Outspoken former super middleweight champion Carl Froch doesn’t believe that Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua should one day be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Froch, 49, retired from boxing in 2014 after knocking out George Groves in the eighth round of their rematch at Wembley Stadium. In 2023, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame himself.

Froch – known as “The Cobra” – spent his entire 33-2 (24 KOs) career under the guidance of trainer Robert McCracken, the same trainer who Joshua opted to leave in 2021 following the first of two losses to Oleksandr Usyk.

It was under McCracken, however, when Joshua was at his best. He twice held each of the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles over a five-year period but Froch doesn’t believe that should be enough for “AJ” to enter the hallowed walls in Canastota.

“At the time [of being champion], AJ fought most of the people who were mandatory for his belts,” Froch told Betpack.

“He beat Wladimir Klitschko and fought the likes of Alexander Povetkin, so he has got names on his record. But he never fought Deontay Wilder, and he never fought Luis Ortiz when Ortiz was a dangerous name.

Then you look at the way he [twice] lost to Usyk, the way he got badly knocked out by Daniel Dubois and the defeat to Andy Ruiz, who hasn’t got many other significant wins on his record. Unfortunately, Joshua’s record eliminates him from being in the Hall of Fame. It’s not me simply saying he doesn’t deserve it or he isn’t good enough. Just look down the record. There are too many negatives, and I think that will eliminate him from being selected for the International Boxing Hall of Fame. 

“Eddie Hearn once said Joshua should be in the Hall of Fame because of what he’s done for boxing. I disagree. The International Boxing Hall of Fame should be based on results, who you beat and who beat you. Yes, Joshua is a two-time heavyweight champion, but he’s also been flattened a few times. You have to be realistic. I don’t think he gets in.”

Fury, too, has twice held major belts in the banner division. His title triumphs were impressive, too, as he ended the long reign of Klitschko in 2015 and thrashed Wilder in a 2020 rematch. Not good enough, says Froch.

“Fury hasn’t got enough names on his record either. His biggest wins are Wladimir Klitschko and Deontay Wilder, and he has now lost twice to Usyk. Where are all the other significant wins on Tyson Fury’s career that put green ticks in all the boxes? There aren’t any. 

“So, unfortunately, they won’t be joining ‘The Cobra’ anytime soon, or Roberto Durán, Sugar Ray Leonard, Muhammad Ali, Roy Jones Jnr, Bernard Hopkins, Floyd Mayweather and the other names in the upper echelons of boxing.”

Joshua and Fury are expected to meet later in the year if they beat Kristian Prenga and Mariusz Wach respectively this weekend. Should that fight occur, the victor would strengthen their legacy.

Froch doesn’t necessarily agree, however. He is also taking issue with the reported plan to push back the start time of Joshua-Fury to the early hours of the morning so it can draw a wide global audience.

“Why are we accommodating American television for a British superfight?” Froch continued. “I’ve got reservations about whether it’s even a superfight now anyway, because there are no world titles at stake, they’ve both been beaten and they’re both past their best.

“It is a fight I’m going to watch and, like Eddie Hearn said, when these two come together you get interested and excited to a degree. But come on, I’m not that excited. If those two didn’t fight, I wouldn’t care less. Six or seven years ago, it was probably the biggest fight in British boxing history. Now they’re both past their best and it’s a money grab. It’s probably third or fourth on the list of the biggest British fights.

“I also wouldn’t hold [London mayor] Sadiq Khan responsible if it doesn’t happen, because logistically, with Transport for London, the police and British Transport Police, they’ve all got to look at nearly 80,000 fans leaving the stadium at four in the morning and ask where they’re all going to go. It’s a potential fucking nightmare, isn’t it?”