The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Anthony Joshua

  • Joshua to Parker: Read my lips you can’t stop me!

    Joshua to Parker: Read my lips you can’t stop me!

     

    Anthony Joshua has warned Joseph Parker that no man will stop him fulfilling his dream of becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.

    The two fighters came face-to-face for the first time on Tuesday as they kicked off the promotional tour for the March 31 showdown.

    Before the fight was announced Parker’s team sought to highlight perceived weaknesses in AJ’s armour by pointing out that he has been dropped during both his amateur and professional career.

    During his unpaid days, Joshua was floored by compatriot David Price in training. AJ revealed on Tuesday that he headed to that session having ‘come out of a police cell’. Last April, too, Joshua had to climb off the canvas on the way to beating Wladimir Klitschko.

    ‘All those times taught me it will take more than a human to stop me going where I’m destined to be,’ he told Team Parker.

    ‘What I have learned from those times of adversity and going through storms is that it will take more than any human to stop me on this journey.’

    He added: ‘It’s about making history now, we have always been moving in that direction so it’s an honour to be up here with another world champion. But in terms of Parker, I don’t really know how to take his camp. In terms of what’s been said but I take everything with a pinch of salt and roll with the punches.

    The two unbeaten heavyweights will collide for the WBO, IBF and WBA titles at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.

    Joshua has promised ‘fireworks’ and reminded the WBO champion: ‘This isn’t a three round fight based on skills, it’s a 12 round dog-fight and you have to have heart.’

    Parker responded by claiming it was his ‘destiny’ to be in big fights such as these.

    ‘I have a big challenge in front of me in Joshua’ he said.  ‘I know his strengths, he knows mine, I know his weaknesses, he thinks he knows my weaknesses, I can’t wait for this fight to happen on March 31, I can’t wait to train hard, to be back to put on a great performance, hopefully catch him on the chin and knock him out.’

    Parker’s trainer Kevin Barry did admit, however, that his fighter would need to produce the ‘greatest performance’ of his career to emerge victorious.

    ‘This is a really exciting fight and the heavyweight boxing division needs a fight like this. In fact boxing in general needs champions fighting each other,’ he said.

    ‘Anthony Joshua is a big, strong, powerful guy. It’s fair to say he’s probably a little stronger than Joe. He’s won all of his fights by knockout; he has a considerable height and reache advantage over Joseph Parker.’

    He added: ‘So my challenge to my fighter Joseph Parker is I need this to be his greatest performance. If he can show the public and Anthony Joshua what I see in the gym when he’s at his best, he’s a very hard guy to fight… (but) if Joseph

    Parker doesn’t bring his A-game it’s going to be a very difficult night.

    The Bronze Bomber faces Luis Ortiz on March 3, with the winner being lined up to fight for all four titles later in 2018.

  • Anthony Joshua Leads Way as 2017 Sports Personality Nominees Revealed

    Anthony Joshua Leads Way as 2017 Sports Personality Nominees Revealed

    The heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua heads a 12-strong shortlist for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award that contains nine reigning British world champions from sports as diverse as taekwondo, speed skating and motorcycling.

    However, eyebrows will be raised at the absence of any Lions players from the drawn tour of New Zealand in the summer – or the England rugby union team who won a second successive Six Nations title.

    Only two rugby union players have made the shortlist in the past 10 years in the form of Jason Robinson and Leigh Halfpenny. Owen Farrell, in particular, must be wondering what he must do to earn recognition. This year Farrell not only inspired England to a second successive Six Nations and Saracens to a second European Champions Cup but he was named European player of the year. He also played a leading part in the Lions tour, hitting every one of his penalty kicks in a thrilling drawn series.

    With no England male cricketer on the shortlist either – a surprise, given that Jimmy Anderson joined a rare club by taking his 500th Test wicket in September and Joe Root led his team to Test series wins over South Africa and West Indies, and averaged more than 56 with the bat – there may be questions about whether minor sports have too much sway

    Unsurprisingly Joshua, whose enthralling victory over Wladimir Klitschko for the WBA, IBF and IBO world heavyweight titles at Wembley in April was watched by more than 80,000 people, is a short-priced favourite for the main award, which will be presented in Liverpool on 17 December. The bookies rate the four-times Tour de France winner, Chris Froome, the recent Formula One world champion, Lewis Hamilton, and Mo Farah, who won 10,000m gold in the world championships in London, as his closest challengers.

    Women’s sport is also well represented with three world champions on the shortlist – the speed skater Elise Christie, taekwondo’s Bianca Walkden and the cricketer Anya Shrubsole, whose brilliant six for 46 in the final inspired England to World Cup glory. Johanna Konta is included despite a dramatic slump in which she won only two matches after reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals.

    The Paralympian Jonnie Peacock, Spurs striker Harry Kane, swimmer Adam Peaty and world superbike champion Jonathan Rea complete the shortlist. There is no place, though, for Phil Taylor, who will hang up his darts after the forthcoming PDC world championship, or Jermain Defoe, whose friendship with the young Sunderland fan Bradley Lowery, who died of cancer in July, was one of the most heartwarming – and sad – stories of the year.

  • Tireless Anthony Joshua attacks giant tyre in Dubai

    Tireless Anthony Joshua attacks giant tyre in Dubai

     

    Anthony Joshua submitted himself to another intense workout in Dubai as the boxer posted a photo of himself flipping a giant tyre amid the Middle Eastern heat.

    Joshua took to Instagram as he wore what appeared to be an elevation mask while pushing over the tyre on a running track.

    The boxer has been keeping in shape in Dubai, he was pictured training in a makeshift boxing ring on the roof of the famous Burj Al Arab earlier this week.

    Joshua trained on the helipad atop the roof of the 321-metre luxury hotel as he was put through his paces by a sparring partner.

    The WBA and IBF world heavyweight champion is currently in discussions with Joseph Parker over a proposed unification bout in early 2018.

    Parker and Joshua’s teams have been in negotiations as they attempt to agree a fair financial split. New Zealander Parker is prepared to accept 35 per cent.

    At a press conference on Wednesday, Parker’s promoter David Higgins revealed that 35 had become their ‘revised, non-negotiable bottom line’.

    Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn meanwhile urged Parker’s team to reach a deal or risk throwing away the ‘opportunity of a lifetime’.

    If there one thing the Nigeria born British boxer is not taking lightly irrespective of possible bout reached in future, it is his fitness. In the course of the fitness he is involved in all forms including bodyboarding on a wave simulator

    The 28-year-old shared a picture to Instagram of himself laying on the board, alongside the caption: ‘Riding the Wave’.

    Earlier this week, Joshua shared footage of himself working out in a rooftop ring by the coast of the Persian Gulf.

    Joshua’s promoter Barry Hearn revealed to Sportsmail this week that he and Parker’s representatives were getting closer to agreeing terms for the possible London fight.

    Hearn explained: ‘We are certainly closer than we were. We have spoken a lot with their team and we are within touching distance, so it is just about getting all parties happy and agreed. I’m confident we will and the aim would be for the end of March.

    ‘The location could be the O2 and what a great return that would be. Our aim has always been for three fights in 2018 and that means March and the weather means going indoors.

    ‘The O2 has been great to AJ so it’s a strong possibility, if we can get everything else lined up.

    ‘I’m confident we will, so long as they are serious about wanting this fight.’

  • Parker desperate for Joshua challenge

    Parker desperate for Joshua challenge

     

    Joseph Parker has vowed to do ‘anything’ to make a fight with Anthony Joshua happen – but he has warned Britain’s IBF and WBA heavyweight champion that he will have to walk away and pursue the likes of Deontay Wilder unless an acceptable deal is put on the table.

    Negotiations between Joshua and the WBO champion are ongoing ahead of a potential unification fight in 2018. But talks have hit an early stumbling block, with the New Zealander’s team keen to secure a 40 per cent stake in the contest.

    Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn labelled those demands ‘laughable’, however, and Parker has now revealed to Sportsmail that he is willing to accept as low as 35 per cent and even change his own pre-planned schedule just to secure a fight with his British rival.

    ‘I’ll do anything to make the fight happen,’ he said.

    ‘Forty per cent is what we think is a good deal… that’s what our target is but they’re not on the same page as us in terms of making 60-40. So anything below 35 per cent wouldn’t be a go ahead for us,’ the unbeaten heavyweight added.

    ‘We’re looking at fighting in March or April. If they’re keen to fight (then), we’re very keen to fight. It’s time that all the heavyweight champions unified so we can see who the best in the world is.

    He added: ‘There is no real timeframe. We’re open to suggestions from their side. We have a date we want to fight on but they might have a different date so it’s about finding some common ground and meeting in the middle.’

    Parker has been out of the ring since his victory over Britain’s Hughie Fury in September. Joshua, meanwhile, is being lined up for a trilogy of heavyweight mega-fights, with Hearn hoping to make fights with WBC champion Deontay Wilder, Parker and ex-unified king Tyson Fury to crown an undisputed king of the division.

    The WBO champion is confident his and AJ’s team can settle their contractual differences and begin a potentially historic series of unification bouts. But the New Zealand fighter claims he is prepared to forgo his ‘preferred option’ if terms cannot be agreed.

  • We’ll facilitate Joshua’s visit to Nigeria – Ogun govt

    We’ll facilitate Joshua’s visit to Nigeria – Ogun govt

    Ogun State government on Monday said it would facilitate a proposed visit of the World boxing champion, Anthony Joshua, to Nigeria when he is ready.
    The government said the heavyweight boxer had expressed intention to visit the country and home state, Ogun.
    This was disclose by the Secretary to the State government, Taiwo Adeoluwa, while addressing journalists in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, after the weekly State Executive Council meeting.
     Adeoluwa described Joshua as a “pride to the state,” saying the feat achieved by him was a good news to the state.
    He noted that the government would continue to support Ogun State indigenes across the globe.
     “Anthony Joshua contacted Ogun State because of that ‘Omoluabi’ in him, we didn’t make that plan, he indicated his intentions to come back home.
    “He said that he would be willing to visit Nigeria, of course, he will visit Ogun State and Sagamu and we will facilitate his visit to Nigeria.
    “Everywhere we find our people doing things that appears to demonstrate the ‘Ogun Standard’, we support, we celebrate, we identify, and that is why Ogun state sent delegation to Cardiff.
    “Yes, Joshua spent a larger part of his years and professional accomplishment in the UK but the truth is that he comes originally from Sagamu and I was happy to hear that the parent spoke to Ogun State delegation in Ijebu dialect.
    “Today, we celebrate Joshua just as we will continue to celebrate all our people in different categories of sporting and other activities.
    “Joshua is a model to the youth of Sagamu, Ogun East and Ogun State at large. We will continue to wish him well so also all our youths aspiring in different fields,” Adeoluwa said.
  • Ibrah hails ‘people’s champion’ Anthony Joshua

    Ibrah hails ‘people’s champion’ Anthony Joshua

     

    Zlatan Ibrahimovic has hailed Anthony Joshua as the People’s Champion, even though the majority of the record-busting 78,000 crowd in Cardiff on Saturday night booed the world heavyweight champion’s premature stoppage of Carlos Takam.

    The Manchester United goalscorer, a visitor to Joshua’s dressing-room in the Principality Stadium, said: ‘he’s the perfect example of how a boxer needs to be today. He’s powerful. He has the movement. He’s a knock-out artist. Even the character.

    ‘The personality is good because he’s perfect without trying.’

    This was Ibrahimovic’s first pilgrimage to one of Joshua’s mass rallies of the faithful. The footballer said of the prizefighter: ‘He has good vibes all around him. He has the energy. He expresses himself well.

    ‘That’s why people love him. That’s why he is the People’s Champion.’

    The people were disappointed on the night. Not so much by Joshua but by the tenth round stoppage which denied Takam, the supremely courageous French Cameroonian, the privilege of making it to the final bell.

    But Takam was so badly cut and swollen around the eyes that he had trouble seeing Joshua’s punches coming.

    Joshua will go on to stiffer championship challenges next year, not least against America’s WBC title holder Deontay Wilder at some point in 2018.

    Ibrahimovic plans to be at those fights whenever possible although he left AJ this night with a typically cheeky aside.

    When asked if Joshua is as good a boxer as he is a footballer, he replied: ‘Not yet. But he’s getting there.’

    As well as humour, there was an element of truth in the remark.

  • London Police Streams Anthony Joshua’s Bout That Shows Porn

    London Police Streams Anthony Joshua’s Bout That Shows Porn

    London Police streamed Anthony Joshua’s Bout Live with Porn.

    Yes, in case you did not get the gist. It happened. If you were online on Saturday night to monitor the Anthony Joshua’s WBA and IBF title defence you were likely not to miss the gist.

    An illegal stream of Anthony Joshua’s fight with Carlos Takam that included hardcore porn between rounds was shared by England Police responsible for the county of Somerset and the now defunct county of Avon.

    The Avon and Somerset Police’s Operational Support Team were caught on that Saturday night retweeting a link to a live stream on the Periscope app.

    In the minute between rounds, the stream switched from the live action in Cardiff to hardcore porn.

    Not less than 1.6 million may be estimated to have noticed the provocative site as Wikipedia (online search web) described the Avon and Somerset as the larges police force in England and Wales that provides service for over 1.6 million people.

    Fact check shows that not less than 80,000 spectators where at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, to see the bout but greater number of spectators where online following up via various channels including on twitter.

    Words cannot described the ectasy of funfrom the mixture of sport(IBF and WBA boxing) and hardcore porn. But, maybe the Avon and Somerset Police’s Operational Support Team may one day share the experience.

    Avon and Somerset Police have now apologised, describing it has a mistake and “human error”.

    In a statement gotten by www.mirror.co.uk the police said: “We are aware that last night a spam link, containing inappropriate content, was accidentally retweeted on one of our official A&S Police Twitter accounts.

    “Unfortunately, this was due to human error and the account user was unaware that it had happened.

    “The post containing the offending link was removed within an hour, as soon as we became aware of the matter.

    “We would like to thank those who brought it to our attention and we apologise for any offence that may have been caused through the sharing of this content.”

    The Nigerian-born British heavyweight boxer beat the Cameroonian Carlos Takam in the tenth round at the pay-per-view fight in Cardiff, Wales.

  • Anthony Joshua’s Nose ‘Not Broken’, says Doctor

    Anthony Joshua’s Nose ‘Not Broken’, says Doctor

    A doctor in the camp of Anthony Oluwafemi Joshua (AJ) confirmed that the Nigerian-born British heavyweight boxer’s nose is not actually broken.

    The news came as relieve for Joshua who initially feared  that his nose felt broken following the headbutt in the second round of his victory over Carlos Takam in Cardiff on Saturday night.

    Takam’s forehead crunched against the nose of the Briton and Joshua struggled to maintain a poker face as his eyes began watering.

    “With the old headbutt, you don’t see it coming,” Joshua said in the post-fight press conference. “It’s harder than a punch because it’s bone on bone. But everyone did a good job in the corner and controlled the bleeding.

    “It was just getting through that round, because the referee doesn’t give you [time]. You really want 10 minutes, just to get yourself together and clean yourself up.

    “But it’s an experience, it happens in a fight. I had to make sure I didn’t take a silly shot because it was ready to start gushing with blood but they managed it in the corner.”

    Joshua’s camp is targeting three fights in 2018 but the 28-year-old admitted that his first priority was having his nose cracked back into place.

    Fortunately for the 20-0 champion, though, a doctor’s examination in his dressing room at the Principality Stadium confirmed some positive news for Joshua as his nose isn’t actually broken.

    “It’s really sore,” Joshua said after the dressing room doctor confirmed the positive new to him that the nose is not actually broken.

    “Nah, it’s just swollen right now. The doctor checked it, no stress, it’s just really sore.”

    The names mentioned as next potential opponents for ‘AJ’ were WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker and the currently sidelined Tyson Fury.

    And while those three certainly represent the biggest fights for Joshua, the London 2012 gold medalist admitted that he may well be forced into another mandatory defence before he looks at unifying his division.

    “My next few fights might be mandatories because they’re obligations I have to fill. I’m just focusing keeping belts by any means,” Joshua said.

  • Boxing fans hail Joshua for boosting Nigeria’s global image

    Boxing fans hail Joshua for boosting Nigeria’s global image

    Boxing fans in Ebonyi have hailed Nigerian-born Briton, Anthony Joshua, for boosting the country’s global image by retaining his heavy-weight title belts on Saturday night.

    They gave the commendation in separate interviews in Abakaliki on Sunday.

    Joshua successfully retained his World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) titles over Cameroonian-born, Frenchman Carlos Takam on Saturday night.

    Joshua achieved the feat via a 10th-round Technical Knockout (TKO) over his opponent at the Municipality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.

    The fans, who blamed referee Phil Edwards for controversially stopping the bout in the 10thround noted that Joshua had brought global attention to his country of birth, Nigeria just as his naturalised country, England.

    Jossy Nkwuda, former boxing coach with the Ebonyi Sports Council, noted that Joshua had successfully stepped into the shoes of boxing greats such as Muhammed Ali, Joe Fraizer, the Klitshckho brothers, among others.

    “It is rare to see a boxer retaining two heavyweight boxing belts in modern times as we pray that Johsua sustains the momentum longer than Ali and the Klitsckho brothers.

    “This feat shows that Nigeria is blessed with abundant talents who can project its image with adequate human and material management, dedication among others,” he said.

    Jude Kanu, an amateur boxer in Ebonyi, who is commended Joshua for the feat, however, advised him to work harder in maintaining the present boxing glory he is revelling-in.

    “Joshua, with the feat, earned the 20th TKO of his career thereby surpassing Mike Tyson’s record of 19th TKO and one behind legendary Frank Bruno on 21st,’’ he said.

    “Nigerians should use the feat as a rallying point to achieve unity which would guarantee economic, social development and global recognition,”

    Paschal Mebuge, a transporter and boxing buff noted that Joshua’s performance fell below standard, compared to his historic win over Vladimir Klitchko earlier in the year.

    “He could still have won the match despite the crowd’s disapproval of the bout’s stoppage by the referee as he clearly outclassed Takam.

    “The country’s boxing authorities should ensure the grooming of boxers who will replicate Joshua’s strides and provide them with conducive environment to avoid being poached by foreign countries,” he said.

    NAN

  • Title Defence: Sagamu bubbles for Anthony Joshua

    Title Defence: Sagamu bubbles for Anthony Joshua

     

    With just few hours to the all-important showdown between Anthony Joshua and Carlos Takam, the sleepy town of Sagamu has become a beehive of activities as residents trooped out in their numbers to support their son in what they have dubbed a must win encounter.

    Anthony Oluwafemi Joshua is defending his heavyweight world title for the fourth time against French- Cameroonian Carlos Takam.

    The event, hosted by the Joshua family partnering with Kwese Sports had people of all ages and from all works of life congregate at the Pa Joshua Memorial Hall to see how their illustrious son dismantle  willy Takam.

    Sagamu holds a special place for Joshua as the heavyweight champion spent a year schooling within the vicinity during his teenage years. He has often stated that the discipline inculcated in him during his boarding house years in Sagamu made him the tough and successful boxer he has become today.

    The heavyweight world champion faces Takam at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday evening as he looks to retain the titles he fought so hard to win against Wladimir Klitschko.

    With an anticipated crowd of 80,000 people set to gather in the Welsh capital, Joshua would not be blamed for feeling some nerves.

    But judging by his Instagram snap, Joshua has not been struck by any fear ahead of that encounter.

    He wrote as a caption to the social media photo: ‘Feeling fight day fresh #stayhungry’.

    The Nigerian born British fighter came in at the largest weight of his career, a full stone heavier than Takam, contrary to promoter Eddie Hearn’s predictions.

    Joshua commented when asked: ‘I don’t know what’s happened. I’ve been starving myself.

    ‘I’ve trained hard so maybe it’s the extra running. Maybe I’m filling out naturally as I’m getting older’

    He has turned 28, but insisted: ‘I’ve never felt better and fitter in my life. ‘