Former super middleweight champion Carl Froch was really hoping that former world champions Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder would collide at the end of the year.
Instead, the two top heavyweights will face other opponents as part of the same card.
On December 23rd in Saudi Arabia, Joshua will face once-beaten contender Otto Wallin in the main event, with Wilder taking on former world champion Joseph Parker in the other co-main.
Should Joshua and Wilder win their respective fights, there is a good possibility of a showdown in 2024.
Froch views Joshua vs. Wilder as one of the most intriguing fights in the sport.
“It’s a bit disappointing for AJ to be fighting Wallin instead of Deontay Wilder, because the AJ vs Wilder fight for me is a very big fight, it’s a fight I could look forward to, it’s a fight I could get excited about,” Froch told Talk Sport.
“It’s one of them where you think, ‘What happens?’. Does AJ get absolutely obliterated and knocked out in a couple of rounds because he’s a bit mentally still tentative in the way in which he does his work? Or does AJ actually turn up and put on a boxing masterclass and maybe even finish off Wilder? There’s so many different outcomes, it’s a juicy fight, so to now find out that AJ’s fighting Wallin, I’m disappointed.
“You can see Anthony Joshua, Eddie Hearn and his team are still in the rebuilding process, because Otto Wallin is not a bad fight. It’s AJ back out there against someone who is quite capable, we saw him against Tyson Fury and he gave him that nasty cut, he’s on a run of a few decent little wins since then, but let’s be honest it’s nothing to get too excited about.”