Anthony Joshua has parlayed his chiseled physique into modeling gigs, namely for brands like Hugo Boss and Range Rover.
The British boxer Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) has had to deal with stereotypes and name calls throughout his nine-year pro career because his body has somewhat morphed into the body of a Muscle & Fitness magazine cover man.
“AJ couldn’t smoke a cigarette, never mind smoke the ‘Gypsy King’ … I will absolutely annihilate that bodybuilder,” heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has been previously quoted as saying, while also separately adding that Joshua is a “big stiff idiot.”
It appears that Fury’s yearslong fiery trash talk has finally stuck with Joshua.
The 32-year-old Joshua told Sky Sports in an interview that in his most recent loss to Oleksandr Usyk, he was trying to prove his naysayers wrong.
"Usyk came up from cruiserweight — a great fighter, a 12-round fighter. I wanted to box with him for 12 rounds and show, because there was always this stigma saying that I can't box — that I was a big, stiff bodybuilder. So I said: Alright, cool. Let me practice my boxing with Usyk. It didn’t go my way. He won nine rounds, I won three. In the next fight, if I win four more rounds then I will win. Let me simplify that matter. Then I'll get onto the road to being the undisputed champion again."
The Ukrainian Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) dismantled the British boxer and won by a unanimous decision in a battle between Olympics gold medalists in September.
It was just Usyk’s third fight at heavyweight since the undisputed cruiserweight champion vacated his crowns to campaign in the sport’s glamour division.
Joshua was preparing to fight Fury all along last year, but a bout that was agreed on never materialized because Fury had to fight (and eventually knockout) Deontay Wilder after the American won an arbitration case to force a trilogy, while Joshua was led to face his WBO mandatory challenger Usyk.
"I was supposed to fight [Fury] last August,” said Joshua. “If I don't fight the guy I'm supposed to fight, I want the next best.”
Joshua and Usyk are due for a rematch in April in the United Kingdom.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or on www.ManoukAkopyan.com
