Champion promises a tough ‘12-round war’ and the fans will be the winners
Anthony Joshua believes his fight against “hungry” Carlos Takam will be an entertaining spectacle.
The WBA and IBF heavyweight champion, who puts his titles on the line this weekend, said: “I’ve fought a lot of people... and I think our styles will create a lot of good fightwork.
“The fans are always going to be the winners in this division now because hungry guys are coming. He [Takam] wants to perform in the ring and it’s the same with me.
“I always say, the belt isn’t always representation of me… the belts get taken out of the ring after, I can’t fight with them on my shoulder.
“I’ve got a challenge in my mind, I keep my feet on the ground. I’m still hungry.”
Joshua added: “I’ve managed to become heavyweight champion of the world and provided I stay disciplined you’ll hear of me for the next ten years and I’ll progress as a person.”
However, he is aware that there is an element of risk to the bout, after original opponent and mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev pulled out a couple of weeks ago due to a shoulder injury suffered during sparring.
The 28-year-old continued: “You could say it’s a potential banana skin but I’ve trained well. Who knows what’s going to happen in that ring on Saturday? Am I going to find out I’m only a five-round fighter?
“There are so many questions to be answered… I need to make sure I win in a good fashion and the stock keeps high.” Cameroon-born Takam, shorter yet rangier than Pulev, has been on standby for a number of weeks and Joshua is not underestimating the threat he poses.
The Briton added: “I know he’s from Cameroon and very tough. I know people like him. It’s going to be a good scrap. He’s gone the distance many times. It’s going to be interesting.
“His punches are going to be ricocheting through my whole body. Maybe I’d come in heavier if I’d known I was going to fight Takam. “This guy is realising ‘this is my chance’ – I know what it’s like. There’s a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and we’re both going to run as hard as each other.
“We’re on an elite level and you’re going to see an elite fight, a 12-round war – and you have to be tough to get through it.”
Joshua’s
trainer
Rob Mccracken,pictured, said: “Without a doubt he [Takam] is a lithe, dangerous opponent, very competitive and difficult to beat. He’s going to go for it and you’ll see a spectacular fight and a great performance from Anthony.”
Takam’s promoter Christian Cherchi added: “Of course there could be an upset because we are talking about heavyweight boxing. A punch can change the way of the fight. Anthony knows about this.
“Anthony is the favourite, so the pressure is on him. But Carlos has a great chance – we all believe he has a chance to win the fight. He’s come to win.” Team GB boxer Muhammad Ali is facing a long ban after testing positive for a steroid in April, the sport’s international federation AIBA has confirmed.
The positive test came during a World Series of Boxing match between the British Lionhearts and Morocco Atlas Lions in Casablanca and he has been provisionally suspended since May.
A silver medallist at the 2014 World Youth Championships and 2016 European Championships, Ali lost in the first round of the flyweight competition at the Rio Olympics last year.
The 21-year-old Yorkshireman is highly rated by GB Boxing and is currently the top-ranked fighter in his World Series of Boxing division.
In a statement on the AIBA website, the international federation announced his provisional suspension and said it would not make any further comment until an AIBA anti-doping panel has heard Ali’s case. No date has been set for that yet.
It is understood that Ali asked for his B sample, which is used to confirm an initial finding, to be tested and that also came back positive for trace amounts of the steroid.
In a statement released yesterday, GB Boxing said it can confirm that a member of its squad has tested positive for a banned substance and the boxer has been suspended from the programme and all competition pending the outcome of the process.
It added: “This is the first time that a member of the GB Boxing squad has tested positive for a banned substance.
“GB Boxing is committed to clean sport and we work in partnership with UK Anti-doping and our international federation to provide extensive education and support to our boxers on antidoping rules, the antidoping obligations upon them as athletes and the importance of adhering to the principles of clean sport.”