It’s hard to believe it now, given his meteoric rise, but four years ago Anthony Joshua was staring at a bleak future.
Standing in court, the bricklayer was pleading guilty to drug dealing. The great hope of heavyweight boxing was on the brink of heading down a path to self destruction.
He was spared prison, given a second chance and instead banned from Britain’s boxing squad and sentenced to a 12-month community order and 100 hours’ unpaid work. At the age of just 21 Joshua had already hit rock bottom.
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An illustrious Olympic gold medal and 14 consecutive knockouts as a professional later and the narrative has changed drastically.
Saturdays, now, are for running, not clubbing because the 25-year-old is acutely aware the reckless spell of his early twenties were hardly conducive to a prosperous career in boxing.
After blasting Gary Cornish out of the ring inside 97 seconds for the Commonwealth title earlier this month, the heir to the heavyweight throne is potentially just four fights away from staring at a prestigious crown instead of a prison cell.
The 02 Arena was buzzing for Joshua’s first major title bout and for someone still in the embryonic stage of his career, he lived up to it perfectly.
Beforehand, there was a question mark against him because he’d always fought smaller men, but Joshua’s speed was frightening, his reactions like lightning.
And what his fledgling unbeaten run has shown is that the potential and talent is as big as his 6ft6 frame, not just to be a world champion but an exciting one, too.
The challenge now is to bridge the gap to Wladamir Klitschko and in terms of experience it’s vast.
The demolition of Cornish proved very little and it’s time for Joshua to be truly tested. In fairness, the undefeated Scot and Kevin Johnson were supposed to provide sterner assessments.
Picking fighters to pitch him against at this stage of his career can be tricky because there is a thin line between fighters who can pose a few problems and one who can actually cause an upset.
David Price found that out at a cost against Tony Thompson. But Joshua is something special.
He has a nice disposition out of the ring with the power to take off your head in it and that mix could see him flourish into a modern-day Frank Bruno.
For all his supporters, Bruno took time to achieve his dream and become world champion. There were dark days including the heartbreaking defeats to Tim Witherspoon, Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis.
And that’s the real question mark lingering over Joshua; how he responds to adversity and if he can take a shot. It’s gone unanswered because so far he has had it his own way.
That trend won’t change against Dillian Whyte for the vacant British heavyweight title in December either.
Tickets sold out in six hours last week and it’s a testament to Joshua’s rapidly expanding popularity because his support is going beyond average boxing fans.
There is intense interest, too, in the clash with Whyte because the 27-year-old defeated Joshua as an amateur.
“The amateur win is relevant, so relevant. He is 1-0 against me, and now it is my chance to get it back and even the score,” said Joshua.
Joshua has yet to go past three rounds and that won’t change. Once Whyte is dealt with the path to glory is clear.
A European showdown against Erkan Teper will be next on the agenda in early 2016.
Should he get through that challenge and Tyson Fury lose out to Klitschko next month, a domestic dust-up between the pair represents a solid step up in class before the realms of world champions.
Joshua has done all that has been asked of him so far and now it’s time for the hype train to really gather momentum. The one-time bricklayer is building a bright future and it all ends with a world title strapped around his waist.
Good week – Stephen Smith
With his brothers Paul and Liam already earning world title shots and younger sibling Callum on the rise, Smith’s demolition of Devis Boschiero in six rounds was another feather in the cap of one of England’s foremost fighting families.
The Liverpool boxer will now get his shot at Jose Pedraza’s IBF title, who is due to defend that belt against Edner Cherry on October 3 in Ohio.
A career dogged by injury, Smith has proven tough times don’t last but tough fighters do.
Just watched @SwiftySmith‘s most impressive 5-knockdown TKO win vs Boschiero to earn 130 title shot: https://t.co/q2NsEmzQSk #boxing
— Dan Rafael (@danrafaelespn) September 20, 2015
Bad week – Bradley Saunders
The 29-year-old lost his unbeaten record in disgraceful circumstances.
On the undercard of the Stephen Smith fight, the Durham fighter was 12-0 heading into the light-welterweight clash with Renald Garrido.
The Frenchman in control, Saunders was floored in the sixth round, though he protested it should not have counted as a knockdown.
With his back against the wall, Saunders responded spitefully by blatantly driving his head into Garrido’s in full view of the referee, who was given little choice but to disqualify Saunders.
Bradley Saunders using his head to get around the fact he had injured both hands.. https://t.co/53kV0DE7Eb
— KO KINGS (@KOKINGS4) September 20, 2015
