IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua's next fight will not be against Wladimir Klitschko, a fight that will take place next spring, but he's being constantly asked as if Klitschko is his opponent.
Joshua, who is fighting Eric Molina on December 10, said during a press conference that he doesn't want to focus too much on Klitschko at this point in time.
“I don’t want to mention Klitschko too much at the minute," Joshua said. "I just want to mention the relevant opponent. Eric Molina, he’s going to be across the room from me on December 10. He is a tough competitor. When I looked at him, I thought he was the toughest out of the few, so I thought that is a good challenge for myself. That’s the one I’ve got to focus on. I always knew I would have someone who was game. Right now we’re competing for a championship belt. Everyone is going to up their levels by 50-60 percent. I have to put Klitschko or David Price or whoever was in the pecking order aside and focus on what is in front of me.”
For the moment, Joshua just wants to prepare fully for the December fight, signaling to Molina that he'll be fighting at his best when the two square off next month.
“Everyone is going to train and try to reach their potential in camp," Joshua said. "But you only find out on fight night because there’s nowhere to hide. Everything that you’ve been thinking and preparing for will be revealed on fight night.”
Joshua was slated to fight Klitschko in December, but an injury to Klitschko forced him to withdraw. Another roadblock was the WBA not making a ruling on whether or not it would allow a Joshua-Klitshcko fight be contested with the organization's vacant heavyweight title on the line in a timely manner. The organization then later ruled that Klitschko and Joshua will compete for the vacant title in spring 2017.
