Anthony Joshua: ‘We have to shut Povetkin down early’

This Saturday on DAZN from Wembley Stadium in London, Anthony Joshua (21-0, 20 KO) returns to action to defend his WBA, WBO, and IBF heavyweight titles against WBA mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin (34-1, 24 KO).

Joshua had his media workout on Wednesday, and talked about the importance of getting to Povetkin early:

“He might have a good left hook but I have to annihilate that early. He has a lot of things in his locker so we have to shut him down early. I’ve put my flag there [Wembley] with Klitschko, it brings out a good fight night in general, now we’re back again. Povetkin is the right opponent to bring that style of fight out of me. The win is the most important thing but of course the knockouts always entertaining and boosts up the stock.”

Joshua is already one of the sport’s biggest and brightest stars, but an impressive win over Povetkin — meaning a KO — can only improve his stock, as he says.

He’s already booked for another fight at Wembley in April 2019, with Dillian Whyte looking like the lead contender for that date if Joshua beats Povetkin. Of course, fight fans hope he’ll face Deontay Wilder (or the Wilder-Fury winner, if that fight actually does happen), but that’s for the future. Povetkin is no pushover, and Joshua has to be focused on Saturday first.