Commonwealth British heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua declared that he is not going to allow the trash talk of long-time rival Dillian Whyte to provoke him to push himself over the limit.
The 2012 Olympic gold medalist (14-0, 14 KO’s) fell to Whyte (16-0, 13 KO’s) in a fight in which Whyte dropped Joshua twice as an amateur and has since been on the receiving end of taunts from the Brixton fighter ever since, but Joshua did not look discomposed at Tuesday’s press conference ahead of their highly-anticipated fight on December 12.
“It’s just like the rest of the fights I’ve been in. I’ll approach it with the same attitude that I’ve approached the other fights in my professional career. I don’t want to try and do anything too over the top,” Joshua told Sky Sports.
“I’m trying to step up the ladder. For the British title, whether it’s against Dillian or anyone else, I’ll approach with the same attitude and the same hunger. There is attention around this fight, which gives us the more reason to go for a 12-round war.
“It may not go the distance, but I’m sure Dillian is potentially the man to take me past three rounds. It’ll be tough for him to do that, though, because I’m going to be ready.”
Whyte hypothesized that the average age of Joshua’s 14 victims was 38 years of age [it is actually approximately 34 years of age] and questioned their proficiency at the professional level.
Joshua acknowledged that Whyte will be his first big test, but asseverated that every opponent before him entered the ring with the perception that they would be victorious.
“I’ve never really been in big-time boxing, so there wasn’t big money on the table for these guys to fight me anyway,” he explained. “They’ve definitely come with the attitude they could beat me. I keep myself to myself, and I think that’s why they think they can beat me.
“When you’re 17 or 18 stone, rotating from the hips and punching with all your might, it changes the aspect of the fight. That’s where some of the fighters have gone wrong, and I don’t think Dillian’s attitude is different to my previous 14 opponents.
“He’s talking about 39-year-olds, but we’ll step in the ring, and I’ll get the result and then there’ll be the next guy to try and beat me,” Joshua asserted. “Whether I’ve fought 39-year-olds, 12-year-olds or 25-year-olds. It’s why he’s here now – to give me a young, hungry fighter with a British title on the line to make it more interesting.
“Once I get past him, it’ll be interesting to hear what the next man has to say.”
Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte will clash for the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles at The O2 on December 12, live on Sky Sports. Do not miss it.
– Ryan O’Hara @OHaraSports
Leave a Reply