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Anthony Joshua Announcement
& Breazeale Press Conference
Photos: Matchroom Sport
Undefeated IBF Heavyweight World Champion Anthony Joshua and
unbeaten American challenger Dominic Breazeale had an
intense face-to-face meeting on Wednesday before a
contingent of major sports media outlets in London to
formally announce their June 25 showdown. The two were
joined by SHOWTIME Sports Executive Vice President & General
Manager Stephen Espinoza and Matchroom Sports President
Eddie Hearn, as the executives announced Joshua’s new
exclusive U.S. television deal. All four participants later
took part on a teleconference with U.S. media.
Highlights from today’s press conference at Hilton London
Syon Park and teleconference are below.
Joshua (16-0, 16 KOs) will make the first defense of his
heavyweight title against Los Angeles’ Breazeale (17-0, 15
KOs) live on SHOWTIME at the sold-out The O2 arena in
London. The heavyweight showdown is the first of a
multi-fight licensing agreement for Showtime Networks Inc.,
to be the exclusive U.S. television partner of Joshua, the
2012 Olympic Gold Medalist from London.
Before the press conference, Breazeale and Joshua had to be
separated. Breazeale approached Joshua and was asked if
there was a problem. “I don’t know, brother, I’ve just come
here to get the belt,” Breazeale said. “On June 25, you’ve
got a problem. You’re a bad man because you’ve got a belt
now.
“This is not acting, it’s heavyweight boxing. You can act
all big and bad in front of all these cameras and your
promoters, but in the end you’ve got to put a mouthpiece in
your mouth and gloves on your hands.”
Joshua then told Breazeale if he had a problem, they could
“settle it man to man.”
Here’s what Joshua and Breazeale had to say from the podium
on Wednesday in London:
ANTHONY JOSHUA:
“There are a lot of positive things happening in boxing and
a lot amazing things happening in my career at the moment.
But I know enough to realize that this is a dangerous sport
and you are only as good as your last fight. I fought and
lost in the amateurs, and I know how quickly this can all
change. It's my job now to prepare myself properly and to
keep this momentum rolling.
“Dominic and I are equals in many ways. He came up around
the same time I did, through the Olympic Games and all. Now,
with this U.S. TV deal with SHOWTIME and the deal with Sky
Sports, Dominic Breazeale gets a chance to announce himself
on the UK scene. And I have the chance to do the same in the
U.S.”
“I'll never overlook, never drop the ball. As far as I'm
concerned, I am the underdog. I know every day of training
camp and every hour of every day, where I am in my
preparations leading up to a fight. We have less than seven
weeks to go and we will be ready.”
DOMINIC BREAZEALE:
“I am not here looking to see the final round. I'm not here
to look at the judges’ scorecards. I am here to knock
Anthony Joshua out. Period.
“I am very excited. I wish this fight was this weekend.”
When asked if he expected to fare better than his
counterpart, Charles Martin.
“We are two totally different fighters. Anthony Joshua knows
he is now getting in there with a beast. He knows he is in
for a dog fight. He's going to hit me and I am going to hit
him. And whoever’s will breaks first will lose this fight.
“Charles Martin wasn't prepared. He dropped the ball. He
fought the wrong fight at the wrong time. He had just won
the belt, was excited about that, and he took the wrong
fight. I haven't made that mistake. I won't make that
mistake.”
Here’s what the principals had to say during Wednesday’s
teleconference with U.S. reporters:
STEPHEN ESPINOZA, SHOWTIME SPORTS Executive Vice President:
“UK boxing is on fire right now. There are more UK champions
than any other country right now and at SHOWTIME we pride
ourselves on bringing our viewers the best fights and the
best boxers on the planet, whether they be American, British
or from any other country. It is no surprise that our
desire, our quest to seek out the most talented and most
exciting boxers on the planet, has led us to Eddie’s
doorstep and to this deal with Anthony Joshua. We have been
discussing this for quite some time. Eddie is a great
advocate and ultimately Anthony’s performances have spoken
for themselves.
“We had originally intended to put Anthony on SHOWTIME two
fights ago but the logistics just didn’t work out, so we
were fortunate enough to make his U.S. TV debut with the
title fight against Charles Martin and now we’ve done a deal
in which we’ve hopefully laid a foundation for hosting
Anthony on SHOWTIME for the remainder of his career.
“It was bold of them for entrusting this portion of their
career to SHOWTIME. There’s a wealth of good fights in the
heavyweight division and most importantly of all, Eddie and
Anthony are willing to take all of them.
“I’m not the biggest fan of multi-fight deals but when you
have a promoter and a boxer who have committed to taking the
best fights available, big or small, in the U.S. or the UK
and anywhere else, it brings a lot of comfort to the network
in doing those types of deals. From that perspective it was
a no-brainer. We’re thrilled to have them.”
ANTHONY JOSHUA:
On coming to American and making statement:
“It’s a great opportunity to be on SHOWTIME because when I
look back at my amateurs, I think that’s why I’ve had such a
good career in Great Britain so far. It’s because people
have been out to follow me since I was an amateur fighter.
SHOWTIME worked with me on my first defense and now I get to
build with the Americans. I’ve got friends out there and
we’re going to build to a wider audience. If we can keep on
building and growing organically, by the time I come out
there it will be unbelievable. Just like I’m at home.”
On who he thinks will be his biggest challenge:
“I would have to say, Klitschko or Wilder. Klitschko because
of the experience and Wilder because he’s the heavyweight
champion of the world who’s defended his belt on multiple
occasions. So I have to give him credit as the strong force
of the division right now because he’s the only other
champion who has defended his belt. As far as Klitschko,
he’s won the belt and defended it time and time again. Those
two are the main names I’m looking at.”
On how his life has changed since becoming a heavyweight
champ:
“I’ve had no time. It has been three weeks since the belt
was won and I know it was nice for my family. They all had a
great time and my mom is telling everyone. So it’s nice to
see her enjoy the fruits of labor, but for me, we got
straight to organizing the next project, which is why we’re
here now.
“You’re not a real deal until you fight in the states, so I
thought there was a plan. Eddie has been doing a great job
in the background while I’ve been in the gym and they (Hearn
and SHOWTIME) pulled something together that is
unprecedented, historical. So, credit to the guys that put
it together while we’re in the gym putting in the work. At
first I was surprised because I didn’t understand the
capacity of it, but now I’m looking forward to seeing how we
build up things in America.”
On how it is being written about and talked about by
credible boxing writers that he is the next big thing in
boxing:
“I think that’s why it is important to stay fighting and in
the gym. If you spend too long out of the gym then one event
turns to two events; turns into the club after the event;
turns into all of these expectations and promises, glitz and
glamour get to you and I like to keep things (in place).
I’ve got an unbelievable family, I’ve got friends around me
that count as my family. I’ve got really good people that
see me as the same Anthony that was a kid with them running
around in the streets. The belt is a great achievement but I
feel that why I’ve been so calm is that I think the sky is
the limit, what we’re achieving so early on.
“I think I am capable of doing great things if I stay locked
away in the gym and I think that is what is so important. To
keep on improving time after time. I’ve got a long career
ahead of me so I can’t let the expectations and the glitz
and glamour get to me right now because it’s way too early
for that right now.’’
On if he’s fighting to do something spectacular or look
good:
“No, no, no. What I’ve been doing has been working, which
has led me to this position. So, all the expectations can’t
put pressure on me because it may lead to something that
we’re not used to, like a slugfest or a type of fight like
that. I need to maintain composure but I definitely need to
be effective because I feel like I’ll win but what’s
important is how I win. The pressure for me is trying to
impress my coach. That is one of my main pressures.”
DOMINIC BREAZEALE:
On the heavyweight division having a bad rep in the past and
on how Joshua and Breazeale are different than recent
previous fighters:
“I think the biggest difference is that we are separating
ourselves with being big athletic guys. Before, in the past,
there were just big, strong, aggressive guys in the ring
just slugging it out. We are showing some athletic ability
as far as using the jab, moving around the ring, throwing
combination punches and things like that. We’re kind of
taking it back to the days when you saw heavyweight fights
like Riddick Bowe and Evander Holyfield. Not necessarily
just big stiff guys that are kind of stuck in the mud. I am
fortunate to be in the division at the time being right now
and I am looking forward to it.”
Thoughts of Martin-Joshua clash, Martin’s performance and
what he will do differently:
“I was very upset with Charles Martin’s performance against
Anthony Joshua. I was expecting him to put out a lot more,
give it a lot more, but unfortunately he didn’t. That four
minutes in two rounds were very, very disturbing. One of the
differences between me and Charles is that I am not Charles
Martin. I’m a big statured guy, a big athletic guy and a
strong guy and Joshua knows best that he’s going to be in
the ring with somebody who mirrors his image and just a
little bit bigger than him, just a little bit heavier and
just a little bit stronger than him. So, I plan on finding
out if Anthony Joshua has got the legs and the lungs to go
five, six, maybe seven rounds but at the same time I want to
test his chin, test his body and see if he is the true
heavyweight champ.’’
EDDIE HEARN, Matchroom Boxing:
“Probably for three years now, I’ve been knocking on the
doors of American networks, telling them about this great
young fighter. They’ve all been keeping an eye on Anthony
Joshua, for sure and the victory on April 9 over Charles
Martin to become the IBF Heavyweight champion really opened
the doors.
“Anthony Joshua is the biggest star in world boxing and now
we have a position with Stephen Espinoza and SHOWTIME where
we will move forward together in a multi-fight deal which we
hope will not be five, six, or seven fights, we hope it will
be for the entire career of Anthony Joshua, for the
unification of the heavyweight division. And as I have I
said, the birth and the evolution of the biggest star in
world boxing today.
“SHOWTIME in my opinion is at the forefront of dynamic
boxing programs in the U.S. I think the fights and the shows
are continuously pushing the boundaries, not just in
America, but outside of America as well. We were privileged
to have Quigg vs. Frampton on SHOWTIME and Andy Lee against
Billy Joe Saunders recently. They’re picking up the biggest
fights in world boxing in many different territories.
“For us this is a groundbreaking day. For a UK promoter and
a UK fighter to sign a multi-fight agreement with SHOWTIME,
gives me a huge amount of great pleasure commercially. I
think it’s a groundbreaking day for British boxing as well,
I think we’re on fire at the moment. We’ve got 12 world
champions; James DeGale just defended his world title on
SHOWTIME last weekend and we have another world champion
fight this week with [Anthony] Crolla, Ricky Burns and Tony
Bellew are both fighting for world titles to become the 13th
and 14th Brits to win world titles. I really feel like the
atmosphere, the energy and the vibes of the show that we’re
producing are second to none. The atmosphere is electric,
the passion is through the roof of the arena and now the
U.S. man is going to get a chance to witness it time and
time again with Anthony Joshua.
“The plan for us is to evolve Anthony Joshua in various
different markets which will lead to U.S. fights as well and
I will work closely with Stephen [Espinoza] to see if that’s
possible perhaps even in November of this year, but we want
to make Anthony Joshua a global star and that includes
fighting in America. I am so pleased that the U.S. public
will get the opportunity to watch Anthony Joshua on the No.
1 boxing network in America.”
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