By Edward Chaykovsky
Olympic gold medal winner Anthony Joshua (15-0, 15KOs) is going to do everything possible to break the spirit of IBF heavyweight champion Charles Martin (23-0-1, 21KOs) from the first bell.
Joshua will challenge Martin for the world title live on Sky Sports Box Office on April 9th from the O2 Arena in London.
This will be Martin's first defense of the title since capturing the vacant belt back in January with a third round stoppage of Czar Glazkov at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Joshua has no intention of allowing Martin to gain any momentum in the fight. He wants to break him down, mentally, very early in the contest. At the same time he's going to be very cautious because Martin is a big puncher with numerous early knockouts.
"I think he's a cool, calm character and that shows in his boxing. That's what I like about southpaws - they're calm, collected and they punish you for your mistakes. That's how he fights," Joshua told Sky Sports.
"I've got to expose him. I've got to take him to waters he has never been in. He's cool and calm so I've got to go in there and turn it into an aggressive, uncomfortable and unpredictable type of fight. That's how I may rattle Martin. You've got to remember he's heavyweight champion of the world and that gives you some sort of confidence. At the moment he thinks he's the king and it must be a great feeling to have. I can only imagine that confidence he brings.
"He's a big guy, he's had a few knockouts. He hits hard and punishes his opponents. He's a southpaw and deals with orthodox fighters on a day to day basis because there are so many of them. Sparring is so important. Martin is confident enough coming to the UK so he has got the right mindset. I've just got to handle business and go in and get the win, one way or another."
