JOSHUA’S AIMING TO WIN OVER HIS CRITICS
JEREMY CROSS
ANTHONY JOSHUA thinks there are people who want him to fail.
But the WBA and IBF heavyweight champion doesn’t care if he is not loved by everyone – as long as those who helped him reach the top still respect him.
Joshua, 28, will take on WBO title holder Joseph Parker in front of almost 80,000 fans tonight.
And he took an opportunity to look back on his journey from bad boy to the biggest name in British boxing to help inspire other people.
He smiles when shown the picture he posted on Instagram on Monday night of him standing with axe in hand, chopping wood.
“I was on community service,” the London 2012 Olympic gold medallist said. “It was around 2011.
“Why did I post it? It’s fight week. When you are looking towards the exciting times, it’s good to look back at the struggle.
“It shows where you’ve come from, the journey you are on. This is where it began and it’s never too late to start. What would I say to that kid? What you see is what you can achieve.
“If you don’t know there’s a Range Rover out there, you won’t aspire to get one.
“I would just tell that kid to have a broader mind-set and not focus on the estate or the community that you know.
“There’s a whole world out there, there are people with a lot of knowledge, so it’s about broadening your horizons. Watford was everything to me back then.”
Joshua was given community service after being sentenced for cannabis possession.
His place on the GB Boxing team was under threat until performance director and his current coach, Rob McCracken, (pictured inset with Joshua) fought to get him back.
“I did think it was going to ruin boxing as a whole,” he said. “But boxing wasn’t that serious back then, it was just for fun.”
Walking into Finchley and District Boxing Club at the age of 18 with his cousin Ben Ileyemi would change his life forever.
He stopped smoking and would soon turn his back on the life of crime and street fighting that once saw him on remand in Reading and unwelcome around Watford town centre, with his mum Yeta hearing stories about her son causing trouble after leaving home.
Boxing got him on the right path. Olympic glory and a professional career that has seen him earn close to £50m soon followed after navigating the speedbump of that drugs possession charge on the way.
It is maybe why he is more worried about maintaining the respect of people like Finchley coach Sean Murphy, his mum Yeta and McCracken than whatever some negative naysayers might think about him.
Perhaps that is also why he is not concerned about comparisons with Lennox Lewis as he attempts to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since his fellow Brit.
“It’s not my choice to dictate if I’m Britain’s best heavyweight,” said Joshua.
“I’ve had more defences than Lewis’ first reign. Lewis lost in his fourth one.
“I don’t make the choice, I don’t want to be blase. I don’t pat myself on the back.
“I feel that everyone is waiting for you to fail. That’s why I look at it that way. This is just the life I lead.
“That’s why it’s such a blessing to go back to Finchley when there are people who can’t go back to where they’re from because they’ve done wrong to people along the way.
“They end up living in their house on their own being bitter because they can’t go back to where they’re from and where people truly care about them.
“I’ve always kept it real and win or lose, these people respect me.
“That’s why I’m not trying to be the next record holder. I don’t need that status to have respect from the people I know – they respect me already.” Joshua hopes one day to turn Finchley into an iconic gym to rival the one Floyd Mayweather Jnr owns in Las Vegas. He wants it to raise enough money to pay its own maintenance bills while also helping the community. And while he is not bothered that he is not loved by everyone, he would like his own museum when he retires in order to raise money for charity. If Joshua claims his 21st win tonight and can remain unbeaten, then there will be a WBO belt to display alongside the WBA and IBF prizes should that museum dream come true.