AJ pans wrestling as panto
ANTHONY JOSHUA has scoffed at suggestions he might one day follow Tyson Fury into the wrestling ring.
Former world heavyweight champion Fury made a reported £12million from his pro wrestling debut against WWE star Braun Strowman in Saudi Arabia last month.
And Deontay Wilder, the man who holds the WBC world heavyweight strap, claimed last week that he would be open to a wrestling contest too.
But Joshua, who faces Andy Ruiz Junior in Saudi on Saturday week in a bid to win back the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO belts both he and Fury have held, doesn’t want to diminish the hardearned reputation he has carved out in boxing for the sake of appearing in a “pantomime”.
Asked if he would ever consider it, he said: “No. When you go to Saudi, we go for our respective crafts. Other people go to Saudi for a pantomime.
Respect
“I’m dedicated to the craft and people know that.
“They know they can’t call me up to do wrestling.
“They call me up to do boxing and that’s all I want, my respect in boxing.
“It’s hard to get respect in boxing, especially as a UK fighter. We don’t get the respect we deserve.”
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn knows exactly what response he’d get if he called to propose a WWE dust-up. He said: “I’d love to put that phonecall to him.
“The answer would be so quick: ‘**** off’.”
Speaking last week, Wilder said: “We thought about wrestling years ago for marketing purposes, promotion and stuff like that.
“I’m a man that believes don’t burn no bridges.
“If that opportunity comes about I could see myself jumping off a ladder, doing a flying elbow or something like that.
“I’ve got the character to be able to perform in that environment, it’d be something fun, I wouldn’t turn it down.”