Anthony Joshua defended his threat to kill Jake Paul in the ring at the final media conference before their star spangled showdown here this Friday night.
There was unease when Joshua made that threat on Tuesday, saying ‘if I can kill you, I will kill you’. But AJ 007 explained: ‘It’s my job, we fight. We have a licence to kill.
‘I’m sure many people don’t understand it but this is what my job is. I just enjoy what I do.
‘Whatever happens, happens – as long as my hand is raised, that’s what’s important, respectfully.
‘That’s just what the mentality we have to have as fighters. I don’t know if other fighters think that way. Maybe they’re a bit more tame.
‘The way my mind works. When you’re in the ring, it’s a dangerous thing. Anything can happen.
Anthony Joshua defended his threat to kill Jake Paul in the ring at the final media conference before their star spangled showdown here this Friday night amid unease over the comments
‘You hope your opponent leaves the ring safely, but if they don’t, you still have to go to bed knowing you just did your job. It wasn’t personal.’
Joshua also rebuffed the accusation that he is putting the good of boxing at stake by taking a fortune to fight a YouTube creation in this artificially created event.
‘It’s OK that I am supposed to have the weight of boxing’s credibility on my shoulders. It’s another challenge I want to meet,’ the Briton said.
‘This not all about the money for me (somewhere between £30-£50million) nor my biggest pay cheque. I want to show the world my proper boxing skllls.’
Paul responded: ‘No-one has done more for boxing lately than me by disrupting the old game.’
Joshua also insisted that his career will not be finished if he suffers one of the biggest upsets in sports history.
He said: ‘That’s not going to happen but even if it I did I would dust myself down and come back again as I’m doing now after losing to Daniel Dubois. I would still be a player in this game.’
Paul stirred the pot by declaring himself ready to replace Joshua in a fight against Tyson Fury should he win, which the Gypsy King has predicted he will do.
