Anthony Joshua says boxers have a “licence to kill” as he prepares to go head-to-head with Jake Paul in Miami on Friday.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer and former world heavyweight champion faced off at a final pre-fight press conference on Wednesday night local time.
The comments come after Tyson Fury labelled Joshua a “classless loser” for his reference to killing in the boxing ring during open workouts, where Joshua declared: “If I can kill you, I will kill you.”
Asked to respond to yesterday’s comments, Joshua said: “That’s my job. We fight. We have a licence to kill. Many people don’t understand it, but this is what my job is.”
Concerns have been raised about the disparity in size, experience and class between the two fighters, with former unified world champion Joshua taking on a cruiserweight rookie with a record of 12 wins and one defeat.
Paul said he was unfazed by the challenge: “I’m ready. I want his hardest punches.”
Paul, who earlier this week said he wanted to create the biggest upset in sporting history by defeating Joshua, also shared a wishlist of future opponents, including Fury, Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez.
“No one’s done more for the sport of boxing in the last decade than myself,” Paul said of Friday’s match-up.
“I think if people really cared about boxing, they’d want me to win.”
Fury and Joshua are being lined up for their long-awaited showdown later next year and the ‘Gypsy King’ used social media to attack his rival.
