Anthony Joshua Responds To Carlos Takam Replacing Kubrat Pulev

Anthony Joshua has been busy cementing himself as a force in boxing, but it hasn't always been easy.

His record speaks for itself, but on a few occasions he's had to watch on as fighters pull out of fights and have to be replaced.

Challenger Kubrat Pulev pulled out of their fight at a late stage and now, 12 days out from their scheduled bout, Joshua has had to change his strategy to take on Carlos Takam. Despite this, he seems in a fairly relaxed mood in training.

Credit: Newsflare

According to boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, AJ wasn't exactly thrilled with the last minute switch, but recognises Takam is a challenge.

"He had the disappointment of the Wladimir Klitschko rematch [which didn't come to fruition], then Pulev falling through... he was a bit pissed off to be honest with you," Hearn told iFL TV.

"But he knows Takam, he quite rates him, and knows he's tough so he knows it's a real fight."

"I think you get more rounds out of Takam. It's a different fight to Pulev.

"Pulev is taller, more awkward. And Takam is shorter, comes forward, swings them in, with a great chin, and is very durable. I'm pleased to get it done."

AJ didn't hold back on his thoughts of the Cameroonian, who he says he's kept an eye on for a while. Speaking to Sky Sports, he admitted that it's Takam's chance to 'shock the world' and that it'll be no easy task.

"I've known about Carlos Takam for a long time; he's a very, very well-rounded fighter," Joshua said. "He was moving his way up the IVF rankings, so I've always had my eye on him anyway.

"I think Eddie did a great job in the sense of having someone in place, in case these type of mishaps happen, but when I heard I was fighting Takam, I thought: 'Of all people, this guy from Africa, very strong, game fighter.'

"I think he had one shot at a world title, and some people don't make the same mistakes twice. I'm watching him carefully because I think what I see on these videos, he'll come 20 percent, 30 percent more game, because this is his chance to kind of shock the world."

The fight will go ahead on 28 October at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

Topics: SPORT, Anthony Joshua, Boxing, Eddie Hearn, UK Entertainment

Mark McGowan

Mark is a journalist at LADbible, who joined in 2015 after a year as a freelance writer. In the past he blogged for independent football fan channel Redmen TV, after graduating from Staffordshire University with degrees in journalism and English literature. He has worked on campaigns such as UOKM8? and IIOC.