If Anthony Joshua got his way, he’d be fighting a different man this weekend.
Of course ‘AJ’ was open to fulfilling his mandatory defence against Kubrat Pulev, who ultimately pulled out of Saturday’s Cardiff clash with an injury.
Promoter Eddie Hearn already had a stand-in in place in the form of Carlos Takam, who has stepped in on less than two week’s notice for the biggest opportunity of his career.
But Joshua has since revealed who he wanted from the get-go.
“[Dillian] Whyte’s the first person I asked to fight in Cardiff,” Joshua said, via Metro.
“Because the two people who brought the best out of me entertainment-wise were Dillian Whyte and Wladimir Klitschko.
“With Klitschko, I was buzzing for a rematch because of the type of fight it was, it was great. And, with Dillian, the same reason – it was just a buzz, Âeveryone benefits, everyone has a good time.
“If I look back and pick my Âmemorable nights, Dillian would be one and Klitschko would be one. Out of my career there should be four or five memorable nights and we’ve already ticked off two.”
Joshua claimed the British heavyweight title when he stopped Whyte in the seventh round of their 2015 grudge match but there is still an interest in seeing them fight again, especially considering the fact that Whyte holds a victory over Joshua from when the pair were amateurs.
Whyte actually fights on Saturday night’s card at the Principality Stadium, where he will take on Robert Helenius for the vacant WBC Silver heavyweight title.
It seemed like a logical reshuffle to have Whyte replace the injured Pulev but it was decided to go in a different direction and Takam got the fight.
This fight's been in the making for over a year https://t.co/TmbRxEZlR4
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) October 19, 2017
And Joshua anticipates a long evening when he takes to the ring with the 20th opponent of his professional career.
“He [Takam] is durable. He will become more durable because he’ll be in hostile territory,” Joshua told Sky Sports News. “When you come into that type of environment, what have you got to lose? He’ll say: ‘I’ll give it my all’.
“People have said: ‘Josh, what round? What round?’ I think we’re going for a 10 to 12 round fight because this guy’s head is like a block of cement.”
