There was a time, not so long ago, that Anthony Joshua looked close to indestructible. He looked the part, obviously, but the ease at which he seemed to brush his opponents aside made defeat unthinkable. Joshua now looks back at those fights and just sees the flaws.
On Saturday night, Joshua defends his WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles against Oleksandr Usyk, of Ukraine, in front of a crowd of more than 60,000 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in North London. Some are seeing this as just one final hurdle before he finally boxes for the undisputed world title against his fellow Englishman Tyson Fury – who defends his WBC title against Deontay Wilder in Las Vegas on October 9. But it is a risky fight, and when it comes to Joshua these days, some people still need a bit of convincing.
Ever since his defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr in New York in 2019, there has been the feeling of potential vulnerability about Joshua. The safety-first way he approached the rematch in Saudi Arabia later that year was professional but did little to ease those worries. The delays caused by lockdown resulted in the straightforward task against Kubrat Pulev in December being his only appearance of the year.
Usyk should be a step up from both Ruiz and Pulev. A gold medallist at both the Olympic Games and World Championships as an amateur, he has never looked like being beaten in his 18-fight professional career, which included winning all four world title belts at cruiserweight.
But Joshua doesn’t seem to be worried. “I wouldn’t like to be him facing me,” Joshua said. “Good luck to him.”
At no time in his career has Joshua appeared to me more confident in his ability. Lockdown, he believes has been good for him, taking him away from the treadmill of preparing for defence after defence and allowing him to just work on getting better.
There is a solid logic to that theory. Joshua had not walked into a boxing gym before 2008, but just four years later he was an Olympic gold medallist and four years after that he won his first world title.
Joshua has been effectively learning his craft on the job, with each camp designed around preparing for one opponent and one fight. That would perhaps give some idea that when Ruiz replaced original opponent Jarell Miller at short notice, after Miller failed a drugs test, things did not go too well.
“Through the lockdown, that was the best time of my life,” Joshua said. “I was one way living a certain life and then I found boxing, my whole world flipped on its head, it happened so quick.
“Then during Covid, where the world flipped on its head, I got to poke my head back out and be like, ‘ah, back to normal again’. The sun was shining, it was just nice being normal as much as possible.
"The only difference is boxing takes up a lot of time, you’ve got to make certain sacrifices. But other than that, other than the sacrifices, the commitment I made to the sport, I’m just chilling.
“The best thing about fighting on Saturday is that I can get back to training in a week or two, so I can get my practice in. Because I can see myself getting better again.
“You’ll see a lot of improvements from the Pulev fight and then from this one to the next one you’ll see another mass improvement. And I’m actually looking forward to getting back, because when I’m in training I feel like I’m at my most, like that spiritual realm.”
Even when his usual training base in Sheffield was closed, there was no let-up, as he was given the keys to his old amateur club at Finchley, in North London, and call up Lawrence Okolie, the WBO cruiserweight champion, for a spar.
He has also cut down seeing his family during this training camp, staying in Sheffield at weekends rather than coming back to London and spending hours on the road.
“I didn’t really see my family, my boy, over that period,” he said. “But sparring partners do it, they are away from their family. So why shouldn’t I? I just made that commitment to kind of live an actual boxer’s life rather than going home every weekend.”
Whether Joshua or Fury is considered the world’s No 1 right now, there is no question who is the bigger star. No boxer in British history has performed in front of so many fans as he has in his career.
“It has come with a lot of hard work,” Joshua said. “In a way it is crazy but I do understand why there is 60,000 people coming out. I know how committed boxing fans are to the sport, so I made sure I made a commitment to them to try to repay them. I look back at fights and see how far I have come.
“This fight is going to be fun. It’s big-time boxing and I’m comfortable in this environment.”
Day 2, stumps
Pakistan 482
Australia 30/0 (13 ov)
Australia trail by 452 runs with 10 wickets remaining in the innings
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Director: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas
Three stars
Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
Gulf Men's League final
Dubai Hurricanes 24-12 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Company Profile
Company name: Fine Diner
Started: March, 2020
Co-founders: Sami Elayan, Saed Elayan and Zaid Azzouka
Based: Dubai
Industry: Technology and food delivery
Initial investment: Dh75,000
Investor: Dtec Startupbootcamp
Future plan: Looking to raise $400,000
Total sales: Over 1,000 deliveries in three months
The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
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If you go:
The flights: Etihad, Emirates, British Airways and Virgin all fly from the UAE to London from Dh2,700 return, including taxes
The tours: The Tour for Muggles usually runs several times a day, lasts about two-and-a-half hours and costs £14 (Dh67)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is on now at the Palace Theatre. Tickets need booking significantly in advance
Entrance to the Harry Potter exhibition at the House of MinaLima is free
The hotel: The grand, 1909-built Strand Palace Hotel is in a handy location near the Theatre District and several of the key Harry Potter filming and inspiration sites. The family rooms are spacious, with sofa beds that can accommodate children, and wooden shutters that keep out the light at night. Rooms cost from £170 (Dh808).
