Sounding like a person with a chip on his shoulder, Anthony Joshua complained that the British public underestimated him and was being driven by it in his title fight against IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois on Saturday night.
It bothers Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) that he is not worshiped by the entire UK instead of what he feels is a “minority” of the public. He thinks the 96,000 fans who will show up this Saturday to watch him challenge Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs) are the minority, while the others “underestimate” him.
If AJ is right about most of the UK not being fans, they have a good reason. He has failed them several times during his 11-year career, and he hasn’t fought a top seed in his last four fights since losing to Oleksandr Usyk for the second time in 2022.
Joshua’s crude rant and Usyk’s belts being rudely thrown out of the ring were not the kind of behavior the more cultured British fans would have wanted to see from a sporting hero.
There is the episode involving Joshua winning his gold medal in the 2012 London Olympics with his opponent, Italy’s Roberto Cammarellewhich was probably robbed on foreign soil in England.
These things are just the tip of the iceberg of why the majority of the UK doesn’t like Joshua. There is a whole lot more to his career, and the way his promoter has conducted it is disturbing. The British masses have reasons to loathe Joshua, and he will have to live with it.
“People underestimate me. People will continue to underestimate me,” Anthony Joshua told the Matchroom Boxing channel. “It’s part of the British public that underestimates me, but that’s fine. It’s always going to be part of the game, and it drives me a lot.”
If the vast majority of British fans don’t like Joshua, it’s too late for him to change their views because they’ve watched him for 11 years and noted all the wrong things. AJ will just have to accept that he is not the UK fans cup of tea. If Joshua loses to Dubois on Saturday, it will strengthen the fans’ hardened dislike for him. A robbery for Dubois would also make the Joshua haters stand up and say, “I told you so.” The man is pure poison.’
“Yes, he’s done it many times,” Joshua said when asked if Dubois was ready for this big stage on Saturday. “Whether it’s at Wembley, Poland, Tottenham, York Hall, or wherever he’s boxed before. He’s done it many times, and he’ll be fine. He will come and throw punches.
“I don’t expect someone who will just crumble under pressure. I’m expecting someone who’s going to try to test my masculinity, and I’m going to be ready there.
