Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua Announces His Interest in Fighting Under MMA Rules in the Near Future…
These crossover fights just come keep coming. Since Conor McGregor abandoned MMA in August 2017 to face Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas, the number of potential match-ups between fighters from boxing and MMA just keeps rising.
Of course, it doesn’t matter that McGregor was soundly beaten. The amount of money he made more than justified his move. Naturally, other fighters smell the pot of gold on the horizon. Roy Jones Jr. has spoken in the past about his desire to fight Anderson Silva, while Floyd Mayweather and Gervonta Davis have both said they’re interested in fighting in the UFC.
There’s a new name to throw into the mix now. None other than Anthony Joshua. The British boxing champion, arguably the pound-for-pound number one active fighter in the world today, has openly announced his interest in crossing codes and fighting under MMA rules. If this happened it would surely be the most sensational move ever in combat sports.
Boxing King
Let’s not forget just who Anthony Joshua is. He’s an Olympic gold medallist with a stellar amateur career. Since he turned professional he’s amassed an unbeaten record of 20-0. The Watford, UK native is the reigning IBA, WBA, and IBO heavyweight champion.
That’s pretty unbelievable. He has also headlined London’s Wembley Stadium more than once, most famously beating Wladimir Klitschko by knockout in a pulsating clash last year. All this makes his interest in crossing over to MMA all the more crazy.
Actual Targets
In an interview with Sky Sports, he spoke about his future. While it was mainly focused on uniting the heavyweight division, he made his interest clear in crossing over to the MMA world.
“A good scrap would be, I think the guy from Congo [Francis Ngannou], he just lost recently,” Joshua told reporters. “Big unit, that would be a good scrap. Then you’ve got Jon Jones, that would be a good scrap.”
Can you imagine the viewing figures if one of those fights were to happen? The absolute carnage that could come about would be insane. It seems like every fighter recognizes the potential dollars they could make from such a crazy move.
A Lot to learn
Maybe don’t bet on this happening anytime soon though. Joshua has no MMA experience. He only started boxing at the relatively late age of 18, which makes his professional achievements all the more spectacular. He said:
“I’d have to obviously have a couple warm up fights, because you have to learn the submissions and stuff, but a fight’s a fight at the end of the day.”
Yeah, there is a long way to go before he would genuinely have a chance to compete with a vicious clinch expert like Jon Jones or deal with Ngannou’s monster elbows. Anyway, Joshua has enough to focus on right now, with a fight against Joseph Parker at the end of the month for the WBO title. Then it’s the big one against Deontay Wilder.
