Joshua: “Showtime is three or four years ahead of the game”

By Corey Erdman

People have expected Anthony Joshua to become a superstar for quite some time, but now it's actually happening.

Joshua now holds the IBF heavyweight title after defeating Charles Martin last month, and as of Wednesday, he is one of the faces of Showtime Boxing. The network and Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn announced a multi-fight deal for the heavyweight titleholder, keeping him on the American network for the foreseeable future.

The first bout on the new deal will take place on June 25, when Joshua faces Dominic Breazeale at the O2 Arena in London.

Indeed, things are changing for Joshua at a rapid pace. Too rapid for him to even comprehend.

“I've had no time. It's been three weeks. It was nice for my family. My Mom telling everyone who her son is, it was nice to see her enjoy the fruits of labor, but for me? It was back to working on the next project, which is why we're here now,” said Joshua.

The 26-year old has become a pay-per-view and boxing office draw in the United Kingdom, which enticed Showtime boss Stephen Espinoza, who in his own words “is usually opposed” to multi-fight deals, to sign him to one anyway.

“I didn't know too much about (Showtime) or the network in America,” said Joshua, who said he was unaware of the details of the negotiations as he was focused on training. “At first I was a bit surprised, because I didn't understand the capacity of it, but now I'm going to start learning about how to build things in America.”

Joshua is fond of referencing Mike Tyson, who is obviously one of his boxing heroes, and now he has the chance to become the heavyweight face of the network much like Iron Mike. That he's been able to put himself in this situation despite being based outside of the United States is a fairly unusual situation, though. Fighters from outside of North America have and are frequently featured on the two major premium cable networks, but often times they've relocated to the United States—at least partially—to aid in their visibility.

“AJ” has been able to skip that step entirely.

“I thought I'd have to go over there and fight. You know how it is. You're not the real deal until you fight in the States. I thought that was the plan. But Showtime obviously is three or four years ahead of the game,” said Joshua.