JOSHUA: I WILL DOZE MY WAY TO THE TOP

ANTHONY JOSHUA has revealed he has been instructed by sport scientists to spend more time in bed during his training for Saturday’s Wembley showdown against Alexander Povetkin. The shift in his usual fight preparations came after experts told him on a visit to the Under Armour research lab in May that he was wasting his energy with early-morning sessions. Having won all 21 of his fights to date, the world heavyweight champion’s next assignment, which is viewed by Joshua’s team with anxiety, has been approached with a new routine based on later starts. Joshua explained: ‘Cristiano Ronaldo did a body test recently and he is 33 but has the body of a 21-year-old. You have to preserve your body. ‘We have been looking at stuff like sleeping, the amount of time we spend on our phones, what pressure you put on your eyes — your eyes have muscles. It is about wellness and how you’re feeling, knowing to ease it off before you crash. ‘The sleeping is interesting. In the past you used to train, go do your work, then train after, so you had to wake up at 5am to be done at 7am. Luckily we are in a position that this is our full-time job but it’s a bit weird because boxing is old school (so fighters still train early). ‘When I watched a Manny Pacquiao documentary he gets up when he’s ready. Floyd Mayweather trains when he is ready. I actually saw 10.34am on a clock when he (Pacquiao) was waking up and I was like, “What the f***? 10.34 and I’m here getting up at the crack of dawn?” ‘I tried it and feel much better — 8am is my natural time to wake up. It looks lazy but you’re still getting the same amount of work done and in a better way.’ Meanwhile, British WBO middleweight world champion Billy Joe Saunders has been charged with misconduct by the British Boxing Board of Control over a social-media video police described as ‘sickening’. Saunders, 29, has apologised for the video, in which he tells a woman he will give her £150 worth of drugs to perform a sex act. She is then asked to punch a passer-by, and does, before Saunders drives off. Nottinghamshire Police have started an investigation. No drugs could be seen in the video and he later described it as ‘banter’ that ‘went wrong’. ‘Apologise to everybody who’s took offence, totally in the wrong, can’t do anything but be sorry,’ Saunders tweeted. The board will hold a hearing next week to investigate the incident. Saunders defends his title against American Demetrius Andrade in Boston next month.