AJ v Ngannou is a CASH grab and it’s NOT GOOD for heavyweight boxing 

He just wants to fight the man who just beat Fury can’t hate on that

It's a smart move by his team, actually. He can't get Fury in the ring, so tries to make Fury look bad by beating two opponents who he struggled against. As always, it could backfire massively, but at this stage in Joshua's career, what has he got to lose.

I think AJ fighting Ngannou makes all the sense in the world. There is the curiosity now about Ngannou since he beat fury of what else he can do in the heavyweight division, and it gives AJ the chance to better furys performance. Whether Ngannou is a boxing novice or not, he brings more than most of the people out there for AJ to fight. I do wonder about Carl sometimes.

Watchin’ NGannou in boxing game is like 10 times more exciting than 99% HW. This fight is 100% legit.

Shocker Froch ain’t happy with AJ 😂😂😂😂😂

Joshua is just chasing better results than fury against past opponents to build up Joshua Vs fury. Hence the Wallin fight, wilder is a no go after the parker display, so this makes sense if Fury is next

Eddie hasn't done a 180. The fight was a mismatch and cash grab but since Ngannou won it, this fight is now legitimate.

The atmosphere is always abysmal out there. It's great for the top tier fighters making huge money, but it's terrible for everyone else.

I don't mind this fight, to be honest. AJ has to stay busy while he waits for the fight with Hrgovic and the IBF belt

Cobra: “AJ should be fighting for a heavyweight world title!” There is none to fight for Fury/Usyk have them all!

Everyone done 180 after the performance... just like you said WILDER Would KO AJ "and then you got new information with there last performances" SAID FROCH .. So you cant tell people to stop clowning you for the exact same thing your clowning others for .. this is the perfect fight .. keep distmantling Furys opponents he struggled with so it gets people wanting the Fury v AJ fight more and more until the point Fury cant avoid it

If AJ beats Ngannou convincingly, that sends a serious message to Fury but that’s if. I saw some boxing pundits stating that Wilder had only boxed one round in 26 months, hence his poor performance against Parker. Ngannou was out for 28 months due to knee surgery, he wasn’t a boxer and had never had a professional boxing match yet gave the number one heavyweight on the planet one of his toughest fights and I thought was lucky to get the decision. Ngannou will not be easy for anyone, he’s a natural fighter, extremely powerful and incredibly strong. This is not a given for AJ.

I think it’s a valid fight. It could take a while for the IBF fight to happen and this could create a narrative around the Fury vs AJ fight (assuming AJ steam rolls Ngannou). It’s not a bad fight and we’re are in the entertainment game!

It is good for heavyweight boxing in terms of keeping the boxers active.

Great show guys. I dont think we can say we are missing out on having the fights here in the UK, because the reality is the fights were not happening here, Its taken the Saudi big bucks to get these monster cards on.

It's not a disgrace, ngannou proved himself by fighting fury so he deserves to fight at the top of the heavyweight class

If AJs next fight was to be a world title fight, it would mean he would have to wait around until the ibf strap became vacant. Much rather see him fighting again and quickly then fight hergovic in the summer.

Joshua is staying busy as he knows there’s no guarantee that the ibf will be vacant by March, he will fight ngannou in March, then hrgovic in the summer for the title, then the fury usyk winner at the end of the year, as a tick over non title fight this is the best move for Joshua

"Since losing to Usyk Joshua has fought Franklin, Hilarious and Wally" 😂😂😂

You can’t compare fury fighting Francis as the wbc heavyweight champ instead of going for undisputed. AJ is a challenger so what’s the problem? AJ didn’t decline a title fight for this and has been fighting every 4 months so would be ready to fight for a vacant title in the summer. Use sense and not just emotion

Boxing for me is done… Zero interest, the money has taken over the sport. The promoters have wrecked it Money Money Money

“AJ should be fighting for a world title in his next fight” - no belts available to fight for. IBF at some point, don’t know when exactly, so AJ needs to just get fighting to stay active and stay earning. Zhang? Good fight, but he’s fought him before… Hrgovic? Depending when vacant IBF can take place. No guaranteed date. Wilder? He’s done now after Parker beat him. I would still watch the fight but Wilder won’t bring as much money or views as Ngannou. So by all this current situation in boxing, Ngannou makes the most sense and most money. AJ has no belts at the moment and no belts available right now to fight for, so he is free from mandatories or any Champion responsibilities, so whatever makes the most money…

If Froch was in his prime now, he would be front and centre in this Saudi Arabia exhibition boxing matches earning the most money and we would all love him for it

As an America. MMA fan who hasn't paid attention to boxing since it was last popular in the usofa in the 1990s I am confused. How is this just a money grab? In MMA you put guys in the most intriguing machups. Ngannou is still an interesting question as a boxer. I want to see it. Maybe Fury underperformed or maybe Ngannou is that good as an unconventional boxer. This fight will help answer that question. It is also the first boxing match I will buy on ppv in about.25 years.

Ngannou put on a good show against Fury so why not see how good he is against AJ. It keeps AJ busy and if AJ has an impressive win it all builds for future fights.

There's not enough of Rachel in these videos (total babe) ❤

Frochy calling Robert Hillainious "HILARIOUS" IS absolutely HILARIOUS!!!!! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

How many fans were there at Wembley Carl?? Been looking everywhere and I can't find the number!

He fought HILARIOUS (hilennius) 😂😂

i would love for carl to answer the question honestly 50 million to fight in saudi no atmosphere, or 10 million to fight in UK in a packed noisy stadium, fighters are going for the money not for the fans

Froch can you get detailed next about the much anticipated Callum vs B fight that's around the corner ✌🌟

This fight is only bad for Carl Froch, the same Carl Froch who energetically called out none other than Jake Paul.

DAZN and the Saudi’s have destroyed boxing in such a short time. The belts don’t matter because no one defends against the contenders. The heavyweight division is worthless. The big fights won’t get made because they will wait until the right moment and that moment passed a bit ago.

Froch called Helenius … Hilarous lol I didn’t know if that was a mistake or not 😂

Happy New Year. It will certainly make money this fight. Nice view of La Concha mountain in the background

I like the idea of AJ smoking 2 opponents that Fury struggled with I think it’s a solid enough alternative buildup to Joshua Fury now that the Wilder fight is dead.

Since Ngannou acquitted himself well vs Fury, why not fight AJ? Sure its a money grab but its still a risk for AJ. He will win though.

I'm glad Karen Froch is sticking to his guns and not back peddling like talkSPORT

Ngannou having spent his whole career pre Fury had one great advantage. He knew how to grapple, & he knew how to stop Fury using his bulk. Add in the fact that he can bang, he also showed good ring craft versus Fury, I think an AJ fight will be highly entertaining. I always wonder which AJ will show up, but with Ben in his corner I hope the AJ of old reappears. I was close to the ring for AJ vs V Klitschko, that's what we want to see again. NOT another jab fest like the Usyk 1 fight.

It's definitely a cash-grab, but it's also a chance for Joshua to embarrass Fury, if he performs in much better fashion; for instance, delivers a spectacular KO finish.

Glad you reminded us about the 80, 000 Carl, I'd forgotten, dare I say. Phew. Nice 1 fella 👍🥊

Completely agree with Carl's comments at the end about the atmosphere at Saudi fights. For me it really takes away from the experience. The energy of the crowd at British fights is contagious. It makes you excited. At the Saudi fights, if I stop watching the screen, it might as well be the golf that's on

As you’ve said yourself Carl, things change. What EH said at the time was what everyone was saying, your opinion as well as everyone else’s changes with new information. FNG’s performance changed the landscape and now it’s a fight people wanna see. He brings more jeopardy than Wallin, Wilder, Whyte etc so why not?! Unless he’s fighting Hrgovic for a title this one makes the most sense with the timing. Zhang is for another day, a title defence etc or after any potential Fury fight

Given that Carl Froch has been in the ring with some of the most dangerous men during his career, he still looks well.

0:13 “this episode is bought to you”. Brought to you. Brought Carl, not bought. Good man.

This is great for heavyweight boxing. Any fight is great for heavyweight boxing as the top heavyweight boxers rarely fight eachother.

I fail to see the problem with it. Ngannou needs a re-test after Fury went in there and made boxing look questionable. Wilder is basically finished and this is a perfect headline to another blockbuster card in Saudi.

Im not going to lie, Im very interested on how things play out. The only question is: Will AJ look for a dominitaing win and make Fury look awful? Or will he show too much respect for Ngannou and play it safe? And with the other options of Hrgovic and Zhang, AJ has taken the easiest fight. Yeah its a cash grab, I hope the undercard is good though.

Eddie Hearn should take up Darts, he'd floor Luke 'The Nuke' with the amount of 180's he's knocked out over the years.

Bang on the button is what carls you tube should be called . Cannot agree more on carls views on all aspects . Top man

This is apart of Aj’s process of gain back even more confidence’s than he once had by taking on a dangerous fight ( Power wise ) but him knowing his boxing skills are a little more superior to Ngannou. AJs preparing to wipe these guys out. he’s only gotten better every fight since he’s lost to Andy 🤷🏽‍♂️

I agree with everything Carl said. The warrior mentality is dead in boxing - its all about money 💰 these days.

I noticed the lack of atmosphere watching on the tv.. More like a tennis match than electrifying boxing....

Top stuff champ and Rachel. Question for the cobra, would you swap 80,000 at Wembley for your share of 80,000,000 in Saudi? Thanks for everything and look forward to the next one, keep up the good work 👊🏻

Carl seems to have a problem with AJ and has for a while now ; funnily enough seems to have been since AJs comments about his nose ; its odd because the comment was about McCrackens inability as a trainer and not about Carls appearance. To take that so personally hints at quite a pitiful insecurity especially given the new nose he's got.

The perfect stay busy fight for AJ. Very little risk vs huge reward. I'm actually surprised that Ngannou is taking the fight.

Completely agree froch ..... was like watching boxing in lockdown.... finally some great match ups but the lack of atmosphere disappointing

This is the only fight fans want to see lad.

everyone thought it was a joke fight with Fury, then they saw Nganu actually looked good and had to eat humble pie. the Zhang fight is high risk now reward and the hrgovic fight is not guaranteed for a vacant world title, so they've probably decided to take another fight in the mean time and see what happens with that belt after the Usyk fury fight (if it takes place in Feb. yes it's a cash grab but it's also a smart move to wait and see whilst staying active

Not a cash grab he wants to beat Francis so he can then fight fury he will want to make Francis look silly so fury has to fight him

You said this last time carl, belts are held up. AJ will fight hrgovic when they get stripped post rematch. Good business, AJ can only fight up, he’ll probably do a job on francis aswell which will against point towards fury which is the aim.

The atmosphere plays a huge part of the fight, without that it is like watching a sparring session. UK or USA is where boxing should be held.

It looks like the safest option of the 3 you mentioned but I’m not so sure it is, I’d have it Zhang, Francis and then big Phil. Totally agree about the atmosphere - his excellency might like boxing but clearly the general public ain’t bothered!

Lennox Lewis advised the current heavyweights to fight each other a long time ago - otherwise they might not happen - fight when the opportunity is there - he was called a clown by Joshua, whom I have a lot of respect for - as we all should, but Lewis was so right!

This is massive Francis and AJ both humble legends both can knock each other out. Both deserve a payday

I'm not including Froch in this, but I find it really strange how since the Wallin fight there seems to be this mass wave of forgetfulness going on that's been mixed in with all the 'AJ is back' hype... it's like a lot of people have forgotten that Joshua's punch resistance is awful. Usyk has wobbled him more than once and he isn't even a natural heavyweight. We saw what Andy Ruiz did to him when he landed some clean shots. If Ngannou catches AJ clean he's going to sleep. Period. Ask Fury how hard he punches. Unlike Wallin too, Ngannou will actually have go at AJ and make it difficult for him. He's got nothing to lose.

I agree. No atmosphere. Really strange. Took me back to the old sporting club events where all spectators at tables I dinner suits

After 3 easy fights I was hoping for ruiz or zhang. This is just buying time hoping fury will call him out but there's people in front of him already

"He is a fighter, but in the mix martial arts world" Francis Nagannou is a real fighter 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Standing in a ring with a 3rd man to keep you safe with 3000 rules and gigantic wraps & gloves to protect your hands doesn't make you a real fighter worth taking seriously. The calf kick is open all day.

I look forward to these .

Im looking forward to the aj vs ngannu fight personally, should be a great tear up with two massive fighters!

Ajs done everything he can to try and fight fury. He's literally chased him and furys always found a way out. Must be that sparring session back in 2011

Wilder Hergovic Zhang Joyce Parker all better fights but aj doesn't like people who can fight back 🤷🏻

Boxing just doesnt have a deep pool of HW's. Francis is a monster brother.

When the Cobra mentioned AJ's fight against Hilarious, I lost it 🤣.

I guess Joshua is sick of Fury ducking him so beating the man who made a fool of him is the next best thing. It’s a big risk though, Ngannou not only knocked Fury down with that big punch of his, he also walked through a barrage of his punches without flinching. If Joshua can come through it with an easy win or better still a knockout, it will be another massive embarrassment for Fury.

Well done Hearn: you’ve just ended AJ’s career 👏👏👏

Watching the fights in Saudi reminds me of the fights we were watching over covid lockdowns where they were dead quiet and it looked like competitive sparring.

Top job Frochy keep up the good work

Come on don't get the negitivty. Every boxing nut I know would take this fight over a vacant title fight vs Hergovic which won't happen till the summer anyway. How can't it be good for HW boxing since Fury embarrassed the whole sport to the MMA world, AJ has a chance to correct the wrong

I’m more excited for Ngannou vs AJ than I was for Fury. I think AJ is back on the right path as long as he stays with Ben Davison, then he could bust Francis up

As much as I would prefer to see AJ fighting top tier boxers, he's not a belt holder, so not holding anything up by doing this. However it does go against what he said he was trying to do, in becoming a 3 time champion

It's just over a year now I've been following and getting back into boxing.... I'm rapidly falling back out with it.

Carl, spot on, your comment about atmosphere, anyone else thought that the last big Saudi show with AJ vs Wallin & Wilder vs Parker lacked atmosphere? The only one in the whole area a who seemed to be excited was Conor McGregor who was seated next to poor Ronaldo 😂

AJ can do whatever he wants. No chance of a title shot in 2024 anyway. Ridiculous when Fury did it as he was a current Champion tying up belts 🤦🏻‍♂️

Bang on Mr Froch as usual!

Isn't this what he said about Ngannou vs Fury? I'd say considering what happened there, even if Fury came in at 500 pounds and didn't train, he still looks like a credible opponent for AJ, a measuring stick. And it's just a smart business move, why put him vs Zhang/Hrgovic for less money and risk him getting beat? I think AJ will be able to put combinations together that Fat Fury wasn't able to and Ngannou won't be able to defend himself.

Subscribers interaction would be mint with you carl 🥊

“..Franklin, Hilarious, Wally..” 😂

I would love to see you and Joe Calzaghe in a exhibition bout together in Saudi that would be awesome,great video as always cheers

You're right about the atmosphere. I cringed when chants of "oh Anthony Joshua" was piped through on speakers because the audience weren't that interested.

Fury has had the pressure well and truly turned up on him ahead of his showdown with Usyk ! Parker easily beat Wilder, Joshua now has Tyson's former trainer and "Brother" Ben Davison in his corner, easily stopped Wallin and is now fighting Ngannou ( who he should KO within 6 rounds ) ALL former opponents that Tyson has struggled against. This will make the public question who would win the Fury Joshua fight making it a MASSIVE event.. What a difference a few Months makes.

Froch is missing the timeline here Fury v Usyk has a rematch. Once the rematch gets called the IBF belt gets stripped. Then Hrgovic fights someone for the vacant title. Fury V Usyk is on the 17th Feb. AJ V Ngannou is on 8th March, just 3 weeks after. The IBF aren't going to strip the title and sanction a new fight in that time. So AJ vs Hrgovic still happens (assuming AJ beats Ngannou) around the same time as the Fury v Usyk rematch and he's still in line for an undisputed fight with the winner. It's not further away it's an extra fight for AJ waiting for the Hrgovic title fight.

I would say I'm not a fan of AJ, but I'm happy to do a ppv if he fights NG or ZZ!

I totally agree Carl. I think there should be a limit as to how high a non-boxer or a new boxer with other than a boxing background can challenge. Like say, top 20 out of the question until proven beneath that. For their safety and for the boxing industry.

Saudi is killing sport full stop. Yes. Money has always been involved but not this much. The show they put on at Christmas was awful. On paper it had so much potential but when there’s that much money involved you will never get a full bloodied fight. Wilder took the money and ran. Wallin quit on his stool. It was a terrible night. Fury took the money for easy pickings and nearly came up short. It’s killing our sport!! Give me the York Hall, The o2, The Manchester arena, any day of the week with proper fights. I’m not interested in elite wealthy boxers selling their soul for even more money and putting on a shit show.

One thing I'd have like to have seen covered... If Ngannou shocks the world, does he have a legitimate opportunity to fight the winner of Fury Usyk ans, if so, what does that say about the current era of HW boxing?

Joshua moves far better now than Fury, punches a lot harder, and he will punch Ngannou around all night. Depends how tough francis is as to how long it lasts. I'd rather see Hergovoc or Zhang honestly. PS I made £300 on Parker beating Wilder so some people saw it coming.

Great video Carl. Boxing is finished especially heavy weight devision as fighters are just going for easy pay checks and not belts.

I agree with you about the atmosphere. It is horrible to watch all of the undercards in front of empty seats, and even the main event is peopled only by billionaire sheiks and sports stars. No boxing fans at all. I was at the O2 when you fought Kessler and you are right when you say it was electric. The roof nearly came off the place!