Anthony Joshua isn’t backing down from his proclamation that he’s going for the kill — literally — in his fight against Jake Paul no matter how much that might bother Tyson Fury.
During a media roundtable on Tuesday, Joshua made it clear that he’s pulling no punches when it comes to his approach against Paul saying “If I can kill you, I will kill you.” That comment didn’t sit too well with Fury, who is rumored to have a showdown against Joshua already in the works for some time in 2026.
“He’s 37 years old at the end of his career, fighting a YouTuber, a Disney Channel guy, who Tommy [Fury] beat, and now he’s talking about killing him and all that to try and sell,” Fury said about Joshua. “Please. Barking up the wrong tree, idiot. Here’s a fun fact, if I ever come across you, bum, I’m knocking you dead spark out. I ain’t a YouTuber or a man half your size. I am him. The man.”
Asked for a response to Fury’s comments during a pre-fight press conference on Wednesday, Joshua didn’t hide from using the word “kill” despite numerous boxers actually dying from injuries sustained in the ring.
“It’s my job,” Joshua said. “We fight. We have a license to kill. I’m sure many people don’t understand it but this is what my job is. I just enjoy what I do. Whatever happens, happens. As long as my hand is raised, that’s what’s important, right? Respectfully.
“That’s just the mentality we have to have as fighters. I don’t know if any other fighter thinks that way or maybe they’re a bit more tamed. But the things I watch and the way my mind works, when you’re in that ring, it’s a dangerous place to be. Anything can happen.”
Now to be perfectly clear, Joshua isn’t rooting for anybody to get hurt or potentially killed in the ring but he believes that’s the mentality he has to carry into his fights. Joshua says he wasn’t speaking directly to Paul but rather every opponent he might face.
“You hope your opponent leaves the ring safely but if they don’t, you still have to go to bed at night knowing that you’ve just done your job,” Joshua said. “It wasn’t personal.”
For his part, Paul didn’t seem all that bothered by Joshua’s comments.
In fact, “The Problem Child” seemingly embraced that same mentality with the kill or be killed philosophy for both fighters heading into the main event on Friday.
“Yeah, let’s f*cking go,” Paul said. “Let’s f*cking go, bro. Let’s put on a show for the fans. Let’s go to war. Men have done crazier things throughout human history. This is the modern day gladiator sport. This is what we’re here to do is f*ck each other up.
“I’m ready. I want his hardest punches. I want there to be no excuses when it’s all said and done. Let’s f*cking kill each other.”
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