Apprehension is a foe for Joshua

Anthony Joshua has revealed he is driven by a fear of losing and conceding his status as the world’s leading fighter.

Since unifying the WBA and IBF heavyweight titles with his dramatic stoppage defeat of Wladimir Klitschko and amid Floyd Mayweather’s retirement, Joshua has become perhaps the world’s highest-profile fighter and inherited boxing’s biggest scalp.

On Saturday at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, in front an expected 78,000-strong crowd, he fights the WBO champion Joseph Parker in an attempt to win the third of the four world titles, when – despite being the significant favourite – he will be wary of his prospects.

Defeat to Parker would end Joshua’s hopes of fighting Deontay Wilder for all four world titles, and he explained it was that fear that led to his perceived snub of media from New Zealand and Samoa, which Parker described as “disrespectful”.

“It keeps me going,” the 28-year-old said. “I don’t want to lose. It’s little things. People thought I walked out on the New Zealand press, but that wasn’t the case.

“It was because I was there from 10.30am until 5pm and had to be back in the gym for 6.30pm to train, and I had to eat. It wouldn’t have mattered if it was African press, the Chinese press, or the New Zealand press, I just told my team ‘Can I make a move now because I have to be back in an hour and a half? Do they mind waiting?’

“But they didn’t want to wait, and, with all due respect, I have to focus on my training.”