He is a two-time unified world heavyweight champion.
But, Anthony Joshua, 31, has revealed that he once believed Jay-Z, 51, was going to punch him, while at a film premiere in America.
The boxer – who has a huge fight coming up this weekend – managed to grab a photo with the hip-hop legend at a Will Smith movie premiere, but riled up the musician with how he asked for the snap.
Yikes! Anthony Joshua, 31, has revealed that he once believed Jay-Z, 51, was going to punch him, while at a film premiere in America
Joshua recalled the unexpected incident, telling William Hill: ‘Jay-Z was cool. I was at a Will Smith premiere once, years ago.
‘And as I said… Jay-Z, I listened to that a week ago: The Streets is Watching, Hard Knock Life – I just love that stuff – Dead Presidents.
‘So imagine – you know those lovely houses that are like mansion houses and they’ve got a stairway in the middle and they depart around left and right and they come back?
‘Pure opulence. I was at this big premiere and it was one of those big staircases and I was in the top left. And I saw Jay-Z walk in…
Oh dear: The boxer managed to grab a photo with the hip-hop legend at a Will Smith movie premiere, but riled up the musician with how he asked for the snap
‘And in my head, I was like: “Yo, there’s Jay-Z.” Know what I mean? Ready to jump down the balcony. But I thought: “Play it cool”.
‘So I thought: “What way is he gonna come up these stairs?” Because if I stand on the left and he goes on right, there’s too many people, it’s a premiere.
‘Thank God I stood at the right side. As he come up, I was kind of like (grabs his wrist): “Jay, do you mind if I get a picture?”
‘And he kind of looked at my hand, yeah, like: “Boy, I will bust your head if you don’t get off my hand.”
‘But it was just one of those things where I just gave the guy the camera, and in that picture – I think it’s one of the first pictures on my Instagram – Jay-Z has just got a plain face. And there’s me with a big smile.’
Awkward! ‘I was kind of like (grabs his wrist): “Jay, do you mind if I get a picture?” ‘And he kind of looked at my hand, yeah, like: “Boy, I will bust your head if you don’t get off my hand”
On Saturday night Joshua will defend his heavyweight belts against Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk in front of capacity 60,000 crowd at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Stepping away to speak to Sky Sports, Joshua claimed that beating Usyk would be ‘just the beginning’ – with a unification bout with Tyson Fury looming on the horizon.
The world champion also spoke about his frame, revealing he has largely been focusing on the ‘old-school’ punching bags during his preparation.
‘Why do people think I look so streamline?’ he said. ‘I have not been hitting the mitts as much as usual, no pads, just the heavy bag, old-school style like Rocky Marciano.
‘I am mentally and physically conditioned so I should be able to handle the pressure.’
Next up: On Saturday night Joshua will defend his heavyweight belts against Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk in front of capacity 60,000 crowd at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Anthony recently revealed he will teach his son JJ, five, about racism and the Black Lives Matter movement when he grows up.
Speaking to Jourdan Dunn in British Vogue, the boxer told how he has never experienced racism to his face in the UK and how he learned more about it during the BLM protests that took place last summer.
He said: ‘Growing up, my mum and dad didn’t tell me, “You know son, there’s a thing called racism, which is about the colour of your skin, and as a young black African boy, you’re going to face some situations.”
‘I wasn’t given that talk, so I learnt more about racism during the Black Lives Matter movement, if I’m completely honest. And I feel it’s something that I’ll teach my son more about.’
Learning: Anthony recently revealed he will teach his son JJ, five, about racism and the Black Lives Matter movement when he grows up (pictured with his son JJ)
