Anthony Joshua Is Ahead of the Curve as He Moves Closer to Career-Defining Bouts
Anthony Joshua is the biggest jewel in Britain's dazzling boxing crown.
Some of his fellow British world champions may dispute that statement, including a heavyweight who happens to hold two major titles rather than just one.
But while Tyson Fury—the WBA and WBO champion—may have achieved more so far considering he has managed a win over Wladimir Klitschko, Joshua—a 2012 Olympic gold medalist—is the golden boy of this generation.
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It is easy to forget he has only had 16 pro fights.
Like a British monarch, Joshua has toured the country. Many of his early appearances were on the road, including visits to Birmingham, Newcastle, Liverpool and Sheffield in England. He also called in on Scotland and Wales too.
Now, though, he reigns in London. While Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has Buckingham Palace, Joshua has the O2 Arena.
On Saturday, the 26-year-old is set to fight for a fifth successive time at the venue. He has topped the bill on his last three visits and is again the main attraction, as he makes the first defence of his IBF title, against Dominic Breazeale.
As they are with the Royal Family, Brits are ridiculously patriotic when it comes to heavyweight boxers.
There was Henry Cooper, who was nicknamed Our 'Enry and famously dropped Muhammad Ali—then Cassius Clay—in the first of their two meetings in the ring.
Then there was Frank Bruno, Britain's lovable loser. After some heartbreaking near misses, he eventually won a world title at the fourth attempt. To celebrate, he was given an open-top bus tour around London.
Lennox Lewis was more successful than both Bruno and Cooper, yet he never quite had the same level of popularity. Sure, he was born in London, but he represented Canada at the 1988 Olympic Games, winning a gold medal for his adopted homeland.
With Joshua, the Brits have a heavyweight who ticks all the boxes. They've fallen head over heels for the 6′6″, muscle-bound fighter, as he has won hearts with his huge smile and fights with his heavy hands.
He's a lovable winner—the perfect combination for a promoter.
Now the aim is to stretch his appeal beyond Britain. By emphatically knocking out American Charles Martin to claim the IBF belt in April, Joshua created a ripple in the heavyweight waters that will have no doubt reached the other side of the Atlantic.
It turned out Martin wasn't much of a champion. King Charles entered the ring wearing a crown but left with his tail between his legs. The southpaw barely threw a punch before he was flattened in Round 2.
There are doubts over Breazeale's ability to put up a better fight.
Sure, he has a 17-0 (15 KOs) record. He has Olympic pedigree too, albeit he failed to win a fight in the super-heavyweight division at the London Games four years ago.
Breazeale's nickname is Trouble. It could be particularly appropriate once the bout starts.
For Joshua, it is another chance to impress an American audience (Showtime will be screening it live), as he explained to Jeff Powell of MailOnline: "The United States is a big market which I want to develop. A fight like this is my chance to showcase myself to the American public as part of the build-up for a championship unification fight against WBC champion Deontay Wilder next spring."
Just mentioning the name Wilder shows where Joshua is at. After bowling over journeymen, he has taken a step up in level.
His development has been so fast he's actually skipped a few steps along the way. He's the boxing equivalent of the genius child who ends up graduating from university at the age of 15—only he's unlikely to ever be bullied by his peers.
Joshua won the British title in December 2015. Four months later, he was a world champion.
Breazeale has been picked as his first challenger. There's nothing much wrong with the choice—the Californian is an interesting name with a decent reputation.
But make no mistake about it, Joshua is expected to win. Per Odds Shark, he is a 1-25 favourite.
If the fight goes as expected, it could be the last time he is so heavily favoured for a while. As he's been learning on the job, Joshua has glided into the upper echelon of heavyweights.
His next outing could be against his mandatory, New Zealander Joseph Parker. It might be against Wilder or even an all-English showdown with Fury in a money-spinning unification fight.
However, promoter Eddie Hearn is not going to rush things. He knows there's a limited pool of heavyweights to pick from—get greedy too early and you'll exhaust all available options and be left swimming alone.
Hearn told John Dennen of Boxing News: "It’s almost like you’ve got to pace yourself. You want to dive in those fights now and in 18 months you’ve been through everybody and you’re sitting there going well I can’t move up, I can’t move down, who else is there? So we’re doing it at the right pace."
The problem for Hearn is this: It is tough to put the brakes on momentum.
Joshua has become so big so quickly that the audience wants to see exactly what he is capable of.
Ever since he knocked out Emanuele Leo in his pro debut in October 2013, he's been box office viewing. Now you can only view him in Britain on Sky Sports Box Office. He is a pay-per-view star who is so big world champions are happy to appear on his undercard.
He has held media workouts at the famous York Hall in Bethnal Green, London, including one on Tuesday. Crowds are willing to gather to watch him skip rope and go a few rounds with the pads.
Breazeale stands in the way of some huge nights. If Joshua's doing well for himself now, just imagine the attention that would surround a bout against either Fury or Wilder.
When asked about the prospect of a fight with Fury, Hearn told Dennen: "It would break seven figures on the box office." He also said it isn't likely to happen until 2017, sadly.
While his promoter plots the future, Joshua is very much focused on the present. Whether he's up against Breazeale, Fury or anyone else, his mindset doesn't change.
He recently told Sky Sports News HQ (h/t Allan Valente of Sky Sports): "It is what it is, it is just a fight. It's the same ring, referee and I've just got a different opponent in the corner and it was the same situation when I didn't have the IBF belt so that is what I'm saying about mental preparation—I've just got to chill out."
If he keeps recording knockout wins, Joshua will give his opponents and his promoter headaches. For the latter, it's a welcome problem to have.
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