LONDON, ENGLAND – (May 18, 2023) – With a resumé featuring close-fought encounters with some of heavyweight boxing’s biggest names – including two-time world heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko and former WBA world champion Alexander Povetkin – Mariusz ‘The Viking’ Wach (36-9, 19 KO’s) is one of the most experienced veterans on today’s heavyweight circuit.

Next month, the battle-tested gladiator travels to London, England on a mission to bring all of his experience to bear in an effort to halt the ascent of British heavyweight contender Frazer ‘Big Fraze’ Clarke (6-0, 5 KO’s) in its tracks at London’s historic York Hall on Friday, June 16th, live on Sky Sports.

Clarke is no stranger to pressure or challenges – having succeeded on the biggest stage in amateur boxing when he won a bronze medal for Great Britain at the 2020 Olympic Games – but the clash with Wach will test him as never before and thoroughly examine his prospects for world-stage success. 

Himself an Olympian – Wach represented Poland in the 2004 Olympic Games – Wach’s professional career has seen him consistently face the best fighters the heavyweight division has to offer, including his 2012 challenge against Klitschko for the unified world heavyweight championship. 

The challenge was unsuccessful but Wach showed his quality and has done so many times since, including in bouts with top British talents Dillian Whyte and Hughie Fury on UK soil. A hostile crowd in London will not faze Wach.

Clarke has scored a string of knockout wins since turning professional last year, showcasing  a blend of boxing finesse and ferocious power. Now Clarke is now eager for tougher tests to sharpen his arsenal as he continues his march towards the championship bouts which await him.

“I’m glad that we’re finally able to announce this fight and let people see the kind of challenges I’m looking for. Mariusz Wach is a very tough opponent, his record speaks for itself – look at the names he’s been in there with and the kind of fights he’s had with them. So I hope it’s clear to everyone now that Frazer Clarke isn’t afraid of anyone,” said Clarke.

“I’m in this game to be world champion and the pathway has always been carefully planned. A lot has been said about me lately but people don’t know what goes on behind the scenes. Myself and my promoter Ben Shalom are on the same page and we’re executing the plan step by step. I expect to have the British heavyweight championship belt round my waist by the end of the year – but first I have to handle Mariusz Wach.”

Ben Shalom, BOXXER Founder and CEO, added “This is a great fight for Frazer Clarke. Mariusz Wach is a very tough customer who has shared the ring with some of the biggest names in the sport with some memorable performances. Frazer Clarke is taking a big step up on June 16th but these are the challenges needs as he makes his way to the top.”

Dubbed ‘A Step To Greatness’, the BOXXER Fight Night at York Hall on Friday, June 16th features several hotly-tipped British fighters who are stepping up to take on serious challenges in search of wins which will move them significantly up the rankings. 

Super-lightweight prodigy Adam Azim (8-0, 6 KO’s) headlines against dangerous Ukrainian Aram Fanyan (22-1, 4 KO’s), who brings three times the professional experience, is on the edge of the EBU top ten rankings and has lost just once in 23 professional fights.

And Caroline Dubois (6-0, 5 KO’s) takes on Yanina Lescano (13-2, 4 KO’s), who many believe should rightfully be the IBO world champion. Lescano – current holder of South American Lightweight Championship – lost a narrow split-decision in a title challenge against Estelle Mossely last year which many observers felt she had won. 

By Norm Frauenheim –

There were swimmers, gymnasts and skiers standing alongside Vladimir Putin in support of his war against the Ukraine last week in a Moscow rally.

There wasn’t a boxer among them, according to reports. But boxing’s absence doesn’t mean there won’t be an impact.

Dmitry Bivol wasn’t there.

Yet, it was hard not to think about the Russian light-heavyweight and his May Day date with Canelo Alvarez. Putin’s war is everywhere. It’s there when buying a tank of gas. It’s there in tears and trauma, 24-7, on the television news. There’s no refuge, no place to hide from it all.

Business-as-usual is an illusion. Still, it’s been brisk, at least it has been for boxing. Tickets for Canelo-Bivol on May 7 at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena sold out within the first day they went up for sale this week.

For now, at least, Bivol has sidestepped the escalating wave of controversy and sanctions. When the prizefight was announced, he was careful to say that he wasn’t political. He said all the right things. But words aren’t a rhetorical vaccine against getting swept up in it all.

Former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, already on record with his opposition to letting Bivol fight, added some fuel to the fire this week with an impassioned video on social media. He didn’t mention Bivol this time. He didn’t have to.

Waldimir stood alongside his brother-in-arms and another ex-heavyweight champ, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, and condemned the Russians, saying that the “Ukraine is not a battlefield, it is a crime scene.’’

Quit funding the crime, he then said.

“Stop doing business with Putin’s Russia, because every dollar buys them ammunition,’’ he said. “… Every cent going into the Russian budget is going today to killing our men, women and children.’’

That begs a question: Will any of Bivol’s purse go to the Russians? As a Russian citizen with a family in Saint Petersburg, he pays Russian taxes. According to reports when the bout was announced last month, Bivol is guaranteed $2 million. His final paycheck could grow to $4-million, depending on the pay-per-view sales. If the quick sellout of T-Mobile is a sign, there’s a pretty good chance that the PPV will be strong enough to double Bivol’s payday.

International sanctions limiting Russian access to banks and dollars might stop Russia from getting a share.

There’s an argument that Bivol should be allowed to fight. Fair enough. Citizenship shouldn’t be enough to keep any athlete off the track, out the water and out of the ring. Bivol appears to be a quiet craftsman. He’s not making any noise. He’s staying apolitical. But war, the money and his Russian citizenship won’t allow him to be neutral in what could be one of the most watched prizefights of the year.

For one thing, the Klitschko Brothers will continue to campaign against all things Russian. They are committed, compelling and comfortable in front of the camera.

Then, there are mounting sanctions against Russian athletes. Don’t confuse Bivol with any who stood with Putin at the Moscow rally. They were wearing the Z that is supposed to be a sign of support for his war. We keep hearing that Z is not in the Russian alphabet. Neither is a swastika.

They have identified themselves, front and center, as targets for the terror the Klitschko Brothers are fighting. But there’s more than one symbol that ties Bivol to them. There’s the dollar $ign.  

A swimmer, Evgeny Rylov, got an endorsement deal with Speedo after the backstroker won two gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics last summer. Speedo terminated the contract Wednesday after video surfaced of him on stage with Putin.

“Any outstanding sponsorship fees will be donated to the United Nations,’’ Speedo said in a formal statement, perhaps precedent for a prizefight.

By Norm Frauenheim–

Dmitry Bivol doesn’t look like collateral damage. Not yet, anyway. But the controversy, if not the possibility, is there. Wladimir Klitschko made sure of it.

Bivol, a Russian light-heavyweight champion, should not be allowed to fight Canelo Alvarez, Klitschko told UK media in a condemnation of Russia and its ongoing attack of Ukraine, the former heavyweight champion’s homeland.

His blunt comments are not a surprise. He and brother Vitali, mayor of Kyiv and also a former heavyweight champ, are just a few of the prominent faces engaged in a desperate fight. Wladimir, soldier and statesman, wants a boycott of all things Russian.

Right now, that means Bivol. The light-heavyweight is a current face, a Russian symbol, of what the Klitschkos and their fellow Ukrainians believe the world should boycott.

Bivol’s deal to fight Canelo, the world’s wealthiest and best-known boxer, was formally announced last week.  Bivol can’t escape the timing. Perhaps, it’s just coincidence. But the timing of the deal and Klitchko’s subsequent comments put him in the crosshairs.

In interviews with BBC 5 Live Radio and London tabloid The Mirror, Klitschko likened a ban on Bivol to another sanction on Russia.

“Every sanction – and it’s nothing against the personalities or athletes, it’s about the politics of Russia,’’ Klitschko told BBC. “Every Russian representative in this case needs to be sanctioned, because this way we show to Russia that the world is against his senseless war and there is no good in this war.”

In other words: Don’t buy Russian oil, don’t let Russians use ATMS, don’t let them eat Big Macs, sink the oligarch yachts and don’t watch Bivol.

For promoter Eddie Hearn and Canelo, the aforementioned watch – as in watch DAZN’s pay-per-view telecast on May 7 – looms as perhaps the real threat, some collateral damage to the biggest boxing promotion this year.

The deal is done. Business, as it always has in boxing, moves on, no matter what. Muhammad Ali-George Foreman, 1974’s fabled Rumble in the Jungle, happened in dictator Mobutu’s country, then Zaire. Ali-Joe Frazier 3, 1975’s Thrilla In Manila, happened under strongman Ferdinand Marcos’ rule.

More tyranny from Vladimir Putin probably won’t stop the fight. But it might make at least some people in the projected audience think twice about paying $79.98 for the PPV. Nothing about Putin War is pretty. Ugly is the only word for it. Wall-to-wall coverage on cable networks is full of tears, trauma, rubble and blood. An end to the carnage is not in sight.

The sports world is reacting. The NBA’s Utah Jazz just announced it will fund 32,000 nights of housing for Ukrainian refugees. Expect more of the same. Maybe, the Canelo-Bivol promotion can do something similar. But that won’t silence the controversy over Bivol’s appearance on a card that could earn him a reported $4 million, more than four times bigger than his biggest payday.

He seems to be a nice guy. He’s quiet. He was born in Kyrgyzstan. He has lived in Russia most of his life. He has family in Saint Petersburg. He tried to say all the right things last week at the newser in San Diego. He said he has friends in Ukraine. He said he has friends in Russia.

“I wish everyone peace and only the best,’’ Bivol said. “It’s really sad for me. Every day, I wake up and read the news. I hope this ends soon.”

It’s a dilemma, one that Bivol didn’t seek. But there’s no hoping it just goes away. There’s also no way to pacify both sides. The Klitschko brothers stand as a lesson and also a warning, at least to the Russians. They won’t quit. 

It was hard not to notice Thursday that the Ukrainians destroyed a Russian tank column, a reported regiment, in Brovary, a suburban town about 10 miles east of Kyiv. It’s the same town where Wladimir Klitschko first learned how to box at Brovary Olympic Reserve School in the late 1980s.

Those burning tanks are a warning.

So, too, are Klitschko’s words.

So, too, are pound-for-pound contenders Vasiliy Lomachenko and Oleksandr Usyk, both symbols of Ukraine’s inexhaustible will to fight. Lomachenko and Usyk are still in the middle of brilliant ring careers. Lomachenko was projected to fight unified lightweight champion George Kambosos in Australia. Usyk was working toward a rematch of his heavyweight stunner over Anthony Joshua.

Lomachenko was training in the Greek islands. Usyk was in the UK. Then, Putin attacked. Their lives changed. But their priorities did not. They enlisted in the fight to save their homeland.

It’ll be impossible not to think about their real fight while watching Bivol in a prize fight.

By Norm Frauenheim–

It’s an intriguing weekend. Jermell and Jermall Charlo, maybe the most interesting brothers since the Klitschkos, are on one card, each in title fights.

Yuniel Dorticos and Mairis Briedis fight in a cruiserweight final of a concept, the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS), that somehow is back during a Pandemic that has made so much else oh-so forgettable. Josh Taylor is back for the first time in 11 months in a mandatory defense against challenger Apinun Khongsong in a London bout that could set up a long-awaited junior-welterweight showdown with Jose Ramirez.

It’s a loaded Saturday that tempts those of us – most of us – outside of the bubble to take a look. Maybe this is it, the moment when boxing begins to show it is ready to come out from behind closed doors and back under the marquee lights.

Hope springs eternal these days.

Then again, feints do, too.

Start with the Charlos, twins separated by only a vowel and six pounds. Jermell (33-1, 17 KOs) hopes to add Jeison Rosario’s (20-1-1, 14 KOs) two belts to his own, the World Council’s 154-pound belt. Jermall (30-0, 22 KOs) defends his WBC 160-pound belt against Sergiy Derevyanchenko (13-2, 10 KOs).

The Charlos are a good story. But they’re not a pay-per-view story. Not during a Pandemic or before one. Post-Pandemic, maybe.  Even before Covid, their evolving careers were short of a major bout and name recognition. Nevertheless, a PPV tag, $74.95, has been attached to their featured bouts on a Showtime card (7 p.m. ET/ 4 p.m. PT) from the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn.

Will anybody pay to watch? Put it this way: Not many have been watching bubble bouts without the PPV price tag. Blame the economy. There’s not much disposable income. No stimulus from a deadlocked Congress, either. Fan interest has declined as much as the household budget. Fewer and fewer fans are watching.

There wasn’t much marketing momentum last Saturday in Showtime’s telecast of Erickson Lubin’s dull victory over Terrell Gausha. According to Nelsen, ratings for the Lubin-Gausha-featured card averaged 116,000 viewers. It peaked at 122,000, the smallest since Showtime resumed its boxing schedule August 1.

The trend seems to say — make that scream — for a couple of terrific bouts without the PPV investment. Boxing is in desperate need of some good advertising.  The Charlo twins could do exactly that. They could retain an audience and perhaps bring back a few of those who have already left the building. But a PPV price tag threatens to keep them away, leaving the game wrapped in a buzz-less bubble.

Maybe, that changes on Oct. 17 when Vasiliy Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez meet on ESPN in a lightweight bout loaded with pound-for-pound significance. It’s a fight still in the bubble, yet without a PPV tag.

Maybe, it only changes with what would be a surprising return of Canelo Alvarez, the leading PPV star over the last couple of years., The Athletic reported Thursday that Canelo is talking to DAZN, which he had sued along with his promoter, Oscar De La Hoya. The suit was dismissed for a technicality. A simple rewrite would restore it.  An amended lawsuit is due Monday.  According to The Athletic, DAZN is offering Canelo $20 million, about $15 million less than the per-fight purse included in his original contract with the streaming service.

Maybe, maybe. Maybe, Terence Crawford is close to a deal to fight Kell Brook on Nov. 14. Maybe, fans will be allowed to sit in socially-distanced seats for Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder 3, targeted for Dec. 19 at the brand new Allegiant Stadium, the Raiders new home in Las Vegas.

The bubble is full of more maybes than real fights. Don’t make the fans pay for the little that is real. They can’t afford it. Neither can boxing.

NEW YORK – May 28, 2020 – SHOWTIME Sports^® has announced today its SHOWTIME BOXING CLASSICS June slate, featuring a collection of Mike Tyson fights, Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko and other memorable moments from the network’s deep archive of world championship bouts. SHOWTIME BOXING CLASSICS airs every Friday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME and is also available via the SHOWTIME streaming service and SHOWTIME ANYTIME^®.

In June, the weekly series includes four nights of edge-of-your-seat boxing action featuring some of the most unforgettable bouts in recent years, including 2017’s unanimous Fight of the Year – Joshua vs. Klitschko – and a dramatic matchup between Adrien Broner and Marcos Maidana. In addition, Mike Tyson’s legendary knockout power will be on display with five fights in one night on June 12, and the semifinals and final of the Super Six World Boxing Classic will air on June 19 and June 26.

The full schedule is as follows:

• Friday, June 5 at 10 p.m. ET/PT
  • Joshua vs. Klitschko
  • Broner vs. Maidana
• Friday, June 12 at 10 p.m. ET/PT
  • Tyson vs. Frans Botha
  • Tyson vs. Julian Francis
  • Tyson vs. Lou Savarese
  • Tyson vs. Brian Nielsen
  • Tyson vs. Clifford Etienne
• Friday, June 19 at 10 p.m. ET/PT
  • Andre Ward vs. Arthur Abraham
  • Carl Froch vs. Glen Johnson
• Friday, June 26 at 10 p.m. ET/PT
  • Ward vs. Froch

Combat sports analysts Luke Thomas and Brian Campbell will host live companion episodes of their digital talk show MORNING KOMBAT on the Morning Kombat YouTube Channel for select SHOWTIME BOXING CLASSICS telecasts. They will watch the fights along with viewers, give their real-time reactions and take questions from fans throughout the replay. Viewers can follow along and participate in the discussion by using the hashtag #FightFromHome on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

SHOWTIME is currently available to subscribers via cable, DBS, and telco providers, and as a stand-alone streaming service through Amazon, Apple^®, Google, LG Smart TVs, Oculus Go, Roku^®, Samsung Smart TVs and Xbox One. Consumers can also subscribe to SHOWTIME via Amazon’s Prime Video Channels, Apple TV Channels, AT&T TV Now, FuboTV, Hulu, The Roku Channel, Sling TV and YouTube TV or directly at www.showtime.com.

SUNNY EDWARDS believes he and world champion brother Charlie are following in the footsteps of heavyweight greats, The Klitschkos.

The Croydon flyweight siblings might be nine stone lighter than the Ukrainian former world heavyweight champions, but the little big men are inspired by their success story.

Sunny (10-0, 3 KOs) is heading towards world honours, while Charlie is WBC flyweight champion – the division where both aspire to hold global gongs at the same time and dominate like the Klitschkos did.

“We are the mini Croydon Klitschkos,” roared Sunny who defends his WBO European super-flyweight title at SSE Arena, Wembley on Saturday April 27, live on BT Sport.

Sunny, 23, showed he is destined for the top at the back end of 2018 with impressive wins against Ryan Farrag and Adrian Granados.

Charlie has been defeated, but like the Klitschkos showed mettle to bounce back from defeat and become a world champion.

Sunny said: “The Klitschkos would have started out with nothing and that is what makes you dangerous.

“I’ve always said that if you have disposable income and want for nothing those fights that you lose or times it gets hard, how easy is it to turn around and say; ‘Boxing isn’t for me?’

“When you have invested everything those setbacks don’t knock you off. They just help you pave a different way.

“Flyweights are not the biggest division, but we’re building enough of a profile. We’re not earning what the heavyweights do, but we’re earning good money and not slaving away in ten rounders for a couple of grand.”

Although the Edwards pair have devoted their lives to boxing, it was only 12 months ago they started training together when Charlie joined Sunny at Grant Smith’s Steel City gym in Sheffield.

Sunny added: “Although we have the same career we are walking them differently. We have different promoters for a start.

“Although he is my brother and I am so proud of where he is I am still paving my own way. I’m not looking for handouts off the back of him.

“It is great to have him alongside me training at Steel City gym. We help each other, we bring each other on and it’s great.”

Daniel Dubois v Richard Lartey tops the bill at the SSE Arena, Wembley on April 27 on a card that also includes the Commonwealth super middleweight title fight between Lerrone Richards and Tommy Langford, as well as the Southern Area super middleweight title clash between Zak Chelli and Jimmy Smith. WBO European super flyweight champion Sunny Edwards and WBO European super featherweight champion Archie Sharp also feature.

Chorley-boxer Jack Catterall will be in action as he edges ever-closer to a world title challenge. Rangy Super Welterweight talent Hamzah Sheeraz will be back out after his impressive win over Rod Douglas Jnr. Hard hitting middleweight and Peacock gym product Denzel Bentley (9-0) and Belfast amateur middleweight star Caoimhin Agyarko will also return to action. There are Queensberry debuts for unbeaten welterweight Chris Kongo (10-0) and Sheffield middleweight Shakiel Thompson (2-0) – with Thompson being tipped by sparring partner Billy Joe Saunders as a star for the future. Ilford Super Middleweight Umar Sadiq (4-1) also returns as he looks to rebuild after his first career loss. Tunde Ajayi trained lightweight Bilal Ali (1-0) will have his second professional fight after making a successful start to his pro career, with Hoddesdon super lightweight Alfie Price set for his fifth.

Tickets will be priced as £40, £50, £75, £100 and £150 and are now ON SALE to purchase via Eventim, Ticketmaster, the SSE Arena website and AXS.com

Tyson Fury sat down with popular American podcast host, stand-up comedian and MMA commentator Joe Rogan on Thursday night. Fury gave an incredible insight into his life since his triumphant victory against Wladimir Klitschko on Rogan’s extremely popular podcast ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ from his studio in LA.

Fury’s mental health issues and road to recovery were explained in detail by the lineal heavyweight world champion in what was a deep and inspirational conversation with Rogan.

Tyson of course had time to speak about his upcoming opponent, America’s WBC world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.

The two giant athletes go toe-to-toe on December 1st at the Staples Centre, Los Angeles live on BT Sport Box Office.

Tyson told Rogan that he “hand-picked” Wilder as his opponent and explained how Wilder was a catalyst and motivation for his incredible comeback to the sport.

“I see this video of Deontay Wilder saying ‘Tyson Fury is finally done’.

“He did this video after seeing this photo of me being fat and said: ‘He’s finally finished and even if I did fight him in his heyday I’d have knocked him out’.”

The ‘Gypsy King’ also found offence in Wilder’s choice of words towards a heavyweight great; which happened to be about the boxer that Fury was named after.

“Before that, he was talking about Mike Tyson and how he’d knock him out in a round.

“And I thought to myself: ‘That’s very disrespectful to talk about someone who is not even in your era and all that sort of stuff’.

“So, I thought to myself: ‘If I ever do fight you I’m going to give it to you for that reason’.

“And then when I saw the other video of him saying I can’t come back he gave me that much more motivation to return just so I can beat Deontay Wilder.”

Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder have been back and forth with each other dating back to before Fury’s famous upset against Klitschko.

The rivalry between the pair has intensified since the announcement of the fight and participated in a feisty media tour which saw the heavyweights come-together on several occasions.

Fury made sure he had the opportunity to share his reason on why he defeats Wilder convincingly on December 1st when speaking to Rogan.

“Deontay Wilder is a one-trick pony.” stated Fury.

He continued; “I don’t need to do anything special to beat him. I just need to be myself. Deontay Wilder is looking for that one right hand all night.”

“It’s a good trick though!” joked Rogan, with Fury responding with “It’s a very good trick, but we all know what happens when that trick doesn’t land… you’ve lost!

“You need more than one punch to beat me. You’re going to need to set it up with footwork, speed, feints, movement and he doesn’t have any of that.”

“If I get hit by a swinging right hand, I deserve to get knocked out, it’s my fault, I want it to knock me out, I’d deserve knocking out!”

“If I let Wilder swing one of those wild punches, swinging from the back of the hall and it hits me and knocks me out, I’d say ‘Thank you very much for putting me out of my misery! God bless you Wilder!’

“Because obviously I can’t be the great fighter I think I am if I’m getting knocked out by swinging punches.”

To watch the stunning interview in full, visit the Joe Rogan Experience YouTube channel

Deontay Wilder puts his WBC world heavyweight title on the line against the lineal heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury in a clash between the undefeated giants on December 1st at the Staples Centre, LA, live on BT Sport Box Office.

By Norm Frauenheim-

The heavyweights were supposed to be back. That, at least, was the overdrawn conclusion on that memorable day about 21 months ago when Anthony Joshua got up and stopped Wladimir Klitschko in a fight that was notable for what happened on both sides of the ropes.

To wit:

The fight was terrific.

The crowd, a reported 90,000 at London’s Wembley Stadium, was epic.

But a heavyweight resurrection was – still is – an illusion.

The momentum vanished about as quickly as Klitschko retired amid Joshua’s subsequent performances, both forgettable. Anybody remember his stoppage of Carlos Takam and his decision over Joseph Parker? Didn’t think so. Meanwhile, off-and-on talks for Joshua-Deontay Wilder are a tiresome reminder that business-as-usual means no business-at-all.

The good news, perhaps, is that there’s a renewed chance – there is always another one, of course – to at least revive the heavyweight division.

It begins with Joshua’s return to Wembley Saturday against Alexander Povetkin in front of a projected crowd of 80,000 in a bout that will also introduce UK promoter Eddie Hearn’s DAZN streaming service to the U.S.

Three months from now, Wilder is expected to fight the wildly unpredictable Tyson Fury. An announcement is reported to be imminent for a date sometime in December, perhaps in Los Angeles.

On the blueprint, both bouts look to be penultimate steps toward the only heavyweight fight that matters: Joshua-Wilder. Late last year, it was near the top of every wish-list for 2018. But it didn’t happen for all of the usual reasons. Whatever — whoever — is to be believed, the best hope now is sometime next year. Trouble is, Joshua-Povetkin and the projected Fury-Wilder is a dangerous combination. Both – either – has a real chance to knock Joshua-Wilder off those wish lists altogether.

Guess here, Joshua beats Povetkin, wears him out and down with his powerful upper body. At 39, Povetkin is down to his last chance. There’s motivation in that.

The Russian, a 2004 Olympic gold medalist, also knows his way around the ring. For Joshua, that’s the problem.

Povetkin knows just enough to survive in what could be an ugly 12 rounds against Joshua, who has said he hopes to stop the Russian in the eight. He’ll clinch. He’ll grab. He’ll hold on, beaten on the scorecards yet still standing. Joshua then will find himself having to answer questions about another forgettable performance.

Povetkin is physically limited, but smart enough to threaten a Joshua career that needs a dramatic encore of the dynamic resiliency and power displayed in the Klitschko classic.

If Joshua wins, yet wins ugly, it’ll be up to Wilder to provide the kind of drama that fires up a worldwide appetite for a showdown with Joshua, who is an huge hit in the UK, yet has generated mediocre television numbers in the U.S. Wilder is the kind of trash talker who can win over American fans and offend the UK audience.

But can he beat Fury?

More to the point, perhaps, which Fury?

His litany of problems brought on by a crazy lifestyle and substance abuse are no secret on either side of the Atlantic or any other ocean, for that matter. When Fury is right, however, he is as clever a boxer as any among today’s heavyweights. He looks to be exactly the kind of skilled fighter who can give Wilder fits.

Wilder has been written off as one-dimensional for just about as long as he has been a pro. But that one dimension has proven to be unbeatable. His right hand is the biggest punch in boxing, and it might explain why we still haven’t seen him fight Joshua. Joshua got floored by a Klitschko right. Had Wilder landed that right, he’d still be on the canvas.

Nobody has figured out how to elude the Wilder right, or counter it. Fury might be that boxer, if – and precedent suggests it is very big if – he is conditioned and committed to remembering using everything in his versatile skillset.

Best scenario: Joshua gets his eight-round stoppage of Povetkin and Wilder’s right does what it has always done.

Fury-Povetkin isn’t on anybody’s wish list.

By Norm Fruenheim-

It’s been a year full of lots of things.

Full of it, perhaps, if 2017 will be remembered for the spectacle-over-substance display of Floyd Mayweather Jr. entering the ring in a bandit’s mask for his money grab against Conor McGregor.

That single, most-watched event over the last 12 months was embarrassing for the obscene hype it generated and the gullibility it exposed in the four-plus million pay-per-view customers who paid for the show.

The guess here is that it will be forgotten and never be repeated, although the latter might be hoping for too much.

If it wasn’t exactly a great year, it was a promising one because of Terence Crawford, Vasiliy Lomachenko, Mikey Garcia, Errol Spence, Gennady Golovkin, Canelo Alvarez and the ongoing move away from the pay-per-view business model.

The promise was played out in one terrific fight — Anthony Joshua climbing off the deck for an 11th-round stoppage of Wladimir Klitschko on April 29 in London. It’s Fight of the Year, of course.

There are other nominees, but none are contenders in a 2017 that will forever be known for a fight significant on so many levels.

There was the crowd at London’s Wembley Stadium — 90,000, boxing’s biggest since World War II. It was a classic between heavyweights, a division that had begun to look as old as the newsreel footage of WW II battles.

But there it was, all over again and available on live stream, with the kind of drama that plays well in any era. It was timeless. Klitschko gets up from a fifth-round knockdown. Joshua gets up in the sixth, clearly hurt and yet survives. Klitschko is down again, twice in he eleventh and back on his feet after both before a succession of Joshua punches forces a stoppage.

It was a classic reminder of how good the heavyweights have been and can still be. As we await 2018’s opening bell, there is relevance and some of the aforementioned promise in all of that. Decades and a piece of Evander Holyfield’s ear have come and gone since anybody talked about the heavyweights.

But on the list of fights that fans want to see, Joshua-versus-American Deontay Wilder is right there, alongside Garcia-Lomachenko, a Golovkin-Canelo rematch and Crawford against any of the top-ranked welterweights.

Will it happen? Hard to say. At the negotiating table, Joshua’s popularity among UK fans is as powerful as Canelo’s ability to draw Mexican fans.

A sure sign of that came in a follow-up. In October, a crowd of 78,000 showed up in Cardiff, Wales, for Joshua’s victory over Carlos Takam, who had none of Klitschko’s name recognition.

Joshua has yet to create much of a following in the U.S. If an overrated Ricky Hatton proved anything, however, it’s that UK fans travel. In New York or Las Vegas, he’d be the crowd favorite against Wilder.

First, however, it looks as if a couple of things have to happen. There are ongoing negotiations for Joshua to fight Joseph Parker of New Zealand, perhaps in March. There are also talks for Wilder to finally face Cuban Luis Ortiz, also in March.

Of the two, Wilder faces the biggest danger. The clever Ortiz has enough skill to beat Wilder. It depends on which Ortiz shows up. Wilder’s fundamental skillset has always been questioned. But he has always won, mostly with a right as good as any in many years.

If Wilder’s right hand instead of Klitschko’s had knocked down Joshua in April, the guess here is that the Wembley fight would have ended then and there.

But it has to land, and there’s a question about whether Wilder can do that against Joshua, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist. It’s also a question that includes wilder’s right-handed power, a so-called equalizer as unpredictable as it is dynamic.

As a New Year begins, it’s a talking point, a reason for optimism that wouldn’t be there if not for Joshua-Klitschko, Fight of the Year and the best heavyweight fight in at least a generation.

By Norm Frauenheim-

It’s time for a change and he knew it. As always, Wladmir Klitschko did the right thing.

That’s how he’ll be remembered in the writing and rewriting of heavyweight history. Klitschko, who retired Thursday, was neither dramatic nor sensational. He was just righteous in a reliable sort of way at a time when the old flagship division had begun to look like a sunken relic beneath the waves of some bygone battle.

When it appeared as if the heavyweights were vanishing, there was always Klitschko winning, setting records, or staging a comeback. He was a pillar, a significant caretaker of a division that maybe can now move back on to a relevant stage with Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder. We’ll see.

Whatever happens, Klitschko gave them and the sport that chance with his long, predictable reign at the top of the division.

Will he go down as an all-time heavyweight? Tough to say. We know the numbers, all record-book quality, yet also compiled against collection of nobodies in a division that was at the bottom of a historical decline. We’ll never really know how good he was, mostly because of the business itself.

Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis were the best in the division when Klitschko won his belt, yet he never fought either. Blame the business. It suffered for that. So will Klitschko’s ring legacy.

Think of it this way: Put Klitschko into a fantasy tournament with some of history’s greatest heavyweights. Here’s just one Sweet 16: Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Jack Johnson, Rocky Marciano, Jack Dempsey, George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Jersey Joe Walcott, Floyd Patterson, Sonny Liston, Larry Holmes, Ezzard Charles, a young Mike Tyson, Holyfield and Lewis. Add Klitschko and you’ve got 16. Put them in brackets. Match them any way you like. Would Klitschko get out of the first round? I’m skeptical. Had he fought Holyfield and/or Lewis, we’d have a better guess.

His nine-year run as the champ, including 18 successive title defenses, is an amazing stat. But boxing isn’t baseball. It’s measured by more intangibles. One punch can knock out all of the analytics. In judging Klitschko, intangibles matter. They did – they do – with Ali.

Foreman has his own take on the classic, cross-generational argument about whom was the greatest: Louis or Ali? Foreman, who lost to Ali in the legendary Rumble in the Jungle, argues that Louis was a greater fighter than Ali. But, he says, Ali was a greater man.

It’s impossible to separate Ali’s stand against the Viet Nam War and his fight for civil rights from his heavyweight era. They are one and the same. Apply the same standard to Klitschko. He has stood up for the Ukraine against Russia alongside his brother and ex-heavyweight champ, Vitali. In retirement, the guess is that he will take on more political fights en behalf his country and what he thinks is right, which is what will always keep him among history’s greats.

Former Heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko has retired from boxing and thus turning down a lucrative rematch with Anthony Joshua, According to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“I deliberately took a few weeks to make my decision, to make sure I had enough distance from the fight at Wembley Stadium,” Klitschko said. “As an amateur and a professional boxer, I have achieved everything I dreamed of, and now I want to start my second career after sports. I would have never imagined that I would have such a long and incredibly successful boxing career. I’m very thankful for this. Thanks to everyone who has always supported me especially my family, my team and my many fans.”

“Especially after this terrific fight at Wembley Stadium it was a very tough decision for Wladimir to make,” longtime Klitschko manager Bernd Boente said. “But he has always emphasized that he wanted to retire if he didn’t have enough motivation anymore. Therefore this is definitively the right decision. Wladimir accomplished everything in his unique boxing career. He dominated the heavyweight division for over a decade. He fought in sold-out arenas and stadiums worldwide and millions of fans around the world watched his fights on TV. It has been a privilege for me to accompany Wladimir on this unique journey.”

“Wladimir Klitschko earned his right into the Hall of Fame years ago,” said Peter Nelson, executive vice president of HBO Sports, Klitschko’s longtime American broadcast partner. “His accomplishments in the ring will be immortalized in the record books. Outside the ring, Wladimir is well respected as a true ambassador to boxing and role model in sport, contributing vastly philanthropically as a leader of community activism and with a profound commitment to improving the lives of children worldwide. We are proud Wladimir and his team have been in the HBO Sports family for the majority of his 21-year career. We are excited for him and his family as he begins his next chapter.”

“Because of this choice, I’ve travelled the world, learned new languages, created businesses, built intellectual properties, helped people in need, became a scientist, entrepreneur, motivator, hotelier, trainer, investor and much else. I was and am still capable of doing all this because of the global appeal of the sport of boxing.

“At some point in our lives we need to, or just want to, switch our careers and get ourselves ready for the next chapter and chart are new course toward fresh challenges. Obviously, I’m not an exception to this and now is my turn. I’m honestly doing this with the greatest respect for the new challenges, but also with tremendous excitement, passion, dedication expecting and hoping that my next career, which I’ve already been planning and working on for some years, will be at least as successful as my previous one. “Finally, instead of just saying thanks and goodbye, I want you to continue to enjoy me in this new and exciting journey. When we’re together we’re more creative, more efficient, more productive and simply stronger in every way. Together we’re the driving force.”

World Heavyweight chamoion ANthony Joshua got an exception that would clear his path for a rematch with Wladimir Klitschko, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

The International Boxing Federation on Tuesday evening approved Joshua’s request for an exception to his mandatory defense against Kubrat Pulev in order to face Klitschko again with the organization’s title on the line, and it notified both camps.

Joshua-Klitschko II taking place by Dec. 2 should not be an issue, because the working date, although not set in stone, is Oct. 28. There is no set site for the rematch.

By Jimmy Tobin-

Heavyweights Anthony “AJ” Joshua and Wladimir “Dr. Steelhammer” Klitschko met before 90,000 or so strong at Wembley Stadium in London Saturday night and put forth a spectacle deserving of what national pride and expectations surged each man through the crowd and into the ring. It was Joshua who emerged victorious, ending Klitschko in the eleventh courtesy of a barrage born of a right uppercut likely to attend each man’s glory as a compliment from that moment forth. A proper heavyweight prizefight, delivered on the grandest stage—it is okay to feel good about that.

A word on what could have been. Joshua could have quickly cut down the 41-year-old former champion. There was proof enough in Klitschko’s recent performances to think he would go quietly. His unimpressive decision over debunked contender, Bryant Jennings, was evidence enough of slippage, though at the time that evidence was outweighed by a career of boring decisions against opponents with the audacity to strike back. Then there was Klitschko’s embarrassing effort against Tyson Fury, who lifted all of Klitschko’s hardware and much of his pride in 2015 and who has been an embarrassment in his own right ever since, reminding all that titles are made by the men who carry them.

Of course, there was nothing in Joshua’s résumé to indicate he was ready for Klitschko; the calculus for his victory drew primarily on his gaudy eye test scores and Klitschko’s deterioration. The aged Klitschko might’ve drawn Joshua into the type of fight the younger man had yet to experience, clutching and grabbing between right hands, waltzing dully the future of the division into limbo.

Instead, what transpired was drama the heavyweight division hasn’t offered in years, the type of fight that produces the rarest and often most painful of feelings in aficionados: hope.

As no such spectacle can be achieved without two willing participants it bears repeating that one of them was Klitschko; a man whose near decade reign was marked by dominance, yes, but also by the irreconcilable image of a 6’7”, 240-pound, chiseled specimen clinging desperately to men who would go willingly to their end should he only show the nerve to send them there. Yet in what might be his last performance, and almost certainly will be the last performance he could give of such quality, Klitschko was his most daring and inspired self, earning what his history never hinted at: a dignified defeat. For Klitschko to fight as he did required he suppress his strongest instincts and a decade of programming. He did not discover a more aggressive spirit or remove the patina of self-preservation—rather, he fought in spite of himself, fought remarkably, admirably, for as long as he could.

Yet did Klitschko momentarily heed the voices pleading retreat? Was it their warning that saw him squander a sixth-round knockdown and 100 seconds at arm’s length of an opponent dazed and temporarily exhausted? Perhaps. Perhaps it was timid old Klitschko getting the best of himself; but then, who is to say what the fifth round—a round likely to develop its own identity—took from him? Perhaps surviving a knockdown thirty seconds into that round and eventually turning the tide, battering Joshua as the round drew to a close took what fire Klitschko would have used to finish Joshua minutes later.

Either way, Klitschko pressed on to his own and Joshua’s glory. And that is for the better, not simply because of the quality of the fight—which was very good—but because those eleven rounds served to ratify the future, something Manny Pacquiao has yet to do, something Floyd Mayweather could not. The future, be it of the division, of boxing, of athlete earnings, looks like Joshua. And that can be said with greater confidence because of the quality of the challenge he faced. Had Klitschko folded at the first left hook it would be easier to still dismiss Joshua because it would be easy to dismiss Klitschko’s effort. But Joshua had to prove himself Saturday, and while he proved that there is some work to be done you cannot say he is a fabrication. Or perhaps you still can, because you are joyless, or committed to being contrarian, or have lost your love for boxing if not your obsession with hearing yourself speak about it.

Because Joshua is a reason to be excited. He crumpled from a perfect right hand delivered by a proven puncher, yet weathered not only that punch but all of the unknown awaiting him that night, and with the fight very much in the balance, stormed through his opponent to in the championship rounds. His chin is better than assumed, though his stamina is not, and his defense has holes, but he is a fast learner, evidenced by how few right hands Klitschko landed once Joshua figured out when to slip them. There is work to be done with Joshua, but it is not unreasonable to think that he will learn his craft turning back the best fighters in the division, which is almost all that can be asked of him. He will do so before crowds that would make American promoters, were they capable of embarrassment, blush.

There was his conduct in the aftermath of the stoppage, too. When referee, David Fields, wedged himself between the two fighters Joshua simply turned and walked away, no more than a brewing smile on his face even as his team mobbed him in jubilation; he is the anti-Wilder in that regard (and many important others). Joshua carries himself like a man who believes he is entitled to a success he cannot doubt is coming; the biggest win of his career merely confirmed what he believes of himself, which is why he responded to it as he did—without a hint of surprise. A champion constituted for his calling—it’s okay to feel good about that too.

By Bart Barry-

Saturday at Wembley Stadium in London, before a crowd of 90,000 or so, British heavyweight Anthony Joshua defeated by 11th-round technical knockout Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko to become the undefeated, undisputed heavyweight champion of the world – in an excellent and valorous four-knockdown brawl anticipated by nothing on Klitschko’s resume. Any impulses to lead a treatment of Joshua’s victory with Klitschko’s age or previous knockout losses to men unremarkable as Ross Purity or Corrie Sanders should be stayed by a paragraph or two, even if they weren’t just now.

What belongs at the top of any consideration of Joshua from this moment till the end of his career is that he became recognized as heavyweight champion the right way.

Perhaps Klitschko was no longer what we considered him in his 30s but he was still the best prizefighter above 200 pounds in the world – as there is nearly no doubt he’d’ve beaten Tyson Fury in a rematch the Gypsy King avoided shamelessly. Klitschko’s reign was, again, unremarkable as any in the modern era, a string of mostly mediocre performances against mostly mediocre opponents with occasionally some emphatic violence against an occasional, emphatically bad opponent. He left Saturday’s ring entirely diminished in physical stature if not legacy. Klitschko’s legacy was to remain the same, win or lose; he got dropped and stopped by, let’s see if it’s possible to get this right, A YOUNG HUNGRY LION and therefore will not rise in historians’ esteem anytime soon; but if Klitschko’d’ve won Saturday historians’d’ve moved him no higher in historic ranking because no one would yet know if it were feat or farce till Joshua revealed his true self in the decade that followed, sort of the way aficionados’ esteem for Fury underwent a nineminute revisionist fever after Klitschko dropped Joshua in round 6.

When Joshua tore out his corner to open the championship rounds, comporting himself like nothing so much as a champion, and Wlad’s legs got somehow stiffer in flight than they were in pursuit, my spirits lifted a touch. The hyperbole was en route, desperate as British fightfans are for a man who justifies their passions, but it was not going to be misplaced as other recent happenings like the Fury coronation. When Joshua’s right uppercut took Klitschko from Go-Go-Gadget neck to legless jitterbug and you knew there was no way a 41-year-old was getting to round’s end my spirits crested then fell then rose anew: It’s hard for a disinterested viewer to escape some sense of sympathy when a man enormous as Klitschko shrinks to a bony quivering thing, his physique transformed from ripples to lumps; that sight dropped my emotions and their descent got further weighted by what faux expertise was then sure to awaken and now does awaken – when every toughguy with a microphone or pen who abandoned boxing after Lennox Lewis tenderized Mike Tyson 15 years ago comes roaring back, old hungry lions they be, to tell us how much the new champion reminds them of their favorite old champion who reminded them of themselves and that time in the bar or backalley when they brought extreme justice in a bareknuckle violence orgy for whose storied perpetrator local authorities today continue their search.

A couple seconds of those thoughts, though, happily yielded to a sense of relief and gratitude; relief for the Brits in our legion, as no one save the Mexicans has done so much to keep our beloved sport afloat this last decade, and gratitude that our new face of boxing is so preferable to our last face of boxing. In the deafening cheers of 90,000 spirited Brits one heard many things among which was a crashing halt to the Money May era. Anthony Joshua is already better at every facet of prizefighting than Floyd Mayweather, with the exception of fighting itself – and Joshua’ll never be more than half as good at that as Mayweather, so it hardly matters.

(No, a 147-pound version of Joshua would not win a round against Mayweather, the same way a 130-pound version of Klitschko would not survive a round with 2005 Manny Pacquiao.)

One now halfway hopes Klitschko retires while splitting the other half of his hopes between an immediate rematch and a pasting of Deontay Wilder in PBC’s consolation league. Dancing Wlad lacked the movement and energy to dissuade Joshua for more than a halfhour and will fare still worse on the next go, but he’s still way too young and active to lose to “Wilder &” Wilder, which would make Joshua-Klitschko II an even bigger spectacle than Saturday’s was. Joshua, meanwhile, has no earthly reason to fight anywhere but London for the foreseeable future; in all of boxing only Canelo in Mexico City or Pacquiao in Manila could hope to sell half as many tickets as Joshua just did. There’s absolutely no reason for him to do Las Vegas or Madison Square Garden; he’s already larger than both those venues, and there’s not currently an American heavyweight who belongs in the same arena as him.

There’s much room for Joshua to improve as a prizefighter, but here’s to hoping he doesn’t; he’s good enough to ice any man in the world but not good enough to jab-jab-hold smaller men to decision victories. Joshua is perfect as he is right now. May he remain that way for a good long time.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry

An encore presentation of Anthony Joshua’s career-defining knockout of long-reigning champion Wladimir Klitschko will air today/Sunday at 3 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME EXTREME.

Anthony Joshua was crowed the king of the heavyweight division Saturday live on SHOWTIME as he unified the division with an 11th round TKO of Klitschko before a record 90,000 fans at London’s Wembley Stadium.

The telecast will air in Primetime on Monday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME EXTREME and is available on SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and SHOWTIME ANYTIME®.

Joshua, who remained a perfect 19-0 with 19 knockouts, overcame the first knockdown of his career to successfully defend his IBF belt and pick up the vacant WBA title.

Joshua knocked Klitschko down once in the fifth and twice in the 11th before referee David Fields stepped in to protect the defenseless former champion at 2:25 of the penultimate round.

Anthony Joshua scored a thrilling 11th round stoppage over former world champion Wladimir Klitschko in front of 90,000 screaming fans at Wembley Stadium in London.

Joshua controlled the action over the first four rounds, as Klitschko did not throw much.

The fight started in round five, as Joshua came out with reckless abandon to start the round and landed some booming shots that hurt Klitschko.  Moments later, Joshua landed a combination that sent Klitschko to the canvas.   Klitschko was bleeding over the left eye. Joshua went in for the finish, but that proved show inexperience as he may have punched himself out, and Klitschko started landing and hurting the London native.  Joshua was winded and almost out on his feet as the 5th round ended.  In round six, Klitschko landed his  booming right hand that sent Joshua to the canvas.  Joshua was hurt badly and was barely able to make it out of round six.

Both guys landed some good shots over the next several rounds, until Joshua started in onslaught in the 11th round.

Joshua started it with a massive uppercut that rocked and stunned Klitschko badly.  Joshua jumped on Klitschko and landed big shots that sent Klitschko down.  Klitschko got to his feet, but dumped my more heavy shots again.  Joshua finished the fight by landing a flurry of punches on a defeated Klitschko, and referee David Fields stopped the bout at 2:25.

Joshua, 250 1/2 lbs of London is now 19-0 with 19 knockouts.  Klitschko, 240 1/2 lbs is now 64-5.

Follow all the action as Anthony Joshua defends the IBF Heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in front of over 90,000 fans at Wembley Stadium in London.  The action starts at 4:30 PM ET / 1:30 PM PT / 9:30 PM in London and 11:30 PM in Kiev.

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Round 1: Joshua lands a right..Jab..left to the body..right to body..Right..Jab from Klitschko

Round 2:  Right from Klitschko..Jab from Joshua..Right

Round 3:  Uppercut from Joshua..Right..

Round 4:  Hard 1-2 from Klitschko..Right from Joshua..Jab from Klitschko..Right to body from Joshua…Right..Jab

Round 5:  Jshua lands a booming left KLITSCHKO IS HURT..BLEEDING OVER HIS LEFT EYE..HARD LEFT AND DOWN GOES KLITSCHKO…Hard left from Klitschko..Hard left..Big left..Joshua is hurt..Huge uppercut from Klitschko

Round 6: Big right from Klitschko…HARD RIGHT AND DOWN GOES JOSHUA…Huge left hurts Joshua..

Round 7 Jab from Klitschko..Right to body and left to head from Joshua..

Round 8 Jab to body from Joshua..Jab from Klitschko..another jab..hard jab..Jab from Joshua..Jab from Joshua

Round 9:  Jab from Klitschko..Good right from Joshua…left hook to the body..Nice right..Swelling under left eye of Klitschko..Shoe-shine body work from Joshua..

Round 10 1-2 from Joshua.Counter right..left-right..left hook..Big right from Klitschko..

Round 11:  Big right from Klitschko..Huge right from Joshua..Klitschko holding on..Short left hook..Huge uppercut..BIG RIGHT AND LEFT AND DOWN GIES KLITSCHKO..STRAIGHT RIGHT AND HUGE LEFT HOOK …KLITSCHKO IS DOWN AGAIN…LEFT AND RIGHT ON THE ROPES AND THE FIGHT IS STOPPED…WINNER BY TKO —ANTHONY JOSHUA

Joshua vs. Klitschko | Saturday, April 29
LIVE on SHOWTIME® at 4:15 p.m. ET/1:15 p.m. PT
From Sold-Out Wembley Stadium in London

Saturday’s HBO World Championship Boxing® telecast begins at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT.

The world heavyweight championship showdown features Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko before a capacity crowd at Wembley Stadium. Jim Lampley, Max Kellerman and Roy Jones Jr. will be ringside to call the action.

Official Weights from London:

Athony Joshua: 250.1 lbs.
Wladimir Klitschko: 240.5 lbs.

IBF Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua tipped the scale at 250 pounds and long-reigning champ Wladimir Klitschko measured 240 ½ pounds for their heavyweight blockbuster this Saturday live on SHOWTIME (4:15 p.m. ET/1:15 p.m. PT).

The ringwalks are set for 4:35 p.m. ET/1:35 p.m. PT with the first bell scheduled for 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT from sold-out Wembley Stadium where a record-setting 90,000 fans will witness the biggest heavyweight event in over a decade. SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® pre-fight coverage begins live on SHOWTIME at 4:15 p.m. ET/1:15 p.m. PT with all the grand pre-fight pageantry from London.

Referee David Fields, of New Jersey, will officiate the action while Don Trella (Conn.), Nelson Vazquez (Puerto Rico) and Steve Weisfeld (N.J.) will score the 12-round bout for Joshua’s IBF belt and the vacant WBA title.

More than 150 countries worldwide will televise the heavyweight unification.

“I’m only going to be myself – the fight is already as big as it can be,” said the 27-year-old Joshua (18-0, 18 KOs), who will make the third defense of his IBF belt. “There’s belts on the line, there’s legacy on the line, there’s 12 rounds of intense, ferocious boxing on the line. It comes with everything you want to see – boxing skills, power, timing. It’s just how long you can last and withstand each other’s abilities.

“I don’t hate Klitschko, I don’t dislike Klitschko, but I want to beat Klitschko. Someone is going to win and someone is going to continue with their career. And I’m very confident that’s me.”

The 41-year-old Klitschko (64-4, 54 KOs) has competed in 28 world title fights and is the second longest reigning world champion in history. On Saturday he will attempt to win back two titles that he held during his 11-year reign as heavyweight world champion.

“This is a big step for AJ,” Klitschko admitted. “He hasn’t fought this type of quality fighter yet. It’s going to be challenging for him, and it’s going to be challenging for me. This fight is 50-50, both fighters have a chance to win the fight, but I have this feeling that this is my night.”

By Norm Frauenheim-

The looming spectacle of 90,000 people at London’s Wembley Stadium Saturday for Anthony Joshua against Wladimir Klitschko is a sure sign that heavyweight boxing hasn’t gone the way of Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Heavyweight power frightens and fascinates. Always has. Always will. Yet, I still wonder whether it will ever capture worldwide attention the way it did for so long. From Jack Johnson to Joe Louis to Muhammad Ali to Mike Tyson, there was always a heavyweight who dominated an era with power or personality or controversy or all of the above.

In part, Joshua-Klitschko is being sold as the genesis of a new era, The Joshua Era. Maybe. I’m a little skeptical on that one. It’s still hard to judge the 2012 Olympic gold medalist. He’s powerful, but has yet to display the fluid delivery of punches and the agile footwork that identified so many of the great names in heavyweight history.

Klitschko has done enough to have his signature on his own era. The numbers are astonishing. He held a world heavyweight title for nine years, seven months and seven days, second only to the aforementioned Louis.

But mention the Klitschko era to just about anybody and – fair or not — they’ll tell you it was forgettable. It was, I think, because Klitschko simply couldn’t find an American rival. He tried, but that business partner just wasn’t there. No rival simply meant there was no reason to watch. Klitschko couldn’t draw in the U.S. He began to fight primarily in Europe. In the U.S., he became a footnote. The American focus was on Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao.

The closer we get to Saturday’s opening bell, the less certain I am that Joshua wins. He’s favored. I’m still picking him, picking youth to prevail over age. Joshua (18-0, 18 KOs) is 27 and Klitschko (64-4, 54 KOs) is 41. Enough said.

But I’ve seen old heavyweights rediscover a younger self in big fights. In terms of the Wembley crowd and worldwide attention, none is bigger than Saturday. Klitschko, who looked finished in losing to Tyson Fury 17 months ago, has never lost successive fights. He’s very capable of springing a surprise over the untested Joshua

Even if Joshua loses, however, he wins a rematch – and there are 90,000 reasons to do one. If not Saturday, Joshua will be the face of the heavyweight division sometime in 2017. Then what?

In a conference call Wednesday, Joshua talked about fighting in the U.S.

“I’ve made sure I fought some Americans on my way up, so we could get a buzz out there,’’ he said from London. “But I think I have to come out there for a fight for sure. That’s important.

“America is the mecca of boxing. If we can cross over into the States and keep the fan base in the UK, I think we’ve cracked it. That’s mega stuff. That’s global boxing. You’ve got a big guy, heavyweight with a name that’s easy to pronounce and speaks English well.

“I can relate to the U.S. market. All I have to do is get out there, show them what my trade is and hopefully they’ll appreciate it and hopefully we can start talking about setting up major fights and bringing the same attention in the UK to the U.S. That would be phenomenal.”

Deontay Wilder is the big guy he mentioned. It’s no coincidence that Wilder will be at ringside, doing Sky Sports commentary for a fight that can been seen live on Showtime (4:15 p.m. ET/1:15 p.m. PT). Wilder has a title (WBC). He’s a good talker. He has great power. He’s likable. But there are persistent doubts about his overall skill. Maybe, he gets better. If he doesn’t, however, there just aren’t many other American heavyweights in line behind him. Name one.

As I write this, I’m listening to the first day of the NFL Draft. It occurs to me that if Joshua had been born in the U.S. instead of the UK, he would have gone in Thursday’s first round, probably as a defensive end. All of America’s potential great heavyweights are in the NFL these days. Wilder had dreams about playing for his hometown Alabama Crimson Tide before he turned to boxing because he just didn’t have the athletic skill to play for college football’s perennial powerhouse.

I’m not sure the heavyweight division can ever be what it once was without a viable American in the business equation. Maybe, I’m wrong. Maybe, Joshua will prove me wrong. But he needs an American to help him do that. There’s only one and that’s Deontay Wilder. Otherwise, The Joshua Era could be about as forgettable as the Klitschko era.

LONDON (April 27, 2017) – Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko came face-to-face on Thursday at the sprawling Sky Headquarters in London as the two 6-foot-6 giants participated in a final press conference for Saturday’s blockbuster heavyweight world championship event.

SHOWTIME will televise the fight LIVE at 4:15 p.m. ET/1:15 p.m. PT from sold-out Wembley Stadium where a record-setting 90,000 fans are expected to be in attendance.

The 27-year-old Joshua (18-0, 18 KOs), who won the IBF belt in just his 16th professional fight, faces his toughest challenge yet in Klitschko but has “prepared since day one for this” and sees the future Hall of Famer as “just another stepping stone towards greatness.”

The 41-year-old Klitschko (64-4, 54 KOs), who has competed in 28 world title fights and is the second longest reigning world champion in history, is “obsessed” with winning back two belts he held during his 11-year reign as heavyweight champion.

Joshua and Klitschko will unify the heavyweight division as they meet for Joshua’s IBF World Championship and the vacant WBA World Championship. The event from Britain’s national stadium will be televised in over 150 countries worldwide.

The ringwalks are set for 4:35 p.m. ET/1:35 p.m. PT with the first bell scheduled for 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT. SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® pre-fight coverage begins live on SHOWTIME at 4:15 p.m. ET/1:15 p.m. PT with all the grand pre-fight pageantry from London.

Here’s what the fighters had to say on Thursday. Click HERE to watch Sky Sports coverage of the press conference on the SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/0wYEuEAMW94

JOSHUA:
“Even though this is such a great event, I always try to strip it down to what it really is and just focus that it’s just me and this man coming to blows and the best man will win. I’m not only prepared physically but mentally as well for any battle.

“April 29 is just another stepping stone towards greatness.

“Any fight is the right fight. I’ve never shied away from any fight, any opponent. I started boxing in 2008; in 2009, ’10, ‘11 I was in the World Championships, and in 2012 I was representing Great Britain competing to be the best in the world in the Olympics. It doesn’t matter who I fight. I just enjoy what I do and I just embrace every opportunity.

“I don’t underestimate any opponent. Through my mistakes I have learned and made myself right.”

Prediction:
“I win. It’s not complicated. Let’s not overthink it. This isn’t rocket science. This is just a fight. Let’s strip it right back to what it is – a young lion, ferocious, hungry, very determined. I left no stone unturned in training camp. We do talk about experience, but even when I was fighting guys with lesser experience I was preparing for this. I’ve prepared since day one for this.

“Carrying the belt hasn’t changed me as a person. I just want to represent myself the best way because I know behind me are a million people that walk the same path as me and come from the same background. I think I’m a representation of these people.

“This is another stop. You can’t sit down and enjoy the fruits of your labor. As you sit down on your throne there is always someone knocking on your door to take you down. For me, it’s just another stepping stone.”

On potentially celebrating after a win:
“You can’t deny it. This is epic. As much as I’m calm, when I look around and see how pumped people are for this fight it gives me energy, it gives me life. So it would be hard for me to hold myself together after such an amazing event.”

On this being a pivotal moment for the sport of boxing:
“Absolutely, this is 110 percent a pivotal moment for boxing.”

KLITSCHKO:
“Can you imagine my next opponent is going to fight a guy whose age is exactly the number of how long he has been in boxing – 27 years? Can you imagine that? It’s a pretty amazing task. Is it a degradation that I’m actually a challenger and underdog in this fight after 27 years in the sport? I don’t think so. I think it’s great.

“I’m the challenger again. I feel young, hungry, humble and totally obsessed with my goal to raise my hands again.

“I’m so obsessed with winning. I realized that life is a circle, and I see myself in AJ. I do believe I know how he thinks, how he goes, and how the actual fight is going to be.

“The belts are very important. I’ve been attached to these belts for a very long. I had those belts in my past fight, and I’m fighting for these belts in this fight. The only difference is in my last fight they went to the opposite corner. So my goal and obsession is for those belts to land in my corner, in my hands.

“Obsession is love in extreme shape. I’m in love with my goal.

“Defeat? I’ve been there, I’ve done that. I got up, shook it off and came back stronger. Just a little help (for Joshua) – there’s nothing scary about it.”

Undefeated IBF Champion Anthony Joshua hosted a media conference call to give his thoughts on Saturday’s heavyweight blockbuster between him and long-reigning kingpin Wladimir Klitschko live on SHOWTIME® (4:15 p.m. ET/1:15 p.m. PT) from sold-out Wembley Stadium in London.

The British sensation Joshua (18-0, 18 KOs) and Klitschko (64-4, 54 KOs) will unify the heavyweight division as they meet for Joshua’s IBF World Championship and the vacant WBA World Championship in front of record-setting 90,000 fans at Britain’s largest stadium.

Here is what Joshua had to say on the call on Wednesday:

ANTHONY JOSHUA:
“This is a good era for boxing so I try to live the life. Over the years when I started boxing until now I’ve been at training camp. The whole time I’ve been training it has been pretty beneficial, I’ve learned a lot. I’m not a perfect fighter but what I do do, I try to do well. I’m looking forward to the fight.

“If you’re asking about Saturday night, all roads have led to this and I’ve been training for a long time, I’ve stayed injury free. I’ve ran, I’ve sparred I’ve done my bag work and it comes to a stage in camp when I’m looking for the buy in now and that’s where I’m at really. Mentally, I’m excited.”

On how significant this fight is:
“For the sport in general, come on. For what UK-ers are doing supporting boxing globally, it’s massive. I also feel just to sell out the stadium without having to do the traditional entertainment to make a fight it just shows that kids can fight from different backgrounds …Where me and Klitschko are at, we don’t need to be trash talking and we are two half pieces coming together to lay it down on the line. It’s an amazing time for boxing in that sense that it’s mainstream. I’m not going to say win-or-lose, because the focus is to win, but it’s a massive benefit to Klitschko win-or-lose. Either he has another fight in him, or this time he’s done. I wish him all the best. I’m glad we got through training camp and we actually make it happen because as long as my heart was beating I still want to fight. I’m happy to be involved in such a mega showdown.”

Do you feel there is more pressure on you?
“Definitely not. I knew the significance of this fight before I took it. So I would never put that pressure upon myself if I didn’t want to deal with this pressure. I would have taken another route. But I want to fight guys in the division who are good. I don’t want to wait like eight years, nine years, six years before I start making a move on the heavyweight division – let’s get it on now. So if this is what comes with stepping up a level and a division I’m all for it. I’m not going to start saying ‘because I’m champion I’ve got pressure and I don’t think I’m going to perform.’ For me as a champion I don’t feel that pressure but I can relate to where he is coming from. As a champion you’re supposed to throw down like there’s no tomorrow so I’m not going to say because I’m a champion I’ve got so much pressure on my hands.”

How do you bridge the experience gap between you and Klitschko?
“I think it’s just destiny. I’m meant for this. I’m built for this. Let’s say we strip away what you just said, the excitement, the hype and just put us together. Go at it for 12 rounds, get down and dirty. I have the ability to come out on top and that’s how I take it. I don’t look at it like, ‘Oh my God, I’m fighting a guy who has been through it’, I don’t look at it that way. I just look at it as ‘I’m going to fight this guy called Wladimir Klitschko’ and we’ve got 12 rounds. I simplify it.
I practice boxing. Long range jab, jab to the body. I think I’m very capable of hitting someone continuously until they break down. So I think I’ll keep on plugging away, round 6, 7 and I should have him in a bad place. I just have to take the fight and break it down round by round.”

How will to deal with Kitschko’s reach:
“I’ve never fought him so I can’t say for sure. But what will I do about his reach? I’ve got my right hand to parry a jab, I’ve got my left hand to shield and protect me, to deflect his right hand. It’s no problem if he wants to grab. I can whip in a body shot and that would definitely slow him down. If you keep getting hit to the body at 41 that will take the fight out of anyone. On the outside I have got ways to deal with the majority of his shots. On the inside I just have to keep on swinging to the body and round-by-round I’ll start seeing an effect.”

What motivated him to take such a significant fight so early in his career:
“It was bound to happen. I felt the division needed it. I’m not doing it just for myself. I’m always about the industry. A lot of my friends from the amateur system have a chance to express their skill on the undercard, and it’s a massive platform. I think, as I said, the division needed it … Wladimir Klitschko, Deontay Wilder, let’s keep it going. Let’s start mixing it up because we’re in the same division, and it’s our era. What type of era are we if we don’t come together and have some trilogies and bring some excitement. So I’m all for it and that’s why I really wanted to take the fight.”

When was the first time you saw Klitschko and thought you could fight him?
“Not until last year. In 2015 I wasn’t really focusing on fighting Klitschko. I was moving towards maybe after [Eric] Molina we could have done [Kubrat] Pulev as a mandatory and gone that route of dominating the European market, but the opportunity came up. It’s a big fight, it’s a good challenge and let’s get it cracking. As I said, it’s good for the division and the attention it has brought is phenomenal. I think it benefits everyone so let’s be a part of that, and let’s be at the forefront of this.”

On earning more money than Floyd Mayweather Jr.?
“Not in boxing. I don’t think I could do it in boxing. Outside, if I make the right investments I think I can because I have some highly intelligent people around me but I think in boxing I don’t think I will but I think there will be a boxer who can because Floyd Mayweather has definitely set the benchmark, and records are only there to be broken. So I think someone could definitely achieve that financial status. But for me, that’s not so much my goal to try to be richer than Floyd Mayweather. The heavyweight division is so different from the welterweight division in the sense that all it takes is one shot, it’s a lot tougher, a lot more wear and tear on the body so I think it’ll be interesting. I definitely think we’ll make money, there’s no doubt about that but I’m not trying to put myself on the same pedestal as Mayweather.”

When do you think Klitschko was at his best?
“When he fought Marius Beck. He was a bit of a bigger guy and he controlled him with the jab and the one-twos. Remember he went twelve rounds. So he had to control a bigger man who was potentially heavier and stronger and he controlled his boxing skill and I think that’s when he was at his best. As I studied him that’s when I saw him at his best so I have watched fights around that era.”

Do you feel it’s a miracle you’re here?
“Yes. I was talking about it with my coach today. If you would have told me – I’ve only been in boxing eight or nine years – if you would have told me eight years ago, ‘Listen son, if you walk through that door into the boxing gym you’ll do this, this, this, this and this’ I would have been like ‘yeah, right’. It’s been phenomenal and why we do all the promotional stuff and get involved in big fights is for motivational purposes. I know there’s some other kids that are going to come up and be phenomenal because he may have seen myself and my journey and wants to get involved in what we’re creating. I’m all for that. I love it. Today was my last day of training camp and I’m thinking now what am I going to do in my next training camp, how am I going to improve. I’m enjoying the journey. It has been fun, boxing is a good sport.”

What is your history in sparring with Klitschko?
“I’m not a gym fighter so I did not go to try to prove anything with the sparring. I mainly went to go to see how a champion sets up his training camp. While I was sparring, it was good. Wladimir is technical. He will try to maneuver you with his lever hand to put you in a position to throw his right hand. That’s what I got from Klitschko. He is patient, he was just trying to set me up so he could throw his shots and I was just working on moving, jabbing to the body, jabbing to the head and I would go back to the corner and Andy Breshear would say ‘stick it on the champ’ and I would say ‘no I’m not here for that, I’m not here to prove anything.’ I wanted to watch, I wanted to analyze. That’s what I got from sparring with him. To learn how he operates in the ring and I learned how a champion sets up training camp.”

On the strength of Klitschko’s chin:
“He’s got a good chin. How long has he reigned, 10 years? Yeah, he’s got a good chin. You can’t be a championship fighter for 10 years if you have a bad chin. That’s the thing about the heavyweight division, it takes one shot. All these fighters that we claim have got good chins are the ones who get knocked out by Wladimir, so he must be doing something right. I remember Samuel Peters had a granite chin but they still end up getting knocked out down the line and they don’t go on to do great things. So, regardless of the chin, I think he’s got something right that works.”

Opinion of Klitschko’s Career:
“He is underrated. Heavyweight boxing comes with bigger prize money, more attention. To stay that disciplined for that long is a serious task. He and his brother have done well to reign for that long … I would want to go down as one of the greatest because I reigned for so long. No one could beat me for the last 10 years. It’s a good achievement and I would want to be recognized for that achievement.”

On potentially fighting in America:
“I think just fight Wilder, Gerald Washington, [Bryant] Jeninngs as well. These are the hotshots in America right now. I’ve made sure I fought some Americans on my way up so we could get a buzz out there. But I think I have to come out there for a fight for sure that’s important.

“America is the mecca of boxing. If we can cross over into the states and keep the fan base in the UK I think we’ve cracked it. That’s mega stuff, that’s global boxing. You’ve got a big guy, heavyweight with a name that’s easy to pronounce and speaks English well. I can relate to the U.S. market. All I have to do is get out there show them what my trade is and hopefully they’ll appreciate it and hopefully we can start talking about setting up major fights and bringing the same attention in the UK to the U.S. That would be phenomenal.”

How much of a concern is Klitschko’s holding?
“The holding is natural. But what do you do when someone is holding? How do you fight them off? You bring in the upper cut, you whip in a right hand to the body until the ref tells you to break. It’s a fight so I can’t prevent the holding but it makes it interesting to see what fighter does when they’re being held. When I’m being held I’m just going to throw the right hand to the body, left hook to the body and that will start taking the wind out of Klitschko.”

On Klitschko’s last fight against a British fighter David Haye:
“I think my fights will be entertaining. It is important for me to be entertaining. It’s not only winning, but it’s about how you win. I’ve always tried to go in there and perform to that level. It would be sweet to go in there and knock Wladimir out, because that’s what heavyweight boxing is about. So that would be sweet. I’m not into the 12-round boxing.

“David Haye was up against it because you had Klitschko, who was a champion. Emanuel Steward, who trained the champion. Then you had David Haye, who wasn’t a champion and Adam Booth, who wasn’t a heavyweight championship trainer. He was up against it and he found it tough. It just showed that the bigger, stronger man would win. He just got the job done and that’s what led him to here. He got the win and I’m happy or we wouldn’t be here right now.”

The most-anticipated world heavyweight championship fight in more than a decade will take place across the Atlantic before more than 90,000 fans at Wembley Stadium in London when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: ANTHONY JOSHUA VS. WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO is seen SATURDAY, APRIL 29 at 11:00 p.m. (ET/PT) on HBO. The HBO Sports team of Jim Lampley, Max Kellerman and Roy Jones Jr. will call all the action, which will be available in HDTV and closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired.

Boasting a heavyweight title belt and perfect pro record, British sensation Anthony Joshua (18-0, 18 KOs), 27, faces his biggest professional challenge when he squares off against one of the most decorated fighters of this generation. Emerging on the international boxing scene with a gold medal-winning performance at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Joshua has been on the fast track since turning pro in 2013.

Wladimir Klitschko (64-4-0, 54 KOs), 41, from Kiev, Ukraine, and now residing in the U.S., turned pro after his gold medal win at the 1996 Summer Olympics. The dominant heavyweight for more than a decade, he’s enjoyed two title reigns, the more recent lasting over nine years. Klitschko’s last fight, in Nov. 2015, was an upset loss to Tyson Fury that ended a 22-fight win streak, but he will have the edge in experience against the youthful power puncher Joshua.

The upcoming bout marks Klitschko’s 22nd HBO fight and 29th world title bout; he first appeared on the network in July 2000 when he handled Monte Barrett with a seventh-round TKO. Joshua is making his HBO debut.

Immediately following the fight, HBO Sports presents the premiere of Face Off With Max Kellerman: Canelo/Chavez Jr. at approximately 12:15 a.m. (ET/PT).

Follow HBO boxing news at hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/hboboxing and on Twitter at twitter.com/hboboxing.

All HBO boxing events are presented in HDTV. HBO viewers must have access to the HBO HDTV channel to watch HBO programming in high definition.

The executive producer of WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is Rick Bernstein; producer, Dave Harmon; director, Johnathan Evans.

The ringwalks for Saturday’s Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko heavyweight blockbuster event are set for 4:35 p.m. ET/1:35 p.m. PT with the first bell scheduled for 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT from Wembley Stadium in London.

SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING pre-fight coverage begins LIVE on SHOWTIME at 4:15 p.m. ET/1:15 p.m. PT with interviews with Joshua and Klitschko, exclusive, in-depth features and live coverage of the grand pre-fight pageantry at Britain’s largest stadium. National anthem performers and musical guests will be announced later this week.

Veteran sports broadcaster Brian Custer will anchor the live SHOWTIME coverage from Wembley Stadium with the voice of SHOWTIME Boxing, Mauro Ranallo, calling the action alongside Hall of Fame analyst Al Bernstein, former world champ Paulie Malignaggi and unofficial ringside scorer and 2017 Boxing Hall of Fame inductee Steve Farhood.

Anthony Joshua is an undefeated British sensation. He has knocked out all 18 of his professional opponents (18-0, 18 KOs) and has sold out his last five fights in some of Britain’s biggest venues—Wembley Stadium, The O2 (three times) and Manchester Arena—totaling 159,000 in attendance.

Klitschko (64-4, 54 KOs), the long-time heavyweight world champion, has fought in 28 world title fights. His most recent reign at heavyweight ran from 2006-2015 making him the second longest reigning world champion in history, behind only the legendary Joe Louis.

Joshua vs. Klitschko stands as the most significant heavyweight fight in more than a decade and will be contested in front of a record-setting 90,000 fans at Wembley. At stake are Joshua’s IBF World Championship and the vacant WBA World Championship, two titles that Klitschko previously held during his 11 year campaign as champion. The winner would be the unified heavyweight champion of the world.

American Heavyweight World Champion Deontay Wilder hosted a media conference call to give his thoughts on Saturday’s heavyweight blockbuster between undefeated IBF Champion Anthony Joshua and long-reigning kingpin Wladimir Klitschko live on SHOWTIME® (4:15 p.m. ET/1:15 p.m. PT) from sold-out Wembley Stadium in London.

Wilder (38-0, 37 KOs), who won his WBC belt in January 2015 on SHOWTIME and has since made five defenses, will serve as an analyst for Sky Sports Box Office for Joshua vs. Klitschko.

The British sensation Joshua (18-0, 18 KOs) and Klitschko (64-4, 54 KOs) will unify the heavyweight division as they meet for Joshua’s IBF World Championship and the vacant WBA World Championship in front of record-setting 90,000 fans at Britain’s largest stadium.

Here is what Wilder had to say on the call on Monday:

DEONTAY WILDER:
“I love this fight for these guys. I love it for the sport of boxing. The fans seem to be well in-tune with it and I think this is a super fight for the heavyweight division.

“I can’t wait for it. I can’t wait to see what happens and hopefully those guys go in healthy and come out the same way. This is a very dangerous sport, especially when you’re trying to perform and put on a show.”

On what Wilder sees as vulnerabilities in Joshua…
“There’s a lot of flaws that Joshua has, but Joshua is still young in the game as well. A lot of people look at Joshua and they’re going off of his physique and they’re going off of the hype that their countryman has brought to them.

“If you really look deep down and soul search and look at his resume, with all of the guys he’s fought … that sometimes makes a person look busier than what he is. There’s a lot of flaws in all of us though, to be honest. Nobody will ever be perfect in the ring. We only try to be our best and that’s the only thing you should go off of.

“I am looking forward to this fight and I can’t wait. I want Klitschko to come in and fight. You can always be hyped for a big fight but it’s all going to boil down to what fighter is going to bring what to the fight. I think he’s ready and he’s going to show a lot of things. He’s going to teach Joshua a lot of different things in the ring, as well, and we’ll see if Joshua has any flaws or not.”

On potentially fighting the winner later this year…
“Hopefully. There are a lot of people that are involved in this. If it were just solely up to me then I’d be 1,000 percent confident, but it’s not just me. That’s what the fans want. I’ve been wanting to give the fans what they want my entire career. Unfortunately, I am one of those fighters that’s always getting the short end of the stick. I only can work with what I can work with.

“I am very confident that I am the best in this division. I am very confident that I will unify this division. I am very confident that I will retire on top, undefeated as well. I’m just waiting for my moment. I’ve been sitting patiently all of this time, even in the start of my career and I’m sitting patient now. I’m just looking forward to my turn.”

On why it’s important for him to be ringside in London…
“When you have guys that are competing against each other at the top, it’s only right for me to be there. I’m not just going out there to be on Sky Sports, I am for sure going there to scout. All the other heavyweights come to my fights. They’re not just there to be a fan. They’re there to scout and look for different openings and certain signs.

“I am definitely going over to scout. And maybe we can make a mega-unification bout.

“I want to go get [Joseph] Parker. Parker doesn’t have an opponent right now. I’m fresh. I’m ready and what would be better than me and Parker fighting for the unification and then have another unification where winner takes all at the end of the year? Then, 2018 you can start off the year with nothing but mandatories.

“The heavyweight division is getting exciting. This is the heavyweight division, and we’re already coming out of that dark place and we finally got light. Don’t take it back. Don’t go backwards when we’re moving so freshly forward. With that, I want to move it more forward. I want to give the fans what they want, and they want a unification. They want one champion and I’m trying to make that happen. So here I am Joseph Parker.”

On breaking down Joshua-Klitschko…
“With Klitschko I definitely feel that the teachings of Emanuel Steward are lacking a little bit, but he’s not to blame. Steward was a very, very smart trainer. The things that he could see and the things that he can get in the heads of the fighters, that was unbelievable. He wasn’t a great trainer for no reason and that’s when I thought Klitschko was the best when he had Emanuel in his corner. Not only when he’s inside of the ring but when he’s on the outside too. Now, I just feel since he’s gone, it’s more about what Wladimir wants to do, not what his trainers see.

“With Joshua, he’s got the height and he’s got the power. In the heavyweight division, you don’t need skills. As long as you have the power, that’s what makes up the heavyweight division. You’re in the game once you’ve got that power….They’re going to have to play a forward fight to feel a little bit of each other out.

“If Joshua wants to be successful, he’s definitely going to have to move and take angles and be smart with Klitschko. Because Klitschko is very smart, he’s been around the block, he’s got an excellent jab, and he’s going to set Joshua up. His smartness is going to play in a lot.

“Joshua is not as flexible. I don’t think he’s super athletic and doesn’t have that much coordination because of the stiffness. But he definitely has a great shot in this fight and I’d love to see what happens, and hopefully everything comes through with having a mega-fight at the end of the year.”

On Klitschko’s loss to Fury…
“Klitschko didn’t lose by not being able to compete with Tyson Fury, or do the things he had to do. He lost because he didn’t throw no damn punches. I want him to fight in this fight. I don’t want him to hold back, because Fury was bigger than him or this and that. Forget all of that. You got to go in there and fight. You’re the champ. You don’t care about nobody being bigger than you. You go in there and you forget all of that and defend your title because you’re the king and you’re not going to let nobody take it… And that’s how he should come in there.

“There’s a time and a place to be nice. You can’t always be nice. You’ve got to go in there and let them know ‘I’m still a monster, I’m still a beast, I’m still that lion and I’ll eat you up alive when I get you in there.’ And that’s just what he has to come to bring to the table.

“I’m so ready for this fight. I’m looking forward to what’s after this to come. I’m looking forward to unifying this division and bringing it back to America – where it once was and where it’s always going to remain once I bring all the belts. It’s going to be back, I promise you that.

“Age is only but a number and if you feel like you still have it in you and have confidence in yourself, then that’s what you’re going to do. The mind is a powerful thing to lose. And when you lose your mind, you lose your body.

“With Klitschko, he feels like he’s dedicated himself back to the sport and that’s why he says he’s obsessed. He’s obsessed with retaining his titles, he’s obsessed with rising in boxing again. He’s like a new fighter. He needed that loss to Tyson Fury because he forgot to be humble. He forgot about that.

“Now that he’s rebuilt himself, he’s got that hunger, that fire. At the end of the day, all that matters is on the night of the fight. He can come to us with another Tyson Fury fight, talking about height and weight, or he can bring that Klitschko like we’ve always seen with the jabs and setting up with the right hands… We’ll see what happens.”

On his prediction for the winner and why…
“I’m going to continue with my statement as I’ve been saying it. My heart is for Joshua, but my mind is for Klitschko. My heart is for Joshua because I would love to fight him – I think that would be a mega-fight. Even though Joshua is fighting Klitschko, people are still talking to this day about a Wilder and Joshua fight. It’s almost demanded. If this kid beats Klitschko it’s like the only fight he can have is me, because it’s been so demanded.

“My mind goes to Klitschko, because he’s very smart. People talk about age, but like I said, age can play an advantage too. Klitschko has seen every style there is…And when you see it again, you know how to handle it and adapt to it. You know what you got to do.

“He knew what he had to do against Fury, he just didn’t pull the trigger because he was scared of being punished. That was his fault. Now that’s a shame on him. Now he’s coming back for a second time for a title, so if he does it again, he’s going to need to give it up. For those reasons, my heart goes to Joshua but my mind goes to Klitschko.”