'On the cobbles' – Carl Froch believes he could beat Oleksandr Usyk in a street fight, but not Anthony Joshua or Tyson Fury

17/04/2024 10:30

Carl Froch told talkSPORT he believes he could beat Oleksandr Usyk in a street fight.

The British boxing legend and former three-time super-middleweight world champion is now a renowned boxing pundit.

As such, he still spends a lot of time around the sport and has been in close contact with the current crop of elite heavyweights.

Due to the fact he spent years as a fighter, Froch has said that he always sizes someone up for a potential scrap whenever he meets them – even boxing’s big men in the glamour division.

Froch explained on the talkSPORT talkBOXING show in July 2023: "I stand next to Oleksandr Usyk and he’s about 6ft 2ins/6ft 3ins.

“I look at him and I think, ‘Yeah, I fancy my chances.’

“Not in a boxing ring, in a street fight.

“He’d probably hammer me. But what I’m saying is – when I size somebody up, I think to myself, ‘Yeah, I can have a go here, get hold of him, have a roll around on the cobbles for example.’

“But you look at someone like Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua, I just think, ‘Nah, I’m alright to be honest.’

“Too physically big and strong. They’ll get hold of you and they’ll ragdoll you.

“That’s what Anthony Joshua should’ve done to Oleksandr Usyk in the rematch, used his size and strength.

“That’s why it was so frustrating to watch.”

On May 18, Tyson Fury will get his chance to show how a bigger man can deal with Usyk.

However, the Ukrainian will be confident that he can overcome his size disadvantage once again and emerge victorious… so long as the fight is not on the cobbles.