5 Live Boxing with Steve Bunce - Anthony Joshua Returns

Episode Date: June 1, 2026

What can we expect from AJ as he returns to the ring in July? Buncey sits down with the former two-time heavyweight world champion ahead of his comeback fight against Kristian Prenga in Jeddah. Joshua... opens up on coping with the tragic loss of two close friends in Lagos last December, while promoter Eddie Hearn shares the latest on AJ’s future plans. Former world champion Darren Barker also joins us with his analysis on what we can expect when Joshua steps back into the ring.

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Starting point is 00:00:01 This is Five Live Boxing. There was uncertainty and then there was certainty. Anthony Joshua will step back inside the boxing ring on July 25th in Jeddah. The return of AJ, the Olympic champion, the two-time world heavyweight champion and one of the most popular sportsmen in the world. He's back. I'm Steve Bunce and this is Five Live Boxing. We've had locations in the past.
Starting point is 00:00:35 We've had fantastic. settings in the past. But this meeting today, this press conference today, wasn't about location, it wasn't about settings. It was about the return of Anthony Joshua, putting himself back in the spotlight. And I'm with Darren Barker, former world champion. Darren, it was just great to not only see him back, but to see him in such terrific form. Yeah, switched on focus. Yeah, switched on focus. He had the bit between his teeth. And I love his motivation for why he's doing this. Obviously, the loss of his friends, that really inspires him. to push on and finish the
Starting point is 00:01:09 job that they had set out to do with one another. But the motivation is winning. Winning. He still gets a buzz of getting his arm raised at the end. And that's why we all started out doing this sport. You know, that feeling of winning. When you're a young kid,
Starting point is 00:01:25 I know he's starting a little bit later. You want a school boy time. But when you're just a young boy and you've out box and you've beaten another boy, your age and weight. That feeling. He's fighting for that feeling. I mean, we're going to hear from age here in a moment
Starting point is 00:01:37 and I sat down with him a day for about 10 minutes. And there was, I know it sounds like a cliche, but there was almost like the fire in his belly, something deep in his eyes. And I know what happened in December when he lost his two really close friends. We know all of that. He should come back from that.
Starting point is 00:01:52 I mean, I'm sensing almost, I don't want to get over the top here, almost like a new AJ. He just sounds, he sounds as good as I've ever heard of himself. I'll tell you what, there's no BS is there. No, this is real, this is real, rooted desire. a motivation to go out there and win and fulfill even more dreams, which, Steve, let's be honest, is remarkable.
Starting point is 00:02:14 With what the man has achieved already, financially with achievements as a pro and an amateur, is phenomenal. What you could only dream of, your wildest dreams, but he's still hungry for more. He's not doing it for any other reason. And Eddie Hurton's been saying that in the last three or four months. I know how close you are to Eddie, so Eddie's probably told you more, but Eddie's been sort of saying, I've just been to see AJ. He's really got to fire.
Starting point is 00:02:35 Six weeks late, I've just seen him been to see AJ. He's really got the fire. I'll tell you, just to jump in there. And we know Eddie, right? And I'll tell you one thing with Eddie, when you're away from camera, and it's just you and him, he's a very, very, very, very honest man.
Starting point is 00:02:50 He will tell you if he's worried or this or that. Honestly, you know this, he's very honest. When you hear him talk about AJ in preparation and camp, you know he's doing really, really well because he wouldn't say it otherwise. He would say completely opposite. He would just have seen him in his happy. No, no, you're right.
Starting point is 00:03:06 he's buzzing, you know AJ's on form. Anyway, as I mentioned, I did sit down with AJ somewhere in Shepherdsbush, in fact, it's an old tram shed. It was abandoned for about 20 years. It was a bit of derelict land between Shepard's Bush and the TV centre. So I sat down with AJ, and, well, I think you'll find just how refreshing it was.
Starting point is 00:03:28 And you know what? He dealt with everything thrown at him. AJ, it's good to see you looking so good, looking so positive. It's been a rough few months for you. Very hard times that you seem to have magnificently overcome. Whoa, you never overcome, but you have good perspective in life. Life is humbling at times. Never know one's fate.
Starting point is 00:03:55 But as a soldier, I stand strong for their parents. First and foremost, this thing about me. I feel it's important to put their parents first at the minute. I have my time to grieve, I have my time, but I know that at the minute my heart and my mind says their parents are my main priority. And Eddie's talked about over the last couple of months, especially seeing you working around Ousek,
Starting point is 00:04:18 just that he thinks that you've got a hunger back that's maybe been missing, that you've got just a positivity surrounding you. Do you know what it is? I've been in these situations where I'm always positive, Steve. I know that. I'm always positive, so. But what it is,
Starting point is 00:04:34 it was more about life choices. I think I might have one of these active minds. I'm at night and then I can think of, oh, I want to open up a car garage. At 3 o'clock? What do you want to do at 5 o'clock? Exactly. Let's open up a car garage.
Starting point is 00:04:48 And from open up in a car garage, we've got 10 car washes. And then from 10 car washes, we're selling fairy liquid around. You know, it's just my mind just nonstop. And what I've done now, I've just scaled my energy back to just focus in pure unboxing.
Starting point is 00:05:00 So all that energy I was putting out there into creating an empire, I am now fully focused on just my sport, keeping things simple, and keeping my mind focus on the punches coming at me and the punches I need to throw back.
Starting point is 00:05:15 And that time, or the time you're spending with Ousek, Gedi also let slip, I mean, it's public knowledge now, that you're living in a room like your old GB days. It's a tiny bed. Yeah, old school.
Starting point is 00:05:27 Yeah, so I've ordered a super king-sized bed now. At last. I have ordered wine at last. I have actually ordered wine. But it was perfect. Do you know what it was? Steve?
Starting point is 00:05:38 It was actually comfortable. I wasn't sleeping on... Yeah, the floor. You still get carried away. It was good. It was good. It was perfect. But you know what it is?
Starting point is 00:05:47 If it ain't broken, don't fix it. But, you know, I just thought to myself, when he said it, I thought, you know, it is time to change it. So I've ordered a super king size bed. I'm going out to training tomorrow, and my king size bed will be there. And I'll be sleeping,
Starting point is 00:06:00 hopefully, like a baby. And do you feel that bit of hunger as we're coming towards Christian Prangor? Can you feel something different in your system? You know what it is? It's hunger, but for me it's focus. It's focus. It's aligning. Look at this way, yeah? There's a frequency of boxing that's always out there.
Starting point is 00:06:18 And some people align to that frequency. Well, what tends to happen is my frequency could align to a car wash as well. Could align to life. You need to block everything out and get on the same frequency. as boxing in order to be a champion. And has that worked working and training alongside Ussick and the rest of that team in a fighters gym? Aligning my frequency took me to Usoc.
Starting point is 00:06:40 It wasn't no going there that got me to that. It was way before that. After the Dubois fight, the Bois fight didn't rattle me mentally or shape me. It was just the fact that I realized that there was a lot happening in my life and my thoughts and the way I was thinking was too scattered. I just need to just put some blingers on and focus. focus and that took that took a lot of time you know when you have been trailblazing
Starting point is 00:07:05 the headweight division and going through life for so many years carrying the heavyweight division yeah i just needed to take a step well not take a step back but that hitting that brick wall that night just said to myself i need to just really take a hard look at myself and figure out what i really want to do and it was boxing so everything else had to stop and once you found that mindset in the last two or three months, did you know you were going to fight again? Was it an instant thing? Yeah, yeah, 100%. But it's fighting with focus again.
Starting point is 00:07:36 It's not just fighting. Yeah, it's just, it's understanding like the punch is coming. It's just seeing it. You've got that, honestly. Is that the Usik influence? It has to be anti-Jusher influence. It's respectfully, Ussik is really good. But what I'm trying to say, when you listen to a man speak, you understand their mind, yeah?
Starting point is 00:07:56 it all has to start with me. It can't be for my mum. It can't be for anyone. It has to be for you. And it's all about, it's all me, me, me, me. I'm being selfish. And had you found that mindset before what happened in December in Lagos?
Starting point is 00:08:12 Do you know what? It hurts me to say because me and Cina, that was my co-dee. We worked really well together. You know, it's a shame. It's a shame. But we worked together to bring myself. to the point of where we are today.
Starting point is 00:08:29 So the door was open already? The door was open, but like the doors of carrying heavy weight, carrying heavy weight boxing are very, very, from what we expect of ourselves, these are big doors to walk through, and we were, we had big plans together, man, big, big plans. So it seems like a ridiculous question, but are you enjoying it more now than you have done in the past, or are you enjoying it more now than ever,
Starting point is 00:08:54 looking forward to it more? The only time to it more. What you're doing you're, like, for me, like being at the fight in Egypt was an enjoy, is like the fruits of your labour, you know, you get treated well, you're on the outside, you're not dealing with the pressure that those warriors are going through. My time will come, though. My time's here now. This is the pressure, so it's not about enjoying it, but it's just understanding that.
Starting point is 00:09:14 This is my time. Well, Pringer first, with all, you know, all those stoppages, he might be a bit raw from raw around the edges, but you still have to get rid of 20 men. You still take some doing? 100%. 100%. If you put them same 20 men in front of me, I'm trying to do exactly the same thing as him. He's got the right mentality.
Starting point is 00:09:31 And then at some point before the end of the year, Tyson Fury in that fight that I know you've been pushing for for a long time. And certainly last December, before it all happened, it was set in stone then, or nearly a set in stone then. Yeah, so we're here. There's a two-fight deal that's been put in place. It's great to be involved in a big promotion like this coming up July 25th, July 25, July 25, and then the fight with Ties and Fury is a big carrot that they've dangled in front of me. And it's hard to, it's not hard to not see it, but it's just the reality of my life. I've got a two-fight deal and I need to be victorious every time I step in that ring.
Starting point is 00:10:13 But you seem to me like you're not in planning on going away. There's no sort of talk about possibly the end of this year or the end of it that year. seems to be like you've got a new focus, a new life pulse-pulsing for you. How do you mean when you say going away? No, you just like, like, you don't seem to me like talking like a man that's been there and done what you've done. You're talking to me like you're 21, 22 years of age. Because old data can't predict the future.
Starting point is 00:10:38 You can't predict the future for old data. It's where we're at today. What have we got now in front of us and what's our objective? Our objective is to get in that ring, to understand and read punches, to do more more sparring to run further than I've ever ran. I can't do the same thing I was doing in the past and expect new results. So today it has to be built on new data
Starting point is 00:10:59 and I can't go off of, yeah, it's fresh, it's just fresh for me, starting again. Smarter, wise, though, Anthony Joshua? Yeah, yeah, definitely, definitely, definitely, definitely. I know a lot, I know a lot about the game. And life? And yeah, life, definitely. And I think we're all gonna grow up and learn about life,
Starting point is 00:11:17 but I've learned a lot. boxing's been my biggest blessing, I think. Even though it's been tough, it's been my biggest blessing because it's showing me how strong you have to be in and out of the ring. Show me a lot. So that was AJ there talking, as you mentioned, Darren, talking about winning, talking about doing stuff. And he seemed a bit surprised when I said that really, AJ,
Starting point is 00:11:40 if what happened in December with the terrible, the fatal crash hadn't happened, I might have thought this was your last year. He seemed a bit shocked than I thought it was, because it looks to me like he fancies a couple more, a good few years more. Absolutely. You know, just he has every right to be content in what he's achieved. But there's something else now.
Starting point is 00:11:57 He's fighting for something else. And that makes you... He's fighting for them, isn't it? I mean, without being too dramatic. Like I said before, he's got that motivation of winning again, that desire to keep doing what got him into the sport in the first place. But now he's doing it for two other people. And someone who's done that themselves,
Starting point is 00:12:15 when I lost my brother and you're fighting, in memory and in honour of someone. I tell you, it gives you a percentage that you didn't know you had. You know what, Darren? I'm sorry, mate. I didn't, I should have I didn't even, I didn't even mean to do it. No, no, no, no, I'm saying. But I just, I can, I can understand
Starting point is 00:12:30 and I can relate in some small way. That drive. That drive. You know, they, they had a plan, a path set out, the three of them. And then the team. Sinigami and Latifééééééééééio Deli, the guys died in the crash. He wants to fulfill that dream,
Starting point is 00:12:45 that, that, uh, goal that they set out. And that makes him, I'll tell you, a tough man to be. You know, taking himself away, showing how dedicated to the sport he is, training with Usik and the rest of the team, just shows you. Basic existence, nothing fancy. That hunger is still there. It's no rubbish. And you can understand that drive where you're fighting. I know it sounds like a bit over the top, but you're fighting for two people. Or in his case, fighting for three, for two others. You were fighting for your brother Gary, I mean, which you, which you've openly talked about. Again, I'm sorry about it. I would never...
Starting point is 00:13:18 No, no, no, no, no. It's just because when I hear it talking, I can, in some little way, I can relate to it. And it brings it back, that feeling I had of kind of in some ways being unstoppable, having almost a superpower. Well, it is like a superpower. And I tell you what, that might be a good description, because when I'm listening to AJ today, that's a bit what it felt.
Starting point is 00:13:43 And we mentioned Eddie Hearn. I sat down with Eddie, and I also asked him, Was it a relief? Was it a relief when he, to see AJ back in the spotlight like this? I don't know relief is, I feel pretty proud today. I mean, everybody knows how fond of I am of Anthony. I do feel like a little bit of a kind of proud, say, Dad, I'm not that old, but, you know, he's been through an awful lot. And I think three, four months ago, I couldn't have really sat there with great
Starting point is 00:14:16 confidence and told you we'd definitely see him in the ring again. You know, the injuries, of course, were a factor. Career-threatening, really. I mean, that's the reality. But mentally and emotionally what he's had to go through, I think it's remarkable that he's bounced back and got himself in his position. And he's not really one to talk about that. You know, his own achievements in that respect.
Starting point is 00:14:38 But I think we should. And I think, you know, this fight is called the comeback, which is strange because he only fought six months ago. But this is the greatest comeback. I mean, this is the comeback from the darkest, mate. I mean, you know, and I'm very proud of him. And I think he's an extraordinary character. He's an extraordinary man.
Starting point is 00:14:58 He's someone that I take a lot of inspiration from and also strength from in terms of how he approaches his job and the effort and drive that he has because it is unbelievable. I don't know I'm saying an argument with Carl Frotch but he's like you know why is he still doing it what I said because he loves it
Starting point is 00:15:20 mate I said he's training harder now than he did when he was skin when he had no belts he wants it more now than he's ever wanted it and that is the sign of a true competitor when he switched and started working with Usik
Starting point is 00:15:40 was that the does that when he flipped the switch That was, instead of him just being barefoot in the gym and doing while. He was talking like August or so last year. I was with him and he said, I'm going to have two weeks to train with Usik. Have a look, you know. So this is last summer?
Starting point is 00:15:56 Yeah, and he never came back. So really, pretty much, other than the couple of months of rehab that he had from his injuries in January and February, he's pretty much been in that training camp. So just went straight back? Yeah. And this is like, Bunsey, he went with one suitcase.
Starting point is 00:16:13 to Valencia. And this is what people don't really see or understand that the sacrifice and the commitment. Like when he's in that camp, when he's in that training camp, it ain't fun. It's not full of loads of his mates. They don't party at the weekend.
Starting point is 00:16:30 They train three times a day. And when I say train, that training camp is like nothing I've ever seen before in terms of the work that they put in. And, you know, they're really, you know, they're flogging him like a dog in that camp. And he's responded, yeah, perfectly. But that's, again, that's the states of the man.
Starting point is 00:16:50 And, you know, I always said, you know, after the crash, the one thing, and this goes for all fighters when they're in dark times, the one thing that will always improve the mind of a fighter mentally is being in training camp. The moment they're out of training camp, the moment they lose that structure, he always talks about it, that regimental lifestyle is the moment that the mind starts wandering,
Starting point is 00:17:17 you know, you just, you start thinking about things, you question things. And given what he went through, but unfortunately, because of his injuries, he wasn't able to get in training camp for two or three months. And now he's in there, he's in a good place. Eddie, there's only a few days that happened where we can talk about this, but when he finishes the fight with Jake Paul,
Starting point is 00:17:38 I was with you that night quite later, night outdoors when we did that press conference. The AJ that night, were you planning the fight with Rickover Hover? Yes. That was done. And was it, did he have that same hunger then in the aftermath of the Jake Paul? He really enjoyed the Jake Paul fight. Don't forget, he'd been
Starting point is 00:17:54 out of the ring for 14 months. Yeah. Right? Coming off a really tough defeat against Dubois. The Jake Paul fight was just like, you know, it was obviously a straightforward job. It was a lot of money. It was a big platform. It was fighting in America again. The whole thing was just fun for him.
Starting point is 00:18:10 and it also gave him a chance just to have a fight to have a kind of fight under the Uc team and he finished that fight and I left him in Miami in a brilliant place like he was so happy
Starting point is 00:18:24 he was so excited about 2026 he was going to fight Rico in March and then he was going to fight Tyson for in August literally had to go through a few bits with Turkey and the team but it was near enough done and then obviously the world came crashing down and it was such a huge blow
Starting point is 00:18:42 not just because we all lost but he lost two of his very closest closest friends but it was like finally we're in such a good place and the whole team the structure everything and then this happens and it's like and that's why that's why it's even harder for him to take into fathom
Starting point is 00:19:04 because everything was so good do I mean he felt like oh my god I'm going to go in, you know, seeing a lass, the whole team. You know, we're going to go into 2026. This is going to be massive. We're going to beat Rico. We're going to beat furious days.
Starting point is 00:19:18 But that's what life does to you. You know, it just came crashing down. And, you know, like I said, his strength during that period, unbelievable, unbelievable. I mean, even still today. Yeah. You know, but that period from the accident, that probably three-month period of,
Starting point is 00:19:38 taking care of the families, you know, bringing those guys home, like, going out clean, you know, taking that stuff out of the house, like, just speaking with, communicating with the families. Like, his strength's incredible. And he was on the front foot with that to use a boxing back to be. Yeah, completely. And that is really, like, didn't turn away, didn't shy away. His focus, really is, obviously he's boxing, but also to fight in the memory of those guys and to support their families for the rest of his time on.
Starting point is 00:20:11 That is absolutely priority to him. And as a man, he stepped up to the plate after that. Rather than I need my time, rather than I need to grieve, I need to recover, he actually, like you said, he went on the front foot and he said, I want to set this, I want to do this, we need to do this, we've got to do this. But he did that in conjunction with his rehab and he's boxing. I went out to see him in Dubai after the accident, maybe four, five, six weeks after.
Starting point is 00:20:40 He was on the bike every day. You know, he was training on stuff that he could train with. Mobility, reactions, like little, really menial, boring stuff. And he never took his after ball once. Whilst also dealing with the grief, whilst also dealing with the families. Like, you know, he really stepped up to the plate. And this age, I know you had some time with him in Cairo,
Starting point is 00:21:04 you did some filming with him. This AJ seems about as focused as any AJ I've seen. I spoke to him briefly on the plane. I spoke to him briefly here today. It just seems, it seems, I hate it. It's odd to use the word. He seems unbelievably relaxed. I said, I get a bit of stick because I always say,
Starting point is 00:21:20 I've never seen him like this before. So what? If it's true. I've never really seen him so happy, confident. And I've never heard him talk about the future in these boxing ways. Because he normally says, oh, I've got July 25th and that. But now he's saying, I've got, July 25th, then I've got Fury, then I want to be world champion again, and I want to try and be undisputed.
Starting point is 00:21:39 This is like, we were saying 2026 was going to be his last year in the sport. He's talking about another two or three years. Now, listen, the Fury fight is the biggest fight in boxing, but we have to get through this guy on the 25th. Yeah. And the problem is when these people, look, Prenga is a good, solid heavy weight. We can't say, is he elite world class? Because he's never been at that level. But we're not saying that.
Starting point is 00:22:02 We would have said that Rico's not. He nearly beat Alexander Usik. But this guy, what this guy has, interestingly, is also European kickboxing champion previously, which I didn't lie at once I found out. I didn't realize that. But what he has got, he's got 20 fights, and he's got 20 wins, 20 knockouts.
Starting point is 00:22:20 Yeah. Right. So this is not a kickboxer that's turning pro on July 25th. This is a very good, accomplished heavyweight. Now, on his resume, nothing tells us that he's an elite heavyweight, but he's never had to step up to that level. And they all, whenever they fight AJ Bunsey, they all, oh, he's not the same fighter, oh, he's coming to the end of his career, all his chin's not great,
Starting point is 00:22:42 now he's coming off the accident, he's coming off the injuries. Every time. And they come three or four times harder than they would do if it was someone else. Believing that they can win. It's a threat, it's a danger. But AJ's talking up, like he wants to go in there and do a demolition job on this guy. And there's a lot of frustration, there's a lot of anger, there's a lot of emotion that will come out on July 25th.
Starting point is 00:23:03 And with regards to the Fury fight, is that completely done? Because I know you're not particularly happy with Fury and Fury having a warm-up. Look, I think he had 12 rounds against MacMudov, which was a good 12-round span. Does he need another one? I mean, we had four rounds against Jake Paul in what is coming up to two years. So we need one. Like, there's no doubt about it. But we can't control what Tyson Fury does.
Starting point is 00:23:29 If he wants it, that's fine. But what we've got to do is win on July 25th. and then we'll have to wait one more week now by the sounds of things to finally get it done and dusted. One thing I want to ask you, when was the exact moment that he told you or you knew he was going to fight again? Did you know, were you? Can you remember?
Starting point is 00:23:48 The last thing that I wanted to do was to go and see him and say, what are you thinking? So you have to let him... Everything but that. You have to let him say, what's the plan? I think after a while,
Starting point is 00:24:02 after two, three times he was probably thinking why is Eddie not saying come on mate give me some indication and I left him and he just it was like
Starting point is 00:24:14 I think we were in Dubai or something like that and he just said to me what are you thinking what's the plan? I say listen I only want to talk about the plan when you're ready
Starting point is 00:24:22 and he went well I think I'm ready to go back into training camp and that was the moment because I don't want to be the guy that if he would have turned around to me and gone I'm done.
Starting point is 00:24:33 I would have gone, I don't blame me. Absolutely, yeah. But when I see, this is the argument I have with Frotch and people like that all the time. You argue with Frotts all the time anyway. Because he doesn't see, like, the reason that Carl Frotch retired, when I delivered him his ultimate dream,
Starting point is 00:24:49 which was Julio Cesar Chavez in Las Vegas, this is after the George Gros. Yeah, yeah. It's because he didn't want it anymore. Yeah. Right? And I think what Frotch did was admirable because so many fighters carry on when they don't want it anymore.
Starting point is 00:25:01 Right? But I said to Frotch, if you wanted it, when I offered you to Chavez fight, you would have jumped all over it. Understand this. AJ wants it. He don't want to retire. He doesn't feel like he's deteriorating. He loves it. This is his life.
Starting point is 00:25:16 You were ready to go. Don't understand that not everyone is to say. Well, AJ can't wait to get in a ring. But it's like I feel like fighters sometimes go on too long. But you see the deterioration in the gym. You see the numbers start decreasing. You see all this kind of stuff. That's not Anthony.
Starting point is 00:25:32 What we're seeing is a better Anthony Joshua, a more focused Anthony Joshua, a fitter Anthony Joshua, a mentally stronger Anthony Joshua. So let him live out his dreams, which is actually not just to knock Tyson Fury out, but to become free time world heavyweight champion. So there's Eddie there showing quite clearly
Starting point is 00:25:52 that this is not just about, he's not fighting for AJ, he's fighting for those two men, he's fighting for their families, he's fighting for their parents, He's fighting for their future as much as he's fighting for his future. A bit of an emotional day-to-day.
Starting point is 00:26:07 I'm sure to have a nice day, post-weekend. It is. Look, boxing conjures up some incredible narratives, doesn't it, in stories? Some are so positive, and some are very sad, and some are almost unbelievable. And anti-Joshua's story is kind of a mixture of all of those, I think, and now he's fighting, as you say, for others. But I think you'll agree, and everyone else,
Starting point is 00:26:30 here will. It's just great to have him back. I know he was it six months ago, was it Jake Paul, but he's bag and it's just a real buzz, there's a real energy and we say this all the time. Look, boxing as always the test of time. It's always been great, but there's been ups, there's been downs and the downers really have been when some of the greats retire. When the likes of Asia and Fury and all of these guys retire, we're going to be on a bit that idea. So everyone should be enjoying these final few fights of anti-Joshra. Because they are so great. The whole thing is so excessive.
Starting point is 00:27:05 The whole thing is so big. The whole thing is so grand. We're just casually talking here about this fight which is taking place in Jeddah, not in Riyadh, with Christian Prang. We've hardly mentioned Prangor. It's not about Prangor. It's about AJ's return to the spotlight. And then, of course, the fight, if he comes through that, is he ends up fighting Tyson Fury in November,
Starting point is 00:27:24 if we're outdoors in the UK or overseas again. And we've already had a ridiculous year. We've already had a year that you couldn't even. imagine happening in the 80s or 90s. But AJ today, he looked, he looked comfortable, he looked relaxed. He looked like a man on a mission, Darren. So you give Prenga no chance? No, no, listen, I give, if I'm Pringer, if I'm in Pringer's camp, all I'm doing is saying to him 60 seconds, 120 seconds, 180 seconds, get out there as fast as you can. A bit like, a bit like Pete McNeely did against Mike Tyson all those years ago, you got a minute to win this fight.
Starting point is 00:28:00 Now you might lose it, you're expected to lose it, but get out there and throw every punch you can. And he did, and he caught Tyson on the temple. I would be running at AJ, throwing everything I've got at him. You're not going to win on point. He's got a puncher's chance, hasn't he? And I think, so if Prenga does what Prenga says he's going to do, anti-Joshua does what he's got to do,
Starting point is 00:28:20 or says he's going to do, then anti-Joshua needs to win this early because that would mean he's having a war with Prenga, and you do not want to be having a war with us. You don't want to be doing that, especially when there's, huge fight, a huge pot of gold looming in the not too distant future. It has to be a blowout.
Starting point is 00:28:37 It needs to be a destruction. And I want to see that. I think everyone wants to see the old AJ destroying people. Although he's going to have a new sense of... He swears he fancies returning to the old age. I'm all for it. But I'll tell you what, I've got a lot of respect for the sacrifices he's made as well. Always looking for new knowledge, you know, working with team music.
Starting point is 00:28:57 He's not too proud that you'll go to. a man who's beating him twice. You know, he'll go to him and he wants to learn. And, yeah, I do expect a ferocious anti-Joshua. And I'm hoping for a ferocious Prengar as well, which I think we will see because you don't want to be having any regrets. Pringer's got to have a... Pringer's got to go for it.
Starting point is 00:29:16 Listen, we're not doing the Prenga preview now because I've actually lined it up. I want to take you and Barry Jones and perhaps Jamie Ward and we'll go on the walk around the F-1 track. It'll be 120 degrees. We'll do the walk on the track. And that's where we'll do the pre-fight pod. Darren, it's been a pleasure and a delight talking.
Starting point is 00:29:33 Anthony Joshua is back. July 25th, he fights for the first time since the crash in Lagos back in December and since his fight a few days earlier against Jake Paul. He's fighting a man called Christian Pringer, who was originally from Albania. He's based now in America. He's lost one, but he's 120, all of them by stoppage, including the last three in the first round. Okay, he hasn't thought guys that are fought for World Time.
Starting point is 00:29:59 idols but as AJ said in the interview you've still going to get the guys out of there AJ is back I'm Steve Bunce and this has been Five Live boxing so much sport today and all the goals as they go in up and down the league
Starting point is 00:30:15 this is Five Live Sports it's all eight of the lights and fit and a floor to ball him is not to stop out everyone standing around the 18th green he shows to the centre go to it of the world's greatest sporting events.
Starting point is 00:30:49 Listen on BBC Sounds.

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