Anthony Joshua has always kept abreast of everything going on up and down the divisions and has now revealed his favourite current fighters.
Joshua has often spoken about studying boxing across the ages to inform his own game. After a long break following his KO win over the American Jake Paul in November last year, he finally returns to the ring on July 25 when he fights Kristian Prenga.
A win there will likely set up the epic fight with fellow Brit Tyson Fury, who fights Mariusz Wach the day before in Thailand.
Speaking to Combat Evolved, Joshua ran down some of the fighters he likes watching the most.
“Globally you’ve got Shakur Stevenson. I like watching Benavidez…You’ve got Moses Itauma coming up, somebody they are saying is going to be an heir to the throne.
“Who else is there, Conah Walker, trained with Dave Allen. Unbelievable. Pat Brown, I haven’t actually watched that much but I heard he’s a problem, so I’m going to do some research on him. But Conah Walker is probably my favourite fighter in the UK, and Nick Ball.”
Of all those, just Nick Ball has reached the very top so far when he held the WBA featherweight title until February, when he was beaten by Brandon Figueroa by KO.
The next fighter who is likely to get a shot at a stream is Itauma, the 22-year-old heavyweight who has long been touted for the top and takes on Filip Hrgovic in his biggest test to date in August.
A win there would likely catapult him into world title contention following 14 previous wins, 12 of which have been KOs.
