Anthony Joshua showed true colours when asked | Boxing News

British heavyweight Anthony Joshua has beforehand expressed his reservations about entering into the ring with the legendary Mike Tyson, citing a potential backlash from followers. Tyson, who turned the youngest world heavyweight champion in historical past at simply 20, is poised to make a sensational return to boxing towards Jake Paul subsequent Friday (November 15).

The sporting neighborhood is split over the 58-year-old’s comeback, particularly towards an opponent three a long time youthful, with some anticipating doubtlessly critical repercussions from the mismatch. While he was focussed on securing a extremely anticipated all-British showdown with Tyson Fury on the time, which might happen subsequent yr, Joshua refuted any options of a bout with the New Yorker back in 2020.

Speaking to The Sun, Joshua mentioned: “With all due respect I wouldn’t. Even if I fought Iron Mike and beat him, I think I’d be the only one cheering. People would boo. He is a legend.”

He additional showered reward on Tyson and his stature within the sport, stating: “He is the greatest boxer of the modern era. There are only two recognised champions the world knows of, Ali and Mike Tyson – the most recognised faces in the world when it comes to boxing.”

Joshua opted to make use of soccer icon David Beckham as an analogy as he defined why a fighter of Tyson’s stature may go for a ring return regardless of his advancing years, reviews the Mirror. He added: “I see it like this – how old is David Beckham, 44, 45? If you see him in 10 years kicking a ball, doing 100 kick-ups, a round-the-world and hitting the crossbar and then an overhead volley into the top corner, people would love it.

“But as a result of Mike Tyson is the embodiment of like, the killing machine, he hits the pads for 15 seconds and the entire world goes loopy, it’s regular. It is what Tyson is aware of. But for him to struggle… would you be shocked if Beckham got here back? You would. But for boxers, it is all they know.”

While Joshua may have his qualms about entering the ring with Tyson, the Brooklyn-bred legend himself has no such misgivings, as he enthusiastically expressed his willingness to go toe-to-toe against the British fighter in a charity match in 2020. When the topic surfaced during Tyson’s discussion with iFL TV, he eagerly responded: “I’d love to do this. That could be mind-blowing.”