It turns out it’s not broken.
Anthony Joshua initially claimed that his nose felt broken following the clash of heads in the second round of his victory over Carlos Takam in Cardiff on Saturday night.
Takam’s forehead crunched against the Brit’s nose and Joshua struggled to maintain a poker face as his eyes began watering.
“With the old headbutt, you don’t see it coming,” Joshua said in the post-fight press conference. “It’s harder than a punch because it’s bone on bone. But everyone did a good job in the corner and controlled the bleeding.
OUCH! https://t.co/FzvWnlJTjS
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) October 28, 2017
“It was just getting through that round, because the referee doesn’t give you [time]. You really want 10 minutes, just to get yourself together and clean yourself up.
“But it’s an experience, it happens in a fight. I had to make sure I didn’t take a silly shot because it was ready to start gushing with blood but they managed it in the corner.”
Joshua’s camp are targeting three fights in 2018 but the 28-year-old admitted that his first priority was having his nose cracked back into place.
Fortunately for the 20-0 champion, though, a doctor’s examination in his dressing room at the Principality Stadium confirmed some positive news for Joshua as his nose isn’t actually broken.
“It’s really sore,” Joshua said.
“Nah, it’s just swollen right now. The doctor checked it, no stress, it’s just really sore.”
The names mentioned as next potential opponents for ‘AJ’ were WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker and the currently sidelined Tyson Fury.
And while those three certainly represent the biggest fights for Joshua, the London 2012 gold medallist admit that he may well be forced into another mandatory defence before he looks at unifying his division.
“My next few fights might be mandatories because they’re obligations I have to fill. I’m just focusing keeping belts by any means,” Joshua said.
“I may have to fight the WBA mandatory next but we’ll see. Unless Rob tells me otherwise, I’m just focusing on keeping my belts and getting from here and winning.
“It’s not about my 21st fight or my 22nd fight, it’s 15 fights from now, or five or 10 years from now. It’s the long-term strategy.”
