Carl Froch Slams 'Paper Champion' With Brutal Reality Check: "You're Not Fooling Anyone"

Carl Froch has called out a big-name boxer and questioned their right to call themselves a world champion. The former super-middleweight world champion aimed his criticism at the upcoming IBF heavyweight title fight between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois.

Froch, who held world titles at super-middleweight from 2008 to 2015, didn't hold back in his assessment of the situation. He argued that the IBF title shouldn't have been taken from Oleksandr Usyk before his rematch with Tyson Fury.

In an interview with iFL TV, Froch said:

"Why take the IBF title off Usyk before the rematch with Fury? You know as well as I do it's politics. They've made that title become vacant so AJ Dubois can fight for a title. It's a f******g paper title mate. It's not real."

Froch argued that Usyk remains the rightful champion, having won the belt from Joshua in 2021 and successfully defended it twice. The Ukrainian vacated the title before his planned December 2023 rematch with Tyson Fury.

The outspoken pundit and YouTuber predicted Joshua will win the fight against Dubois, set for September 21. However, he didn't rule out an upset, saying Dubois might "chin" Joshua.

Froch added: "Whoever wins that fight between 'AJ' and Dubois, and I'm not just giving 'AJ' stick here, Dubois as well, 'cause he might chin 'AJ', it's possible, I think AJ wins, but you can't really call yourself champion. Alright, you'll have the IBF world belt but the champ is Usyk. That's it, full stop, there is nothing else to say."

The situation could be resolved if the winner of Dubois-Joshua faces the victor of the Usyk-Fury bout. That would unify all the belts and create an undisputed heavyweight champion.