IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua is still undefeated after 17 fights, all of which he won by knockout, and is hoping to take the next step in his career, which is to unify the heavyweight belts. The British fighter has looked impressive in his fights, making him the online boxing betting favorite when he steps in the ring. However, his continued success means other fighters will want a piece of him as they attempt to become the first fighter to defeat him.
Joshua, who has defeated two American boxers in his last two fights, won the IBF title in April after defeating Charles Martin in two rounds. Joshua made the first defense of his new title last month and defeated Dominic Breazeale in the seventh round with the 17th knockout victory of his career.
Joshua is scheduled to defend his title for a second time in November. He also has a mandatory title defense coming up against New Zealand’s Joseph Parker, but the fight isn’t expected to happen until sometime early next year.
According to reports, Joshua hopes his next fight is against an American fighter. The reasoning behind this is that he feels he can get more exposure fighting an American than he would fighting someone from another country.
Since Joshua just signed an agreement with Showtime Boxing in hopes of expanding his profile in the United States, he is hoping more fights against Americans will increase his name recognition in the country.
Joshua not only wants his next opponent to be an American, he wants the fight to happen very soon because he believes defeating American fighters will help his quest of becoming a brand name in the country.
However, Joshua isn’t going to fight anyone just to pad his wins, he reportedly said he only wants to fight serious contenders.
Joshua, who won the Olympic Gold in boxing at the 2012 Olympics in London, said his support and popularity have increased since he won the medal. However, he is still far from where he wants to be as a professional, which is why he has his sights set on unifying the titles.
Joshua will face a lot of challenges along the way if he is serious about unifying the belts, which is why he wants to get as much exposure as possible right now, so he can cash in when he finally has a chance to unify the belts.
Unlike other boxers that go the easy route by cherry picking their opponents, Joshua has indicated he is ready to fight anyone at any time, which is something boxing fans appreciate.
As to whether Joshua can become a crossover star in the United States like some other British boxers have done, only time will tell.
Boxing is a sport that rewards hard hitters and controversial characters, and Joshua’s 17 wins by knockout proves he is definitely a hard hitter. If he continues knocking opponents out, it will be hard not to become a superstar in the United States.
If his knockout power isn’t enough to win the American crowds over, he can always become a villain, which is something that worked very well for Floyd Mayweather Jr.
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