Heavyweight Anthony Joshua believes Matt Skelton could receive a nasty shock after he compared him to Audley Harrison.
The Londoner will face Skelton, a former world title challenger, at the Echo Arena in Liverpool on Saturday night, live on Sky Sports.
This is only his seventh professional fight, but Skelton has questioned the quality of Joshua’s opponents so far, comparing him to Harrison, who failed to fulfil his potential in the paid ranks.
Joshua has taken the comparison as a positive, but insists there are stark differences between him and the fellow Olympic gold medallist.
“I take that as the utmost respect you know,” he told Sky Sports News. “Audley has done a lot for boxing, Olympic gold medallist, he opened the doors for the likes of myself and Luke Campbell, Nicola Adams, the whole Team GB.
But at the end of the day we’re different fighters and if he’s comparing me to Audley he’s in for a world of shock, because we’re completely different fighters and that’s just how it goes.
“We’re got different styles, I’m a different man and I’m going to bring something different to the table.
Joshua is rarely satisfied with his performances, despite six stoppage wins, and has been sharpening his skills during an intense training camp.
“It’s a really tough life,” he said. “You see the glitz and the glamour of things, but behind closed doors it’s a lot of sweat, hard work and criticism. Trying to get things right.
“That’s why I am so hard on myself with my performances because we train so hard.
“I really love what I do, that’s why no matter how much pain I go through, how down I am, I get up in the morning refreshed and ready to go to try and get it right.”
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