with him because he’s a big name, he’s a massive name. I’ve got nothing against him, good looking kid, flash when he gets in the ring and exciting to watch. Olympic silver medalist, but Hamza Sheeraz is a fantastic talent and he’s one to watch in the future.”

Question: Prediction and fight breakdown for Fabio Wardley vs Frazer Clarke 2?

Carl Froch: “Looking forward to that one, which way does that one go? Does Frazer Clarke grow from those 12 rounds? I thought Frazer Clarke just did enough to win. I think it ended up a draw, both got their hands raised at the end. I thought Frazer Clarke probably did enough to win but [Fabio] Wardley came into it, but he got his nose smashed early doors. That was really hindering for him. I know what it’s like to get your nose broke in the first part of a fight, or break your hand, and the blood’s going down the back of your throat, and you’re struggling to breathe, and you’re thinking, oh, if I get another one on the end of the nose, what’s going to happen now? Is it going to move to the other side of my face? It’s not nice thinking about an injury to your face when you’re trying to fight, or if your hand is broken. Fabio Wardley got through that, so if he doesn’t get clocked in the nose this time, he’ll be able to move a little bit more. The fight is going to be won before the fight and what I mean by that is, who wants it more? Not so much psychology, because that can go out the window during the fight after two or three rounds of getting hit in the face. Obviously Frazer Clarke has got more experience, he’s a top amateur, he’s an Olympic bronze medallist I think. Fabio Wardley comes from a white collar background so he’s kind of playing at pro game and he’s ended up being quite gifted and skillful, timing wise and skillset wise, he’s good. The first fight was close, so it’s down to who’s fit enough and who’s put that work and that dedication in at the gym. Who has got up in the morning and gone out when it’s raining, who has done that extra round of sparring, who has done extra strength and conditioning sessions? That’s going to be the deciding factor. It’ll be a great fight, I think it’ll be close again. It’s a good match-up because Wardley moves and tries to box, but Frazer Clark cuts the rail off and forces him to have a fight. It’s just a good fight, one I’m looking forward to. It should be in Britain, the British title should be in Britain but if it’s out there in Saudi Arabia they’re getting paid better so fair play to them.”

Question: Will you be at Wembley for Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois?

Carl Froch: “I might do. I’m sitting on the fence at the minute. I’ve got options. I’m hopefully going to have a chat with Turki Al-Sheikh about maybe going down there but also talkSPORT are showing the broadcast on radio and then they’re airing it. I’ve got options, but I’ve obviously got my own channel, Froch on Fighting, so it’s valuable for my opinion to be on my channel. I might go down and I might be incognito because I’ve been invited by three people to sit ringside. I know a lot of wealthy businessmen, I know people within the sponsorship area and obviously, Turki Al-Sheikh, we might be having a chat before the fight. It’s like, what do I do? Do I just set up Froch on Fighting and stream it, commentating myself? Go and sit where I’ve got some good wifi. Out here at the end of the sticks we’ve got this overhead cable and it’s not giving out the bandwidth or the megabytes, it’s just too slow. I’ve got a friend of mine who’s got a 200mb upload speed. I’m new to all this business, all this streaming. I might shoot it off, settle, get on Froch on Fighting, do a Froch-a-long. When you’ve been in that ring, in front of all those people at the stadium and you’ve done it and you’re the main reason that everybody’s turned up – I’m not saying like, oh I’ve been there, seen it, done it, got the t-shirt, but I have, you know what I mean? Although I like sitting in the crowd and getting the atmosphere, I don’t get left alone because I’m the Cobra, four-time world champ, and a Hall of Famer. The people’s champ. I’ll do pictures and I’ll have chats but then I can’t enjoy the boxing. It’s a tricky one but for me personally, to go and put myself in that environment, it doesn’t really excite me at all.”

Question: Final word on AJ vs Dubois, where is your money going?

Carl Froch: “If I was gonna have a chunky bet on it, I’d bet on AJ to win just because that’s the safe bet and that’s the more obvious bet. But if I was getting good odds, I’d say Dubois by KO and I like to be outside the box a little bit. I need to see and hear some stories back from training, I need to know how the sparring is going. I used to watch AJ spar, I’d think he’s in shape for this one, then I’d look and go, he’s taken his foot off the gas for this one. He’s not really motivated or he doesn’t really like the spar anymore and you think, that’s not going to help him in the fight. Then you watch the fight and you think, yeah, he’s not done the sparring and now he’s just been beaten. Dubois, apparently, has got that bit between his teeth. He’s on the crest of this wave. He’s had two good wins. Hopefully he doesn’t drive himself mad and put too much pressure on himself. Prediction wise, you can’t say that Dubois doesn’t knock out Joshua. You can’t say that AJ’s got the chin built to take a punch off Dubois, because Dubois can bang. We’ve seen AJ badly hurt against really a non-puncher in [Andy] Ruiz. I’ve never seen either of them rendered unconscious to be fair. I don’t want to give a prediction on this and say that AJ gets knocked out by Dubois and then change my mind. At the minute, I can’t separate them, but the smart one is on Anthony Joshua to beat him, whether it goes the distance and he wins on points, just on experience and boxing and moving, keeping out of the way and not getting hit with that jab and not copping that right hand. Or whether he actually catches Dubois, because Dubois is quite easy to hit. He gets hit with big shots. I mentioned Joshua is a big puncher. Anything can happen. We’ve seen it with bigger and better fighters than both of these guys. Lennox Lewis got knocked out by Hasim Rahman and Oliver McCall, flattened. Mike Tyson got beat, how did that happen? Anything can happen, I’m looking forward to it.”