Former two-weight world champion Carl Frampton has revealed who he favours between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
The two heavyweights are expected to collide later this year, just so long as both sides can agree on a specific date and location.
At the same time, though, there appears to be waning interest in their long-awaited showdown after both Brits failed to impress last weekend.
First to the stage was Fury, who left a lot to be desired as he trudged through seven rounds of uninspiring action against the 46-year-old Mariusz Wach.
But still, the 37-year-old never seemed in any danger of losing, whereas Joshua was almost knocked out within the first 20 seconds of his contest against Kristian Prenga.
‘AJ’ then suffered a second knockdown in the opening round, before climbing off the canvas and ultimately stopping his opponent in the following three minutes.
Prior to these two performances, Frampton struggled to select a winner but is now somewhat confident that Fury has the beating of his domestic rival.
Speaking to Boxing Now, the Irishman explained that Joshua – because of his power – could knock Fury out; however the more likely outcome, he suspects, is a ‘Gypsy King’ triumph.
“[Joshua] still has a chance – and Fury didn’t look great in his fight [with Wach]. [But] I’d say a lot of people have Fury as the favourite. I [too] have him as a favourite now.
“[I have it] 60/40, maybe. [But] it wouldn’t surprise me if AJ lands and takes him out.”
Frampton went on to praise the bravery shown by AJ to climb off the canvas to get the victory.
“Very brave performance. The first round was a disaster, it’s a criticism you can throw at AJ a lot, that he starts very slow and you can’t really afford to do that as a heavyweight. Strange performance, legs looked a little bit stiff, looked to be an issue with the legs, but you can’t question his bravery from coming back and doing what he did.”
Joshua vs Fury is expected to take place in November and will be streamed live on Netflix.
