Anthony Joshua has no doubt about who he considers to be the best boxer ever to lace up the gloves as he immediately went with American Legend Muhammad Ali when speaking to Men’s Health.

“Historically, Ali. By a mile,” Joshua said.

After a gold medal-laced amateur career, Ali beat George Foreman, Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier and Earnie Shavers in a 61-fight campaign. The undisputed heavyweight champion formerly known as Cassius Clay left his mark not just on the sport but culture entire.

Meanwhile, Joshua can rightly claim that he has been one of the standouts of the current era. He quickly rose through the amateur ranks to become an Olympic Gold Medalist at London 2012 just a couple of years after picking up the sport rather late aged 18.

Once he turned professional, Joshua went on an impressive run of early knockouts, including picking up the British title with a stoppage of Dillian Whyte back in December 2015.

His first world title came with another stoppage, this time of Charles Martin, and he unified with wins over Joseph Parker, who was the first man to take him the distance, and a stoppage of long-reigning champion Wladimir Klitschko.

After some routine defences he hit his first stumbling block in New York’s Madison Square Garden when he was halted by underdog and late stand-in Andy Ruiz Jr, though quickly exacted revenge in the rematch.

2021 and 2022 proved difficult years with back-to-back losses to the eventual undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk, though since then he has got back to winning ways with a trip of stoppages over Otto Wallin, Robert Helenius and Francis Ngannou.

Next up for Joshua is a shot at becoming a three-time world heavyweight champion when he takes on Daniel Dubois for the IBF title at Wembley in September. That is a feat only repeated at heavyweight by Ali, who was also undisputed champion from 1974 to 1978 and is often considered one of the greatest sportsmen of the last century.

Anthony Joshua has no doubt about who he considers to be the best boxer ever to lace up the gloves as he immediately went with American Legend Muhammad Ali when speaking to Men’s Health.

“Historically, Ali. By a mile,” Joshua said.

After a gold medal-laced amateur career, Ali beat George Foreman, Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier and Earnie Shavers in a 61-fight campaign. The undisputed heavyweight champion formerly known as Cassius Clay left his mark not just on the sport but culture entire.

Meanwhile, Joshua can rightly claim that he has been one of the standouts of the current era. He quickly rose through the amateur ranks to become an Olympic Gold Medalist at London 2012 just a couple of years after picking up the sport rather late aged 18.

Dubois and Joshua prepare for explosive showdown, Hearn predicts AJ’s precision will prevail

Eddie Hearn has warned Daniel Dubois before the Anthony Joshua fight that he will be outgunned if he trades with Joshua. Dubois, 26, will make the first defence of his International Boxing Federation heavyweight title against Anthony Joshua on September 21 at Wembley Stadium. He has won consecutive fights against Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic, demonstrating an excellent capacity to inflict and absorb significant damage.

Interestingly, Joshua last willingly traded a match with an opponent in 2019, when he faced Andy Ruiz, who unexpectedly stopped him, but the 34-year-old and Dubois not only had to be separated when they first met as opponents but, the aggression they are expected to fight with means that their contest is widely expected to be decided by whoever lands the first truly devastating punch.

Ruiz’s first setback of his career has prompted the Olympic gold champion to seek a more sophisticated edge. On the other hand, Dubois has increased his confidence by refusing to be frightened by heavy-handed opponents, while his promoter, Eddie Hearn, argues that accepting the bout will be a terrible mistake.

“Both are going to be letting their hands go,” Eddie said in media reports. “Both are very dangerous. Some people call it a ‘shootout’ but I think ‘AJ’s’ top sniper. He’s too accurate; he’s too good; and I think if you’re going to get hit against Anthony Joshua, you’re going to have serious problems, and AJ’s not gonna stand in front of him like Filip Hrgovic and just ship shots,” he added.

“It’s two very dangerous heavyweight punchers, who are in the form and confidence of their career. For Dubois, the Miller and the Hrgovic fight have taken him to the most dangerous point of his career so far. It’s not a good time to fight Dubois, and it’s definitely not a good time to fight AJ. The key points for me are two massive punchers in their absolute primes,” he added.