JOSHUA LANDS A WHYTE HOOK
I WAS BUZZING FOR A DILLIAN FIGHT IN CARDIFF — NOT TAKAM, ADMITS AJ
ANTHONY JOSHUA was desperate for his old foe Dillian Whyte to step into Kubrat Pulev’s shoes in Cardiff for Saturday’s fight.
Pulev pulled out with a torn pectoral muscle last week, 12 days before he was due to meet WBA, IBF and IBO heavyweight champion Joshua.
The Bulgarian was his mandatory challenger with the WBA, so Joshua had to turn to the next man on their list, Carlos Takam.
But Joshua admits he was itching for a rematch with bitter rival Whyte, who he beat in a tough contest in 2015.
“Whyte’s the first person I asked to fight in Cardiff,” said Joshua. “Because the two people who brought the best out of me entertainment-wise were Dillian Whyte and Wladimir Klitschko.
“With Klitschko, I was buzzing for a rematch because of the type of fight it was, it was great.
“And, with Dillian, the same reason – it was just a buzz, everyone benefits, everyone has a good time.
“If I look back and pick my memorable nights, Dillian would be one and Klitschko would be one.
“Out of my career there should be four or five memorable nights and we’ve already ticked off two.”
Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, said: “Anthony said to me, ‘What about Dillian?’. I said, ‘The only way we can fight Dillian is if Takam says, ‘No’, Christian Hammer says, ‘No’, and Jarrell Miller says, ‘No’. Dillian is next, so you have to wait and see’.”
A rematch with Whyte (right) is almost certain to happen down the line but, given the injury to Pulev, for now it’s Takam.
Joshua added: “If you knew the injuries I have faced in camp... I had glandular fever against Dominic Breazeale, and my shoulder in this camp – fighters go through a lot.
“Two weeks before the Klitschko fight I went for a Thai massage and she stretched me. “She pulled my arm down my leg and it cramped my back. “I swear, I was walking doubled over, two weeks before. “But we crack on. I fought Michael Sprott with a fractured back – just crack on. “My trainer, Rob McCracken, doesn’t like it. He says, ‘You have to listen to me, Josh, if I ever have to pull you out of a fight’. “But you build up so much to this one moment – and because of a niggle you’re going to let it go? When you’re in there the adrenalin takes over anyway, so I don’t think, touch wood, unless it was serious-serious, I don’t think I’d stop.”
Around 78,000 fans will be at the Principality Stadium for Joshua’s clash with Takam and the 6ft 6in British star has no plans to fight outside of the UK for now.
Joshua said: “It works here. Everyone used to have to go to the States to crack it – now a lot of the fighters from the States want to come to the UK to crack it.
“Since we’ve got things bubbling here, let’s not turn off the heat just yet, let’s keep it bubbling for a little while longer.”