Anthony Joshua branded ‘slow and robotic’ by heavyweight rival Joseph Parker after Carlos Takam win
The New Zealander is a potential opponent for Joshua after he successfully defended his titles at the weekend
ANTHONY JOSHUA has been branded "average" and "robotic" by heavyweight rival Joseph Parker.
The New Zealander is a potential opponent for Joshua after he successfully defended his titles against Carlos Takam at the weekend.
But Parker does not seem too worried about a meeting with the Watford-born bruiser and has been critical of his style.
Parker said: “I’ve said it many times, I’d love to fight Joshua so I can show what I’ve got.
“He’s good – he’s big, strong and learning, but I think he’s just average, he’s robotic.
“The jab he was throwing was very slow. He steps up all the time but I don’t think he looked that impressive. There wasn’t a lot of movement.
“He stood on the spot or tried to chase Takam down and catch him with big shots, but couldn’t knock him out.
"On 12 days’ notice [Takam] was very impressive – imagine if he’d had a full camp?”
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Joshua, 28, has now won all 20 of his professional fights inside the distance but admitted he understands the fans' frustrations.
Some of the crowd started to boo and jeer as Joshua searched for the KO.
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The Watford slugger admitted: “The crowd think that Takam deserved to be flat on his back and I understand that they wanted to see him take some more punches.
“That’s what boxing is about. People just want to see someone get battered and it’s my job to knock him out.
“I don’t care if I spark him out, if it goes 12 rounds or if the ref ends it.
“But the ref’s job is make sure that the guy lives to fight another day.
“Takam was showing all the signs that he wanted it to be stopped. Look at the guy’s face. His eyes were nearly hanging off with those cuts so deep.
“I was delivering. I put him down, I hurt him and I slashed both his eyes.
“If you see my white shorts and boots, they’re now bright pink with all his blood.
“Heavyweight boxing is madness. It’s a gladiatorial arena and the job is just to beat your opponent and beat him quickly.”
