“I witnessed Anthony Joshua yelling in fear—he refused to stop yelling the same thing.” Despite being one of the strongest fighters in the world, Anthony Joshua, the two-time heavyweight champion, is susceptible to fear.

Barry Hearn said Anthony Joshua was overcome with terror when he was holding a fish.

Joshua, 32, is one of the finest boxers to ever emerge from Britain. Having recorded 25 knockouts in the 28 victories, few people on planet Earth have fists that are more dangerous than him.

The 6′ 6″ Watford giant does, however, have some personal anxieties. According to Hearn, the father of Joshua’s vocal promoter Eddie, the knockout fighter was actually a little scared of fish.

Barry loves nothing more than to take up his fishing rod and bring in some carp when he’s not supervising the snooker and darts. However, former two-time heavyweight champion Joshua didn’t seem to enjoy the calm and leisurely nature of fishing.

While speaking on his podcast, the Barry Hearn show, the 76-year-old said: “I took AJ fishing once. I said, ‘Have you ever been fishing?’ He went, ‘no’.

“I said, come over to my place, we’ll catch a carp. AJ caught a five or six-pound carp. No great size.

“He was like, ‘oooh!’. He was screaming: ‘What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?’ I said: ‘You knock people out for a living. You’re frightened of a fish’?”

Hearn Sr told a hilarious story about going fishing with Anthony Joshua.

It’s unknown as to whether AJ has ever overcome his fear of fishing. Nevertheless, Hearn was delighted to share his passion with the two-time unified heavyweight champion of the world.

When the British fighter met Daniel Dubois for the IBF heavyweight title in September, he was the one who fell for the ruse. When Joshua caught the 27-year-old in the fifth round, he believed he was about to make a spectacular comeback after Dubois had viciously knocked him down in the first, third, fourth, and fifth rounds.

Dubois caught Joshua with a nice counterpunch as he lunged forward for a knockout, leaving Joshua on the canvas after the referee’s ten-count. Although his future move in the boxing world is currently unknown, a rematch with his British opponent may be imminent.

Hearn is a lover of all things fish.

What is certain is that Hearn’s love for fishing and angling is forever. The former boxing promoter swears by it so much that he wants the government to promote a scheme which introduces youngsters to the sport.

He added: “I’ve often said to people in government, if we can get a rod in the hands of some of these kids living in inner cities with all their problems, you watch their face. You see the face of a kid that feels a fish on the end of a line.

“This is a serious point. I’ve watched it with my grandchildren. I’ve watched it with old men that have never been fishing. It’s fascinating. But for me, it saved my life, it’s taken the stress. I don’t suffer from stress. If I feel myself getting a bit agitated, I go fishing. It’s the best pill in the world.”