Can Anthony Joshua fight in the USA?

[BostonGuy]

Yes. He was caught with 8oz and charged with possession of a class B substance with intent to supply. He pleading guilty I believe and was given a 12 month community order with 100 hours unpaid work.

Do you think it'll be an issue?

Tbh, I really don't know. It's not an issue for me and weed is becoming legal in more and more state in the U.S.

I'd love to see AJ fight in the U.S. UK fans are awesome and provide a fun atmosphere at his fights. Barclays center with him and Deontay Wilder would be huge

[fanofslug]

AJ was selling crack, not just weed and he wasn't charged because he was under 18. He was also part of a London gang which ran a meth lab. Google is your friend.

[gingerbreadman]

a) No criminal conviction, so I imagine it'd be fine in any case

b) If it is a problem, Matchroom seem like the kind of team to be on top of those sorts of things, unlike Murray's lot or Rigo etc.

c) Even if he can't fight in the States, Joshua is huge here, with as much crossover appeal as Carl Froch ever had ALREADY. If he keeps winning he becomes bigger than Lewis, and genuinely as big as Tyson in this country, which translates to a lot of £££ and purse bids that only ever get won by Matchroom (unless Hyrunov gets involved maybe?)

[about.thousands]

And so it begins. Gotta remind everybody that Joshua was convicted of dealing drugs. Just like people are always bringing up Stevenson's past. He served his time. Never got in trouble again. Became a successful, productive, member of society. The American/ Canadian dream.

"Even if you in a Benz you still a n***a in a coupe"-Kanye West

[DreamerUSA]

A million PPVS at $25 a pop. Not the same as selling them for $60-$100 each in the US.

True enough, but for a kid with 16 fights. It is damn impressive none the less.

[ianjamsie]

They will let him.

He is not exactly a high risk.

A degree of common sense does apply sometimes.

[ianjamsie]

A million PPVS at $25 a pop. Not the same as selling them for $60-$100 each in the US.

That fee is on top of a subscription fee in the UK. So it is an awful lot closer than that in real terms.

[BodiesInFlight]

That fee is on top of a subscription fee in the UK. So it is an awful lot closer than that in real terms.

Aren't HBO and SHOWTIME subscription also in the US?

[Scipio2009]

I believe anyone with a drug conviction can be denied entry into the US potentially. If they do or don't allow him entry to fight is a valid question. Not sure all the factors involved in that.

Does anyone know if he's visited the US, for a fight or other reasons, in the past? That'd probably go a long way to speculating if its a problem for him or not.

Can't find the link, but there was an interview up, where he talked about coming to Las Vegas for an amateur tournament, where he got the chance to rub elbows with folks like Big Floyd, Boza Edwards, and other notable Vegasans(?) who were tuned in to the amateur boxing scene.

[- Ram Raid -]

Tbh, I really don't know. It's not an issue for me and weed is becoming legal in more and more state in the U.S.

I'd love to see AJ fight in the U.S. UK fans are awesome and provide a fun atmosphere at his fights. Barclays center with him and Deontay Wilder would be huge

Yeah, that has the potential to build into a real mega fight. Fury complicates the issue of course and to a lesser extent Haye over here, but I've been impressed by Wilder. The Stiverne win was solid and the man's fun to watch despite his flaws. Adding Povetkin to his resume will do him no harm.

If they can get Haye and Fury (or Klitschko) out the the picture between them then like you say that fight would be huge. It'd be another one of those, "The Brits are coming!" occasions.

It looks like we may well be witnessing the rebirth of the sports preeminent division.