ANTHONY JOSHUA: Polishing off Italian starter will just make me hungry for more





It has taken Anthony Joshua more than a year to travel the 1,637 yards from the ExCeL, the scene of his Olympic gold medal triumph, to the O2 Arena, the venue for his professional debut.

During this protracted journey across a corner of London’s East End he has grown up. From a large boy into a big man. He has changed not only physically, but mentally.

Most importantly he has moved on psychologically from the cocoon of Britain’s amateur boxing team to the loneliness of the prizefighter.

VIDEO Scroll down to watch Anthony Joshua looks forward to his professional debut



Raring to go: Anthony Joshua has progressed from amateur to professional ahead of his paid debut

Once one of the Olympic lads, he has been readying himself to become heavyweight successor to Frank Bruno and Lennox Lewis.

‘The People’s Champion’ — which is what he calls it and what he dreams of becoming.

That is the lofty ambition that finally tempted him off the path to more Olympic glory in Rio 2016 and into the paid ring on Saturday night. Joshua will be 24 shortly after flexing his muscles for money for the first time.

In his mind he has become an adult through the awkward process of leaving his pals behind.

Not only his friends in Team GB, but his old mates in Watford.

Quitting his home town proved to be easier. It was there that he did his drinking, got caught dabbling with drugs and was in danger of drifting into the street life. ‘I knew I had to get out of Watford,’ he says.

Golden boy: Joshua beat Italy's Roberto Cammarelle in the Olympic final in London last year

Finchley is not that long a trip, either. But in that north London suburb he has found a trainer, Tony Sims, and the gym where he can dedicate himself to the sport which he is not too shy to admit ‘saved me’.

He adds: ‘I didn’t make the most of school, but boxing has given me discipline. There were all the temptations for a young man.

‘I used to drink. I didn’t like reading, but I discovered the benefits of it. I read that Floyd Mayweather never drinks — and he is the blueprint for boxing.

‘The party invitations piled up after I won my gold medal at the Games but now boxing comes first. I empowered myself by educating myself.

‘I read a book called Think and Grow Rich — and started thinking about how Lennox Lewis applied his mind to boxing. I started talking with him regularly and he mentioned chess. I got a lady friend to teach me and now I think I’m ready to give him a game.’

Training days: Joshua has hooked up with London-based Tony Sims ahead of his professional debut

Joshua took an impressive physique into the ExCeL last year, but when he walks into the ring at the O2 he will have the body of a full-blown professional.

The 6ft 6in of muscularity is more defined, the last traces of baby fat dispersed. At 16-and-a-half stone there is not a wasted ounce on him. The waist is tapered and the appearance of a highly trained athlete is confirmed as real, not cosmetic, when his trainer reports that he now runs the 100 metres in 11 seconds flat.

Physically Joshua is a natural. Mastering the mind games took a little longer.

‘Stepping away from the GB team — the other boxers and the set-up — wasn’t easy,’ he says. ‘Everything was laid on, including the best training facilities and the best support staff.

‘I was one of the lads. We all helped each other. I felt I was continuing to develop towards the Rio Olympics. I knew that if I turned pro the mental challenges would change. I have to do it all by myself now. This is more important than the physical aspect of the pro game.’

Joshua’s first fight without head-guard or vest pits him against a tougher-than-usual starter rival. Italian heavyweight Emanuele Leo has won all his eight pro fights.

First up: Joshua make his debut against Italian Emanuele Leo at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday

But it is not the man in the opposite corner whom Joshua regards as his main challenge. He explains: ‘The mental is more important than the physical. You know, that voice in your head telling you to give up if it gets tough. That’s my main opponent — making sure that if your body wants to stop your mind won’t let you.’

Joshua can picture his ring walk, the feverish atmosphere inside the O2 and the ringing of the first bell of his new life. But he says: ‘Not until we start fighting will I know how long it will take me to find my range as a professional.’

Unusually for a debutant, he has up to six rounds to find out instead of four. But he is a fast learner.

Joshua did not find boxing - or was it boxing that found him? - until 2007. Yet he leaves the amateur ranks as a World Championship silver medallist and a golden Olympian.

Big decisions: Joshua decided to sign with Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Sport when he turned professional

Finding a professional promoter was a slower process. He reveals: ‘I went to Eddie Hearn first and he advised me to go round the others to make sure I would not regret my decision. Then, when I went back to him, he was ready to put in place all the professional help and back-up I needed.’

Hearn admires the thoroughness with which Joshua went through the decision-making process and believes his learning curve will bring him into world heavyweight title contention quite quickly.

During our lunch and at the British Boxing Board of Control annual awards dinner, at which he worked the crowded room with much charm, Joshua’s rapidly growing maturity was impressively in evidence.

They say sport is all in the timing. It took a while but perhaps Joshua’s journey from ecstasy in the ExCeL to expectation at the O2 has been timed to perfection.

Anthony Joshua v Emanuele Leo is live on Saturday night on Sky Sports 1 HD.



