By Jake Donovan
Top heavyweight prospect Anthony Joshua is ready for his "long" awaited ring return this weekend. The unbeaten Brit—who captured Olympic Gold at home during the 2012 London Olympics—fights for the first time in 2015 as faces American journeyman Jason Gavern this Saturday in Newcastle, England.
Joshua was due to face Kevin Johnson in January, but a back injury forced him off of the show and onto the sidelines for rest and rehabilitation. Now fully recovered and roaring to go, a showdown with the underachieving Johnson is back on the table for late May, provided he escapes unscathed this weekend.
“Jason has so much experience and he's very entertaining. I've been out for five months so there will be some ring rust,” Joshua (10-0, 10KOs) made sure to remind the assembled media during the final pre-fight press conference Thursday in Newcastle.
The bout comes with a considerable amount of agressive selling, as few expect the scheduled eight-round affair to be competitive, or even to last very long. Joshua is a whopping 200-1 betting favorite, with the oddsmakers suggesting the bout offering even money on a 1st round knockout.
These suggestions are not at all lost on the visiting challenger, who insists he hasn't traveled across the pond just to come over and lie down.
“Anthony Joshua is ready and I am ready. My experience is going to be key and I am going to show that on the night,” promises Gavern (26-19-4, 11KOs), who has lost three of his last four, but the streak preceded by a glimmer of home.
The last visit to the UK for the veteran heavyweight nearly ended in a career-best achievement, finishing as top runner-up in the 2013 edition of
Prizefighter UK vs. USA Heavyweights
. Gavern kicked off the eight-man elimination bracket by outpointing Larry Olubamiwo, followed by a
n upset over faded former three-division champ James Toney, before falling short versus Michael Sprott in the finals.
He has since fallen on harder times, thrown in the deep end with losses to unbeaten heavyweights Deontay Wilder, Zhang Jun Long and most recently Gerald Washington just last month in California.
Still, his wealth of experience in the pro ranks, Gavern believes, is what will get him through Saturday night.
“It's my 50th fight so I know what I am doing. The odds on me getting knocked out inside 20 seconds have made me laugh,” Gavern quipped.
While the 37-year old has been stopped on a number of occasions, the last to do it was Wilder in a stay-busy fight last August while awaiting a heavyweight title shot. The unbeaten American, of course, went on to defeat Bermane Stiverne in January, becoming the first from the U.S. to own a heavyweight belt since Shannon Briggs briefly reigned for seven months spanning from late-2006 to mid-2007.
At the very best, Saturday's showdown could be regarded as a litmus test for Joshua, measuring his own performance versus that of past heavyweights against similar opposition. This being a business still of the belief that there's a sucker born every minute, the promotion instead went for the hard sell.
“Wilder fought Jason ahead of his world title fight so that shows how highly he is regarded
,”
Joshua deadpanned
.
“
But I am so hungry to get back in there.”
Joshua is also the subject of a documentary, which airs live Thursday evening at 10:00 p.m. local time on ITV4 in the UK.
Saturday's show will air live on Sky Sports.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
