Anthony Joshua says Carlos Takam will be a “more dangerous” opponent than Kubrat Pulev would have been in next week’s world heavyweight title fight at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
IBF rules mean that the next mandatory challenger is Takam - so now he will take on Joshua for the IBF and WBA titles on 28 October.
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Takam, who was on standby for the fight, presents a very different challenge for Joshua. At 6ft 1in, he is three inches shorter than Pulev and is described by Joshua’s trainer, Rob McCracken, as a “little machine”.
Joshua - who beat Wladimir Klitschko in front of 90,000 fans at Wembley in April, and who holds a record of 19 knockouts from 19 fights - says he respects Takam’s abilities and knows it will be a tough bout.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, the Watford-born boxer said: “Honestly, this is a more dangerous fight than Pulev would have been. Takam weighs 22 stone. He’s a better all-round fighter and I’ve been preparing to box someone totally different.
“Takam is incredibly durable and will be harder to knock out, but when Pulev got hurt the other day there were only two answers to the situation. We could cancel the show, which would have been a disaster for everyone. Or we carry on.”
The match in the Welsh capital will be watched by at least 78,000.
Speaking during a training session yesterday in Sheffield, Joshua was asked by BBC Radio 5 Live about his ambitions to fight in the US.
The 28-year-old said because of his huge support in the UK, he is in “no rush” to fight Stateside. He told the BBC: “Everyone talks about going to the States. I’ve heard news about going to the Middle East, I’ve heard news about opportunities in Africa.
“From my amateur gym and people I grew up with, I give out a lot of tickets and I help a lot of people in different ways to get to the shows. I think it’s great that all these little kids and their parents can come to watch a heavyweight title clash - that’s why I’m not in a rush to go to the States.
“If the opportunity presents itself, so be it. But people have supported me for so long here, let them enjoy it now. Going to America is a whole different ball game to a lot of people.”