Anthony Joshua was only accustomed to dishing out punishment rather than taking it for the first half of his pro campaign.
In his fifteenth fight against Dillian Whyte for the British title he was rocked but managed to turn the tide and stop his rival. Three fights later would be a war with Wladimir Klitschko where he suffered his first knockdown – a fight Joshua has admitted made him adopt a more cautious approach.
A stoppage loss to Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019 was the next time ‘AJ’ was seriously hurt, and he took some sustained and accurate work against Oleksandr Usyk in their double-header.
Regardless, it was in the amateurs when he was hit the hardest. In a feature with Men’s Health, Joshua looked back to the World Championships in 2011 when asked about the most pain he has felt in the ring.
The man Joshua refers to is Magomedrasul Majidov. After winning the 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships by beating the Brit, he would take a Bronze Medal at the 2012 Olympics in London where ‘AJ’ won Gold.
Majidov scored Gold at the Amateur Worlds again in 2013 and 2017. He turned over to the pro ranks under Joshua promoter Eddie Hearn in 2019, winning his first three bouts by stoppage before being knocked out himself in the first round by Russian Andrey Fedosov in 2021. He hasn’t fought since.
Joshua returns to the ring on September 21 to face big-punching Daniel Dubois who has recently been elevated to world champion.
