By Keith Idec
Anthony Joshua’s promoter admits this is quite an ambitious step for him to take.
The unbeaten IBF heavyweight champion has knocked out every opponent he has faced as a professional. He won a world title in just his 16th fight and already sells out arenas regularly.
The 2012 Olympic gold medalist clearly could’ve taken a less imposing path toward making millions. Ideally, Eddie Hearn says he would’ve welcomed this type of challenge for Joshua seven or eight fights down the line.
Then again, timing is everything, and Wladimir Klitschko already is 41 years old. Thus ready or not, Joshua urged Hearn to make Klitschko just the 19th opponent of his four-year pro career.
Klitschko hasn’t fought in the 17 months since Tyson Fury, Joshua’s British rival, upset him in Dusseldorf, Germany. Their fight Saturday at Wembley Stadium in London still represents by far the stiffest test of Joshua’s pro career.
Hearn acknowledged the risk his company’s cash cow has taken during a press conference Thursday in London.
“On Saturday night, he has the ultimate test,” said Hearn, group managing director for Matchroom Sport. “It’s a test that should probably come in 26, 27 fight’s time. He sells out arenas. The pay-per-view numbers are incredible. So why risk it now? The answer is he wants to challenge himself. You wanna see great fights. You love sport. No one wants to know the answers before we sit down in that chair.
“On Saturday night, the answers will unfold right before your eyes. Is it too early? Is it too late? Is he really good enough? Is he the guy that everybody talks about, the future of boxing? You know what? Let’s roll the dice. Let’s find out. That’s what great sport’s all about. I promise you, if you’re in Wembley Stadium Saturday, and you’re one of the record-breaking 90,000, if you’re watching at home, live on Sky Sports, you will not believe the atmosphere, the spectacle you will see unfold before your eyes.”
The 27-year-old Joshua (18-0, 18 KOs) is slightly more than a 2-1 favorite over Ukraine’s Klitschko (64-4, 53 KOs), who had his 22-fight winning streak snapped against Fury (25-0, 18 KOs).
Showtime’s live coverage of the Joshua-Klitschko fight is set to begin at 4:15 p.m. ET/1:15 p.m. PT on Saturday. HBO will replay the biggest heavyweight fight since Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson in June 2002 at 11 p.m. ET/PT.
Sky Sports Box Office will offer the Joshua-Klitschko card on pay-per-view in the United Kingdom.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
