A plan to build his kingdom
Britain’s Joshua seeks to beat Klitschko and fight in U.S. He might help to restore luster to the heavyweight division too.
LONDON — Heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has captured the attention of his English countrymen, with 90,000 expected Saturday night at Wembley Stadium for his showdown against former world champion Wladimir Klitschko.
Speaking confidently in a conversation with The Times on Wednesday about how he intends to break down the experience and physical advantages of Klitschko, Joshua, 27, said his next steps include fighting in the U.S.
“I need to get my buns out there and fight, for sure,” Joshua said. “It’s the mecca of boxing. If we can cross over into the States [and] keep the fan base in the [United Kingdom], that’s mega-stuff, that’s global boxing.
“I’m a young guy, a heavyweight with a name that’s easy to pronounce, can speak English well. I can relate to the U.S. market. All I have to do now is come out there and fight and show them what my trade is so they’ll appreciate it and then we can set up fights that will have the same amount of attention in the U.S. as the U.K. That would be phenomenal.”
Joshua (18-0, 18 knockouts) knows that an impressive performance against the 41-year-old Klitschko can go a long way toward launching a revival of the heavyweights. Klitschko’s reign atop the division was marked by unappealing fights that coincided with mainstream sports fans’ turning away from the sport, while fight fans focused on lighter divisions.
“It would be sweet to knock Wladimir out,” the International Boxing Federation champion said. “I’m not into this 12-round boxing.”
Klitschko’s former World Boxing Assn. belt, lost to Tyson Fury in 2015, is also on the line after Fury vacated his belts last year, a day before the British Boxing Board of Control suspended him pending investigation into possible medical and other issues.
“This fight is an attentiongetter. It opens the door to possibilities,” said Jerry Izenberg, a veteran boxing writer who covered the Muhammad Ali-George Foreman-Joe Frazier era and wrote a recent book about the heavyweight division, “Once There Were Giants.”
“It would seem to be the time for Joshua.”
Joshua’s popularity in Great Britain was built on his amateur success, as the country closely watched him develop into a 2012 Olympic champion in London and give the fight-crazed U.K. a chance to boast of a heavyweight champion for the first time since Lennox Lewis retired in 2003.
His career-opening knockout streak included winning the belt over Southland-trained Charles Martin and defending it against another local product, Dominic Breazeale.
The U.K. frenzy is such that countryman and recent cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew said at Joshua’s public workout Wednesday, “He wins Saturday night, Anthony Joshua is the most popular fighter in the whole world.”
At 6 feet 6, the muscular Joshua possesses an 82-inch reach — one inch greater than that of jab-loving Klitschko (64-4, 53 KOs) — and, most important, he embraces livening up the division by seeking the best possible fights.
“For the sport in general, it’s massive. I’m happy to be involved in such a mega-showdown,” Joshua said. “The only pressure comes from me. I knew the significance of this fight before I took it. I put all the pressure on myself and if I didn’t want it, I would’ve taken another route. I don’t want to wait … years until I start making a move. Let’s get it on now. If the competition is stepping up, I’m all for it.”
Unbeaten World Boxing Council champion Deontay Wilder (38-0, 37 KOs) of Alabama will serve as a ringside analyst for Britain’s Sky Sports, and has proposed a unification bout this year.
Joshua is savvy enough to respond by wondering why Wilder fought as recently as February at a small venue in Birmingham, Ala.
“He’s been fighting for like eight years. If Wilder wants some of his words to come true, no problem. I’m the ‘A’ side,” Joshua said.
“If these fights are going to happen, let me get a crack at it. Klitschko, Wilder, let’s mix it up. It’s our era. Let’s have some trilogies and bring some excitement. Let’s be at the forefront of all this.”