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<\/a>Undefeated IBF Champion Anthony Joshua hosted a media conference call to give his thoughts on Saturday\u2019s heavyweight blockbuster between him and long-reigning kingpin Wladimir Klitschko live on SHOWTIME\u00ae (4:15 p.m. ET\/1:15 p.m. PT) from sold-out Wembley Stadium in London.<\/p>\nThe British sensation Joshua (18-0, 18 KOs) and Klitschko (64-4, 54 KOs) will unify the heavyweight division as they meet for Joshua\u2019s IBF World Championship and the vacant WBA World Championship in front of record-setting 90,000 fans at Britain\u2019s largest stadium. <\/p>\n
Here is what Joshua had to say on the call on Wednesday:<\/p>\n
ANTHO<\/em><\/strong>NY JOSHUA:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>\u201cThis is a good era for boxing so I try to live the life. Over the years when I started boxing until now I\u2019ve been at training camp. The whole time I\u2019ve been training it has been pretty beneficial, I\u2019ve learned a lot. I\u2019m not a perfect fighter but what I do do, I try to do well. I\u2019m looking forward to the fight.<\/p>\n\u201cIf you\u2019re asking about Saturday night, all roads have led to this and I\u2019ve been training for a long time, I\u2019ve stayed injury free. I\u2019ve ran, I\u2019ve sparred I\u2019ve done my bag work and it comes to a stage in camp when I\u2019m looking for the buy in now and that\u2019s where I\u2019m at really. Mentally, I\u2019m excited.\u201d<\/p>\n
On how significant this fight is:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cFor the sport in general, come on. For what UK-ers are doing supporting boxing globally, it\u2019s massive. I also feel just to sell out the stadium without having to do the traditional entertainment to make a fight it just shows that kids can fight from different backgrounds \u2026Where me and Klitschko are at, we don\u2019t need to be trash talking and we are two half pieces coming together to lay it down on the line. It\u2019s an amazing time for boxing in that sense that it\u2019s mainstream. I\u2019m not going to say win-or-lose, because the focus is to win, but it\u2019s a massive benefit to Klitschko win-or-lose. Either he has another fight in him, or this time he\u2019s done. I wish him all the best. I\u2019m glad we got through training camp and we actually make it happen because as long as my heart was beating I still want to fight. I\u2019m happy to be involved in such a mega showdown.\u201d<\/p>\n
Do you feel there is more pressure on you?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cDefinitely not. I knew the significance of this fight before I took it. So I would never put that pressure upon myself if I didn\u2019t want to deal with this pressure. I would have taken another route. But I want to fight guys in the division who are good. I don\u2019t want to wait like eight years, nine years, six years before I start making a move on the heavyweight division \u2013 let\u2019s get it on now. So if this is what comes with stepping up a level and a division I\u2019m all for it. I\u2019m not going to start saying \u2018because I\u2019m champion I\u2019ve got pressure and I don\u2019t think I\u2019m going to perform.\u2019 For me as a champion I don\u2019t feel that pressure but I can relate to where he is coming from. As a champion you\u2019re supposed to throw down like there\u2019s no tomorrow so I\u2019m not going to say because I\u2019m a champion I\u2019ve got so much pressure on my hands.\u201d<\/p>\n
How do you bridge the experience gap between you and Klitschko?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cI think it\u2019s just destiny. I\u2019m meant for this. I\u2019m built for this. Let\u2019s say we strip away what you just said, the excitement, the hype and just put us together. Go at it for 12 rounds, get down and dirty. I have the ability to come out on top and that\u2019s how I take it. I don\u2019t look at it like, \u2018Oh my God, I\u2019m fighting a guy who has been through it\u2019, I don\u2019t look at it that way. I just look at it as \u2018I\u2019m going to fight this guy called Wladimir Klitschko\u2019 and we\u2019ve got 12 rounds. I simplify it.<\/p>\n
I practice boxing. Long range jab, jab to the body. I think I\u2019m very capable of hitting someone continuously until they break down. So I think I\u2019ll keep on plugging away, round 6, 7 and I should have him in a bad place. I just have to take the fight and break it down round by round.\u201d<\/p>\n
How will you deal with Kitschko\u2019s reach:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cI\u2019ve never fought him so I can\u2019t say for sure. But what will I do about his reach? I\u2019ve got my right hand to parry a jab, I\u2019ve got my left hand to shield and protect me, to deflect his right hand. It\u2019s no problem if he wants to grab. I can whip in a body shot and that would definitely slow him down. If you keep getting hit to the body at 41 that will take the fight out of anyone. On the outside I have got ways to deal with the majority of his shots. On the inside I just have to keep on swinging to the body and round-by-round I\u2019ll start seeing an effect.\u201d<\/p>\n
What motivated him to take such a significant fight so early in his career:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cIt was bound to happen. I felt the division needed it. I\u2019m not doing it just for myself. I\u2019m always about the industry. A lot of my friends from the amateur system have a chance to express their skill on the undercard, and it\u2019s a massive platform. I think, as I said, the division needed it … Wladimir Klitschko, Deontay Wilder, let\u2019s keep it going. Let\u2019s start mixing it up because we\u2019re in the same division, and it\u2019s our era. What type of era are we if we don\u2019t come together and have some trilogies and bring some excitement. So I\u2019m all for it and that\u2019s why I really wanted to take the fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
When was the first time you saw Klitschko and thought you could fight him?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cNot until last year. In 2015 I wasn\u2019t really focusing on fighting Klitschko. I was moving towards maybe after [Eric] Molina we could have done [Kubrat] Pulev as a mandatory and gone that route of dominating the European market, but the opportunity came up. It\u2019s a big fight, it\u2019s a good challenge and let\u2019s get it cracking. As I said, it\u2019s good for the division and the attention it has brought is phenomenal. I think it benefits everyone so let\u2019s be a part of that, and let\u2019s be at the forefront of this.\u201d<\/p>\n
On earning more money than Floyd Mayweather Jr.?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cNot in boxing. I don\u2019t think I could do it in boxing. Outside, if I make the right investments I think I can because I have some highly intelligent people around me but I think in boxing I don\u2019t think I will but I think there will be a boxer who can because Floyd Mayweather has definitely set the benchmark, and records are only there to be broken. So I think someone could definitely achieve that financial status. But for me, that\u2019s not so much my goal to try to be richer than Floyd Mayweather. The heavyweight division is so different from the welterweight division in the sense that all it takes is one shot, it\u2019s a lot tougher, a lot more wear and tear on the body so I think it\u2019ll be interesting. I definitely think we\u2019ll make money, there\u2019s no doubt about that but I\u2019m not trying to put myself on the same pedestal as Mayweather.\u201d<\/p>\n
When do you think Klitschko was at his best?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cWhen he fought Marius Beck. He was a bit of a bigger guy and he controlled him with the jab and the one-twos. Remember he went twelve rounds. So he had to control a bigger man who was potentially heavier and stronger and he controlled his boxing skill and I think that\u2019s when he was at his best. As I studied him that\u2019s when I saw him at his best so I have watched fights around that era.\u201d<\/p>\n
Do you feel it\u2019s a miracle you\u2019re here?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cYes. I was talking about it with my coach today. If you would have told me \u2013 I\u2019ve only been in boxing eight or nine years \u2013 if you would have told me eight years ago, \u2018Listen son, if you walk through that door into the boxing gym you\u2019ll do this, this, this, this and this\u2019 I would have been like \u2018yeah, right\u2019. It\u2019s been phenomenal and why we do all the promotional stuff and get involved in big fights is for motivational purposes. I know there\u2019s some other kids that are going to come up and be phenomenal because he may have seen myself and my journey and wants to get involved in what we\u2019re creating. I\u2019m all for that. I love it. Today was my last day of training camp and I\u2019m thinking now what am I going to do in my next training camp, how am I going to improve. I\u2019m enjoying the journey. It has been fun, boxing is a good sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
What is your history in sparring with Klitschko?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cI\u2019m not a gym fighter so I did not go to try to prove anything with the sparring. I mainly went to go to see how a champion sets up his training camp. While I was sparring, it was good. Wladimir is technical. He will try to maneuver you with his lever hand to put you in a position to throw his right hand. That\u2019s what I got from Klitschko. He is patient, he was just trying to set me up so he could throw his shots and I was just working on moving, jabbing to the body, jabbing to the head and I would go back to the corner and Andy Breshear would say \u2018stick it on the champ\u2019 and I would say \u2018no I\u2019m not here for that, I\u2019m not here to prove anything.\u2019 I wanted to watch, I wanted to analyze. That\u2019s what I got from sparring with him. To learn how he operates in the ring and I learned how a champion sets up training camp.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the strength of Klitschko\u2019s chin:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cHe\u2019s got a good chin. How long has he reigned, 10 years? Yeah, he\u2019s got a good chin. You can\u2019t be a championship fighter for 10 years if you have a bad chin. That\u2019s the thing about the heavyweight division, it takes one shot. All these fighters that we claim have got good chins are the ones who get knocked out by Wladimir, so he must be doing something right. I remember Samuel Peters had a granite chin but they still end up getting knocked out down the line and they don\u2019t go on to do great things. So, regardless of the chin, I think he\u2019s got something right that works.\u201d<\/p>\n
Opinion of Klitschko\u2019s Career:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cHe is underrated. Heavyweight boxing comes with bigger prize money, more attention. To stay that disciplined for that long is a serious task. He and his brother have done well to reign for that long \u2026 I would want to go down as one of the greatest because I reigned for so long. No one could beat me for the last 10 years. It\u2019s a good achievement and I would want to be recognized for that achievement.\u201d<\/p>\n
On potentially fighting in America:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cI think just fight Wilder, Gerald Washington, [Bryant] Jeninngs as well. These are the hotshots in America right now. I\u2019ve made sure I fought some Americans on my way up so we could get a buzz out there. But I think I have to come out there for a fight for sure that\u2019s important.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmerica is the mecca of boxing. If we can cross over into the states and keep the fan base in the UK I think we\u2019ve cracked it. That\u2019s mega stuff, that\u2019s global boxing. You\u2019ve got a big guy, heavyweight with a name that\u2019s easy to pronounce and speaks English well. I can relate to the U.S. market. All I have to do is get out there show them what my trade is and hopefully they\u2019ll appreciate it and hopefully we can start talking about setting up major fights and bringing the same attention in the UK to the U.S. That would be phenomenal.\u201d<\/p>\n
How much of a concern is Klitschko\u2019s holding?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cThe holding is natural. But what do you do when someone is holding? How do you fight them off? You bring in the upper cut, you whip in a right hand to the body until the ref tells you to break. It\u2019s a fight so I can\u2019t prevent the holding but it makes it interesting to see what fighter does when they\u2019re being held. When I\u2019m being held I\u2019m just going to throw the right hand to the body, left hook to the body and that will start taking the wind out of Klitschko.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Klitschko\u2019s last fight against a British fighter David Haye:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cI think my fights will be entertaining. It is important for me to be entertaining. It\u2019s not only winning, but it\u2019s about how you win. I\u2019ve always tried to go in there and perform to that level. It would be sweet to go in there and knock Wladimir out, because that\u2019s what heavyweight boxing is about. So that would be sweet. I\u2019m not into the 12-round boxing.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid Haye was up against it because you had Klitschko, who was a champion. Emanuel Steward, who trained the champion. Then you had David Haye, who wasn\u2019t a champion and Adam Booth, who wasn\u2019t a heavyweight championship trainer. He was up against it and he found it tough. It just showed that the bigger, stronger man would win. He just got the job done and that\u2019s what led him to here. He got the win and I\u2019m happy or we wouldn\u2019t be here right now.\u201d<\/p>\n