Boxing champion Anthony Joshua on MMA: Yeah man, I’d do it.
Anthony Joshua is in preparation for a boxing match on March 31 against WBO titleholder Joseph Parker. Like all combat sports, he is making the media rounds before the fights to unify his division and answered some questions from fans on Sky Sports and one of the inquires was regarding whether or not he would ever compete in mixed martial arts. With the fanfare that surrounded Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Conor McGregor last summer and the stock of both athletes being raised the question comes up a lot between boxers and MMA competitors.
Those that come from boxing lately to do it, are honest about the time and preparation to round out their skill set as they know things are different in the cage than in the ring. Anthony Joshua is no different and he let that be known in his response; “I would have to do a few warm-up fights,” said Joshua, “because of the submissions and stuff but a fight’s a fight at the end of the day. But, yeah man, I’d do it”
When considering opponents he would be interested in he hinted at Francis Ngannou when he refers to “the guys from the Congo who just lost” and Jon Jones. He was likely referring to Francis Ngannou since he was the UFC’s latest high profile fighter to lose and his punching power was part of the promotional push after he knocked out Alistair Overeem at UFC 218 followed by the loss to Stipe Miocic at UFC 220, the loss Joshua is referring to.
Check out the Sky Sports interview with Anthony Joshua below:
