Anthony Joshua does not take kindly to being disrespected. At least not anymore. The two-time world heavyweight champion has made that very clear in recent weeks, with the threat of severe repercussions should anyone dare to provoke him.
With a steely focus and deadly serious tone, Joshua vowed to put a chair across his rival Daniel Dubois’ face during a promotional event in June.
The British heavyweights square off in the ring on Saturday night at Wembley Stadium, with a record 96,000 fervent fans hungry for another glorious occasion in British boxing’s golden age – a period in which AJ himself has always been front and centre.
For so long Joshua displayed a more genial side outside of the ring, contrasting with his vicious nature between the ropes. But the 34-year-old gleefully provided a reminder of that menacing edge, provoked by a chance encounter in a pub days before the now infamous clash with Dubois.
“I was in the pub the week before,” Joshua explains carefully when pushed on what prompted him to snap after Dubois shouted: “Let’s do it now.”
He adds: “Obviously I’m not around as much, there’s a new generation coming through. One little kid – well, I’m 34, he was probably thirtysomething – thought he could say something. And I realised … you can’t let anyone think they can speak to you in a certain way.
“Because at the pub, there’s other people who are looking at this person talking to me like that. F*** boxing, you know who I am and you know what I’m about, so don’t ever think you can disrespect me – because it won’t end well for you.”
This fight has been enhanced by undisputed world champion Oleksandr Usyk carelessly discarding the IBF strap after victory against Tyson Fury, allowing the governing body to elevate Dubois outside of the ring. Yet the lingering narrative to their meeting is the secret stories swirling from that notorious sparring session.
Dubois, seemingly, made a dent in his illustrious rival, who scoffed at suggestions he had his “lights turned out,” though he has since conceded “he cracked me with a good shot”.
Usyk and Fury will fight again in December, leaving Joshua, should he reign on Saturday night, with the tantalising prospect of a third crack at the Ukrainian, after two sapping defeats, or a belated meeting with Fury and, in all likelihood, the biggest fight in British boxing history.
“We draw a line under that,” Joshua chuckled when retracing his steps before his dispute with Dubois. “The week after, I’m doing a [face-off], and he [Dubois] tried to get mouthy! So, I’m still in the mindset, yeah, where you don’t let anyone think they can take a mile. What happens if Jarrell Miller or Deontay Wilder starts thinking they can talk to me like that? So, Dan, I’m gonna put a stop to you there, and listen: I will smash this f***ing chair across your face, and I’ll ram the f***ing pole down your throat! You have to let someone know that you’re not f***ing about, and hopefully that will ripple out to everyone else.
“I don’t want any problems, but I’m in an industry where I’m fighting; I’m not in goal, I’m not playing tennis, I’m in a sport with men with [high levels of] testosterone – gladiators that will take any opportunity to try to belittle you and test your toughness.
“So it was calculated and it all stemmed from the night before. It wasn’t sporadic. I just realised: you can’t let anyone get an upper hand on you, whether it’s mentally or… [Dubois] said, ‘Let’s go.’ [The guy in the pub], his mate tried to show him something, and he said: ‘I don’t give a f*** if AJ is here.’ I said: ‘What?! Don’t ever think you can talk like that.’”
Dubois has the tools to unsettle Joshua. Most notably a piston-like jab used to damage opponents, rather than merely set up those devastating crosses Joshua dished out in ruthless wins over Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou.
“I’m a nice person, but honestly, I’ll switch as well,” Joshua concluded. “So, you pick what side of the fence you want to sit on.
“Most people are alright with me, but I will definitely go to extremes that I don’t think they’re ready for. It’s up to them which way they wanna do it. With Dan… I like Dan, there’s nothing wrong with him, he’s a good guy. Remember, we’re men, we’ll shake hands after.
“But I just think it was the fact that someone thought they were OK to say: ‘We can fight now.’ Am I gonna say: ‘Na, let’s not go now, I’m not ready.’ Are you f***ing crazy? I’m gonna give it back to you, and I’m gonna go to places where… It’s the industry I’m in, you have to.”
