ANTHONY JOSHUA calmly carried out his media duties on Thurday, two days before he fights Americaโs Eric Molina at the Manchester Arena for the second defence of his IBF heavyweight title.
Molina is the last the barrier between Joshua and some major heavyweight showdowns. โI need to win. Itโs a good thing because obviously it means Iโm not overlooking him because, as you said, itโs the final hurdle to big fights some people have been waiting to see. But you know every fight is a big fight because every fight could be the end. So I make sure Iโm not complacent,โ he told Boxing News. โItโs nearly there now, not long to go, what can I say? Iโm not focusing on that though. Iโve got to focus on Molina.โ
David Haye has demanded his right for a shot at Anthony Joshua, complaining that the IBF champion hasnโt been mentioning his name for a reason, to avoid him. Itโs worth noting though that for as long as Joshua has been a professional boxer, David hasnโt been a world titlist. Itโs natural that Anthony has been taking aim at Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder and Wladimir Klitschko. โHe hasnโt been a champion, he hasnโt boxed, heโs been injured,โ Joshua points out.
Joshua is close to securing a mega-fight with Wladimir Klitschko to unify the WBA and IBF titles. It’s richly anticipated and Joshua, who will have had less than 20 fights and limited professional rounds himself, insists he is ready. โWhen opportunity presents itself you have to grab it with two hands. Providing I beat someone like Molina, what do I do then? Do I fight Dillian [Whyte] again? Do I fight someone like [David] Price? Or do I take the opportunity to fight Klitschko? I think thatโs a tougher, more credible win, go with that option I think. Heโs interested so I think that makes sense for me. It makes sense. Itโs not about when because I think weโll fight everyone. Itโs just if it makes sense for us,โ Joshua explained.
Klitschko should be watching from ringside on Saturday. โProbably Iโll say something [to him]. Weโll probably have some words,โ Joshua mused.
This contest against Molina will be meaningful for him, to prepare Joshua for that big step forward. “Every fightโs different. Iโm not boxing Molina as Iโd box Klitschko. Every fightโs different, but Iโll box Molina to lead me on to someone like Klitschko,โ Anthony continued. โItโs just the fact that Molinaโs had notable wins. Heโs had notable wins and heโs tough.
โYou need as many learning fights as possible because when an opportunity like Klitschko presents itself, you best hope youโve taken all your time in the ring and learned something because you need it all in a fight like that.โ