BY TIM PARSONS
Humble Anthony Joshua has released a promotional video about his upcoming grudge fight against unbeaten British champion, Dillian White, in which he sets the bar high for his career and highlights the sacrifices he has made in order to be the best in a division that has been bereft of star quality for years. Joshua (14-0(14) meets Dillian Whyte(16-0(14) on December 12, 2015 for the British title in a fight that will have even the causal boxing fan watching. Joshua has knocked out all of his 14 opponents in impressive fashion but meets an opponent who not only beat him convincingly in the amateurs, but one who has also won all 16 of his professional fights to date, with 13 of those wins coming inside the distance. Whyte has gone out of his way to express his dislike for Joshua, calling him a scumbag and a fake, and promising to derail his current smooth sail in the division.
Joshua is favorite to maintain his unbeaten record, but Dillian is strong and powerful enough to cause an upset, and he expects to win. However, Joshua says he wants no hype for this fight. In the advert, Joshua says: “You sacrifice everything. People are gonna come up to you – say that you’ve changed – you’re a fake. I don’t hear that.
“I’ve left a lot of things behind. No more hanging out. No running wild. No time for hating. I’m not that guy.
“No celebrity lifestyle. No days off. No wrong moves. I can’t afford a backwards step. No distractions. No compromise.
“No second place. No hype.”
Joshua is a blessing to the heavyweight division, and is widely loved for his humility as well as his explosive knock out power, rare in the division these days. He is also one of the few heavyweight prospects who has not been fed bums yet has blown out all opponents presented to him. Whyte will definitely provide him with a much sterner test than his previous opponents and he truly cannot afford any distractions. One wrong move and Joshua could find himself on the canvas just like he did in the amateurs when he lost to Whyte in 2009.
