Martin: All Anthony Joshua Has is Power, I Can Do It All

By Corey Erdman

Even though he holds a heavyweight title, the jury is still out on whether Charles Martin is ready for the big time.

That being the case, Prince Charles is ready to take it to trial. Martin will go on the road this Saturday to the 02 Arena in London, where he will defend his IBF heavyweight title against Anthony Joshua.

Though the matchup has been universally praised, at the same time, those playing armchair manager question why Martin would take this fight at all. Martin won his title earlier this year in somewhat unusual fashion, when his opponent Vyacheslav Glazkov had to retire due to a leg injury not caused by a punch.

Glazkov was undoubtedly the toughest test of Martin's career, and even that test wasn't exactly taken to completion. Jumping right into a bout with Joshua, who is tabbed by many as the future of the heavyweight division, can understandably be seen as a risk.

On a conference call Tuesday, Martin told BoxingScene that he did indeed have other options for his first title defense, but opted to go after Joshua.

“Small names, like Chris Arreola. I don't want to fight Chris Arreola. Why would I fight Chris Arreola? I can beat Chris Arreola. I want the superstars,” said Martin. “I know exactly what I'm doing with this.”

Though he views this weekend's clash as a bigger test than Arreola would have been, he's still less than complimentary about Joshua's abilities inside the ring.

"He doesn't have any footwork, he can't box, he can't move. The only thing he's relied on is his power. I've got more to it than that. I can do it all. (And) if he thinks he's gonna be able to land hard punches on me, he's got another thing coming. I'm very elusive,” said Martin.

Oddsmakers almost unanimously have Martin listed as a 4-1 underdog, despite the fact that he's the defending champion, suggesting a rather low opinion of the 29-year old's abilities compared to Joshua's.

In taking this fight, Martin hopes to alter his reputation significantly.

“I want people to know that (I'm) down for whatever, whoever, whenever,” said Martin.