Frampton: AJ has potential to be as big as Mayweather
ANTHONY JOSHUA is taking over from Floyd Mayweather as the major superstar in world boxing, according to former world champion Carl Frampton.
Joshua defends his IBF heavyweight title against Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley tomorrow night and victory will further elevate the 27-year-old Londoner’s status as the new face of the sport.
“AJ is a superstar,” said Frampton, speaking at the BT Sport Industry Awards. “He is going to be absolutely huge, the major name in world boxing, just like Mayweather was.
“Just look how big this event is tomorrow night. It is huge. All these huge companies want to be involved with him. He is clever and he knows what he is doing. He says the right things, he is a goodlooking lad and he is a proper athlete. He is a crossover superstar.”
Frampton is backing Joshua to beat Klitschko, the 41-year-old who was unbeaten as champion for nine and a half years until he was beaten by Tyson Fury in
November, 2015. But Frampton says Joshua (18-0) showed he can be vulnerable when Dillian Whyte hurt him in their fight in December 2015.
“What keeps making me doubt it was that AJ was visibly hurt against Dillian Whyte,” he said. “And I do not rate Dillian Whyte. I think he is European level at best.
“But I fancy AJ. It could be a blowout in one or two rounds, but if Klitschko has anything left it might be a difficult night. I will say AJ by KO in the sixth.
“Klitschko did not look good against Fury — and that was 18 months ago and he is only getting older. The first few rounds will tell you how much Klitschko has got left, if it even goes that far.”
Amir Khan is also backing Joshua to beat Klitschko but says the fight will show if the Olympic gold medal winner from London 2012 is the real deal.
“I want to see what Anthony Joshua is all about,” said Khan. “Is he really the fighter that everyone thinks he is?
“I think he is but it is time to show it. It is going to be a lot harder than people think but I still think his power, youth and explosiveness will win the fight.”