Carl Froch gave his reaction to what he thought about Anthony Joshua’s weight ahead of tonight’s boxing match against Alexander Povetkin at Wembley stadium.
Carl Froch knows a thing or two about boxing weigh-ins.
A dedicated professional in his day, I can’t recall him ever missing weight during his professional career.
Certainly in the final third of it anyway when he was literally fighting world champions and world-class operators almost every fight.
Joshua weighed-in at 17 stone 8 lbs and looked in good condition ahead of the Povetkin showdown tonight.
His three-month hard slog has certainly got him ready physically for tonight. Mentally, only time will tell if he is switched on when that first bell goes.
Speaking on the weight straight after Joshua tipped the scales former world champion turned Sky Sports pundit Froch said:
“That’s a matter advantage; height, reach and weight. But Povetkin is used to it. He’s been in there with the big guns and he’s performed well. His only lose coming to Klitschko. He won’t be worried about that Povetkin. But it’s a big advantage for AJ.”
Typically where an advantage like this counts is if the bigger guy can lean on the smaller guy early on and use his perceived superior strength to essentially grind the smaller guy down and break his spirit as the fight goes on.
Breaking Povetkin’s spirit however is going to be a tall order.
This weight advantage if used to correct effect can drain the smaller man of his energy as the fight goes on. In theory.
But it’s debatable if Joshua will opt for this kind of strategy or instead look to box at middle to long-range with his added reach advantage, as well.
Both guys have the punching power to hurt one another tonight, that’s what makes it so exciting.
