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I STILL HAVE 10 MORE YEARS IN PROFESSIONAL BOXING SAYS ANTHONY JOSHUA

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As Nigeria’s British-born Anthony Joshua prepares to  fight Russia’s Alexander Povetkin  in September at Wembley Stadium in London ahead of facing the WBC champion, Deomtay Wilder, he has told the BBC that he still have another 10 years in boxing.

That time he would be 38. Joshua is changing his approach as he prepares to face Povetkin at Wembley Stadium on 22 September.

The 28-year-old unified the WBA, IBF and WBO world heavyweight titles with unanimous points win over New Zealander Joseph Parker in Cardiff in March.

But Joshua told the BBC that he is now keen to focus on “my legacy and what I can reach”.

“I used to concentrate on the opponent and always worried about what was next,” he said.

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“I thought, ‘I don’t want to make any mistakes’. I used to box within myself, stopped expressing myself and fulfilling my potential to become a great world champion.

“Not any more. It’s not ‘him, him, him’ for me anymore. I have to look at the end goal.”

While an attempt to secure a fight against WBC champion Deontay Wilder is likely to be revived in the future, Joshua must yet navigate his way past Povetkin.

At 38, the Russian is 10 years older than Joshua, and fought for the same three titles when suffering his only defeat – by Wladimir Klitschko in 2013.

That was the same night Joshua made his professional debut, stopping Emanuele Leo in the first round.

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“I feel like I am back in a tournament like it was in the amateurs or the Olympics,” Joshua added.

“I have to get past people like Povetkin to fulfil my legacy.

“It seems there’s always a lot going on around my fights, noise about who is next.

“Now I’m dead serious about this business and this is chapter two for me and Povetkin is first on my list. It is not just about Povetkin and Wilder, it’s me and my legacy and what I can reach.”

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Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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