Anthony Joshua fight diary: 'Tyson Fury can wait... my job tonight is to keep my dream live'

Exclusive: British boxer delivers his final verdict on his showdown with Francis Ngannou on fight night
Anthony Joshua8 March 2024

It’s Friday and it’s fight night. It’s a little different to what I’m used to but I’m not afraid of change.

The last 24 hours before a fight, it’s almost like you go into your own bubble as a fighter. The noise almost evaporates after the last press conference and the final preparation begins.

It’s the usual stuff — eat, rest, rehydrate, repeat. As fighters, we don’t change a great deal from what’s worked before. You’re alone with your thoughts, you think through the fight and the clock counts down.

And then, bam, it’s ring time. There’s no buzz like it in everyday life. The lights are flashing, the music’s blaring, the atmosphere’s electric and you feed off the noise and expectation of the crowd.

There’s no place I’d rather be, it’s for moments like this — entering the fight cauldron — that you work hard in camp, that you live this Spartan existence for so much of the time, an existence that keeps you away from the ones you love.

By this point, you’ve worked out with your trainer and team what you’re going to do, how you’re going to approach the fight but then it’s just you and no one else that needs to deliver at that point. Of course, you let your instinct as a fighter kick in, too, reacting to the situation unfolding in front of you.

Anthony Joshua steps back into the ring tonight
Getty Images

I’ve got my game plan for Francis Ngannou and, sorry, I’m not going to tell you what that’s all about! But I know what I need to do to get the job done.

Already, I’ve talked on these pages about how impressive a puncher he is and how I believe he’s got the makings of being a world-class boxer. He’s already shown in MMA he’s a world-class fighter. The boxing bit will come.

And you can’t help but be impressed by the guy’s back story. He came from nothing, he overcame a lot of adversity and travelled miles away from home to realise his dream.

That was never his dream, we all know it was to be a boxer and emulate his hero Mike Tyson. That he’s done that is a credit to his perseverance, and he deserves all the plaudits coming his way.

Him winning would be the fairytale finish to that story but I’m not going to give him the luxury of a happy ending. As fighters, we all have dreams and for me, that’s to become a three-time world champion.

“Fury might be the bigger picture further down the line.”

AJ on Tyson Fury

I got a pretty good reminder of what’s at stake with Tyson Fury out here in Riyadh and having a little exchange with Ngannou in yesterday’s press conference. It’s all part of the game.

Sure, Fury might be the bigger picture further down the line and there are plenty of talks going on around making a fight between the two of us a reality. But for now I’ve got to put those blinkers on and walk before I can run.

I’ve worked so, so hard. I had maybe a week to 10 days off after the last fight and then it was straight back into training. I don’t see this fight as any different. Again, it’ll be no more than a short break from training.

There’s still work to be done to get up to the top and I don’t like being away for training for too long, it helps to quench my thirst in between the fights. What’ll happen tonight? I know, my destiny’s already decided. I’m not going to share it with you but be sure to watch. It’s going to be explosive.

Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou is being shown live in the UK via both DAZN pay-per-view and Sky Sports Box Office.

For those who already have a subscription to DAZN, the fight will be available to purchase for £18.99. Otherwise new customers can pay £19.99 to buy the event and get a month’s free subscription to DAZN.

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