DUBAI – Two-time World Champion heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua would love to take part in a boxing match in Dubai and set up a training camp in the city, he said during a public Q&A session held at Expo 2020 Dubai’s Al Wasl Plaza today (5 January).
The superstar British athlete said: “It is the people that want to come out and see a fight. So, for me, I always like to bring through the next generation as well. We can make sure we put on a spectacle. Maybe it could be all heavyweights, all big power punches. Because the fans love knockouts. So a fight would be spectacular. Boxing is a sport I love cause you don’t need much. Boxing can be done anywhere. It is just how big you want to scale it.”
Dubai would also be the perfect place to set up a training camp, according to Joshua, who said that one of his goals for 2022 was to find inspiration in a new environment.
“I want to try some new things. I want to try a new environment. Maybe I can do a training camp in Dubai, just a new environment to get inspired again and to take the heavyweight division by storm. So, that is what 2022 holds for me. It holds revamping, reorganizing, a new environment, and staying at the top,” he said.
Joshua said his experience in the UAE and around Expo 2020 has so far been “phenomenal” and he would be returning to the site once again to explore some pavilions.
“I’m feeling good. I am happy to be here. Expo 2020 Dubai is phenomenal, in the timeframe that it has been done, the regulations that have been put in place to make sure everyone is safe, especially with COVID. I feel safe. I feel comfortable and I am happy to be here.”
The new year is expected to be a pivotal year for the Olympic gold medalist – who has become one of the world’s most successful and recognisable professional boxers. Joshua is expected to vie to become a three-time World Champion in a rematch against Ukranian fighter Oleksandr Usyk.
Ahead of the Q&A session, the boxer met students from the UAE Boxing Federation on the Al Wasl stage, where the young athletes posed for a photo opportunity with the two-time World Champion.