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Floyd Mayweather said he'd work with Anthony Joshua ahead of his prospective $200 million Tyson Fury fights

Mar 17, 2021, 16:57 IST
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Anthony Joshua and Floyd Mayweather.Photo by Fight Hype / YouTube
  • Floyd Mayweather said he'd be willing to work with Anthony Joshua ahead of Tyson Fury mega fights.
  • The American has previously offered to help Joshua, saying he needed to develop his defense.
  • Joshua has stayed loyal to Robert McCracken, the coach who guided him to the 2012 Olympic gold medal.
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Floyd Mayweather said he'd be willing to work with Anthony Joshua ahead of the heavyweight's prospective $200 million two-fight series against Tyson Fury.

"I look forward to working with Joshua real soon, we talk all the time," he told the Disruptive Entrepreneur podcast this week.

Mayweather and Joshua have met multiple times over the years.

They held a meet-and-greet for fans in London in 2017, ahead of Joshua visiting the Mayweather Boxing Club in Las Vegas, and Mayweather even chartered one of his private jets to watch Joshua compete in a December 2020 fight against Kubrat Pulev.

Mayweather finished his career as a five-weight world champion, and has long been hailed as one of the finest defensive boxers in history. It is that defensive acumen that Mayweather thinks he can instil in Joshua.

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The 44-year-old was impressed by the "dog" Joshua displayed when he climbed off the canvas to knockout Wladimir Klitschko four years ago, and recently said that the Briton has leveled-up since losing to Andy Ruiz Jr. in 2019.

"It's a very interesting fight," said Mayweather. "Anthony Joshua has a lot of experience and Tyson Fury as well has a lot of experience, but with Anthony Joshua losing a fight [to Ruiz Jr.], it helped him become stronger.

"I met Tyson Fury on a few occasions … he's a great guy, and very interesting. I've seen him fight twice, against Deontay Wilder, but it's a very intriguing match-up.

"You can never say what's going to happen in the sport of boxing. Both guys are great competitors."

Joshua has stayed loyal to his long-time trainer despite Mayweather's past advances

Joshua with long-time trainer Robert McCracken.Photo by Nick Potts/PA Images via Getty Images

Joshua has been inseparable from his long-time trainer Robert McCracken, who guided him to the 2012 Olympic gold medal, and two-time heavyweight champion status as a professional.

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After Klitschko floored Joshua in their 2017 rumble - the first time he'd been knocked down as a pro - Mayweather praised the fighter's heart, but said he needed to work on his defense.

"He showed that he had heart but we have to bring him up to the Mayweather Boxing Club as we want to tighten that defence up until it's real, real sharp and real, real slick," Mayweather said at the time.

Joshua has continued to show defensive lapses during fights, and was brutally beaten in a humiliating fashion against Ruiz Jr., who knocked him down four times in the Briton's much-hyped US debut.

But Joshua retained his training team, activated an immediate rematch clause in the bout agreement, and out-boxed Ruiz Jr. in the rematch later that year.

He made the first defense of his second reign as the unified heavyweight champion against Pulev four months ago, and is now on an apparent collision course with Fury - the unbeaten WBC titleholder with career-defining wins over Deontay Wilder and Klitschko.

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His promoter Eddie Hearn, the group managing director of Matchroom Sport, told ESPN on Monday that contracts for the super-fight have been signed by both parties.

The world awaits the actual announcement.

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