Froch: Judgement night for Joshua

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The Gloves Are Off: The Debate is On Demand now

Anthony Joshua’s rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr is a hugely decisive moment in his career which could define his future in the sport, says Sky Sports expert Carl Froch.

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If Anthony wants to regain those world heavyweight titles then he simply must win, but another conclusive defeat could force him to seriously consider his next move.

Hopefully he can pull out a career-best performance, because I think he’s going to need it. We all want to see him really perform, keep his mind focused, stick to a game-plan and pull off the win. A knockout like Lennox Lewis did against Hasim Rahman would be the ultimate comeback, and just sets the record straight. It would be ideal.

We have seen what he needs to do to win. He can box and move and when he landed that left hook he put Ruiz Jr over, but the problem he’s got is that Ruiz Jr now has grown massively in confidence. He’s started to believe in himself. Instead of going into the ring thinking ‘Can I do it?’ He now knows he can do it.

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Sky Sports sets the scene ahead of an historic night of boxing

If Joshua was to lose in an epic fight, or on a close decision, then there are still massive opportunities out there for him. We might want to see it again – and there are still those big fights against Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury. I want to see both of those fights.

But it totally depends on the manner of defeat. If Joshua was to suffer another bad loss like the first fight, then he would have to answer some hard questions. He’s made enough money and if he loses two on the spin, then you would have to question why he might carry on?

I’m a guy who has never been knocked out. I’ve been put down twice in my career and got up to win, so I can’t relate to being knocked out. When someone says to me about getting knocked out, I wouldn’t fancy that.

If I did start getting knocked out, I would turn it in straight away. I’ve got kids and my livelihood. My health is more important than money where my kids are concerned.

It’s not nice getting punched in the face, it’s not nice getting beat in boxing, it’s not a nice sport to be on the losing end.

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Watch Andy Ruiz Jr vs Anthony Joshua 2 in Saudi Arabia on Saturday December 7, live on Sky Sports Box Office.