Anthony Joshua says he is happy for Wladimir Klitschko to call him “Little Bro”, but warned that the former champion’s time as the head of the heavyweight family is coming to an end.
Joshua and Klitschko, who turns 41 in March, were at Wembley Stadium yesterday to announce their world heavyweight title clash at the stadium on April 29. It was a cordial affair, but that was to be expected as there is no shortage of respect between them.
“This is the start of, God-willing I win, a new legacy, a new division of new up and coming championsAnthony Joshua
Being called “Little Bro” may have been taken as a sign of disrespect from someone else, but Joshua, 27, was not going to let it upset him.
“He’s always called me that from when we were probably never going to fight anyway,” Joshua said. “Now he says it and we’re fighting, I let it go over my head.
“This is where the respect comes into it. It’s fine. You could let it get to you, but I don’t let it. I still have a lot to prove and I think that’s the right mentality. If I was talking like I’m the master, I’d be believing my own hype.
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“I’m fine with all that stuff. He can call me Little Bro and all these things until the cows come home, and then I go and spank him out in a round it’s kind of irrelevant.
“If Wlad wins, he will say to himself, ‘I’m still the big bro.’ But if he loses he will realise that the torch is changing hands. It is a completely different era. This is the start of, God-willing I win, a new legacy, a new division of new up and coming champions.”
Joshua’s IBF title is expected to be on the line for the bout, along with the WBA title and the lightly regarded IBO belt. Tickets go on sale at the end of this week, with a British record crowd of 90,000 expected.
Klitschko, meanwhile, says he has become obsessed with becoming a three-times world heavyweight champion, after losing his belts to Tyson Fury 13 months ago.
“It woke me up,” Klitschko said. “I realised after so many years that actually I was not as motivated. I think it was good that I lost that fight, you have to change things, do more to win and not just wait for when the opponent’s going to get tired. It maybe sounds a little crazy, but I prefer to go into a fight with Anthony Joshua because it’s going to be a real challenge for me.”
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Klitschko also insisted that he wouldn’t be affected by the longest lay-off of his career.
“My brother [Vitali] said that a four-and-a-half year break was good for him when he came back and fought for the title again,” he said. “I was not sitting back and doing nothing, drinking beer. I was preparing and getting ready for fights that never happened.”