Anthony Joshua already has a game plan in his head for a potential showdown with Deontay Wilder.
The battle of former world champions is being targeted for a January date in Saudi Arabia.
Joshua was in action on Saturday night in London, where he scored a brutal one-punch knockout of Robert Helenius in the seventh round.
The bout was an interim-contest to set the stage for a high-stakes clash with Wilder.
Wilder, who knocked out Helenius with a single shot in one round last October, is regarded as the most dangerous puncher at the weight.
Joshua is already taking mental steps on how to handle Wilder’s power.
“This is a game of chess. I’m gonna take away Wilder’s best attributes. I’m not gonna stand there with my chin in the air and say, ‘Hit me.’ I’m gonna nullify him. It will be very challenging for him for sure,” Joshua told The Sun.
Joshua, now trained by Derrick James, took his time with Helenius and boxed. The strategy led to boos during the contest.
The annoyance of the fans will not influence Joshua to change his strategy when it comes to Wilder.
“I think they don’t understand it is competitive boxing. I was watching certain fights tonight and they didn’t look as exciting as I thought they would. Were they booing me or Helenius? That is the question, who were they booing? Have any of them ever boxed before?,” Joshua said.
“[The rating of my performance] is for my coach [Derrick James], I don’t really rate my performances, whatever the coach thinks. We can go back to the drawing board and I know there is a lot of things we can improve on. I felt better than I did in April [versus Jermaine Franklin] and that is the main thing.”
Credit: BoxingScene