British boxer Anthony Joshua has said he is properly focused and ready for tonight’s world heavyweight title defence against his “tricky” stand-in opponent Carlos Takam.
The Cameroon-born Frenchman, 36, is a late replacement for the injured Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev, stepping in with just 12 days notice.
The pair will take to the ring at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff later in front of 78,000 fans.
Joshua, 28, will be putting his IBF and WBA heavyweight belts on the line in his fourth world title defence.
Joshua said: “Providing he’s learnt from his losses as he says he has, it should be a tricky fight. From mistakes you have to learn – that’s what makes a good man – so he’s definitely learnt from it.
“He’s been knocking at the door of a world title for a while, and he’s got another opportunity: he might not lie down as easy because he might think: ‘This is another opportunity I don’t want to give up.’
“Even though he may have learnt a million things, if I can go in there and make it look easy and strip him of everything he’s learnt, that’s what will make it a good fight.”
The champion, who weighed in at 18st 12lbs, his heaviest ever, said he would learn from one of his most notable mistakes and not celebrate immediately should he knock Takam down.
After his fifth-round knockdown of Wladimir Klitschko, he raised his hands as though confident victory had already been secured, before the Ukrainian recovered to hand Joshua the first knockdown of his career in the sixth.
Asked if he would do the same again, Joshua admitted: “No. I don’t know: that was emotion, I don’t even remember doing it to be honest. It was probably that right hand in the sixth!”
Takam, who looked fighting fit when he weighed in at 16st 11lbs, said he will not be found wanting: “When I heard the news about the fight I was already preparing. I invite you to see what will happen. It’s going to be a great fight. I’m coming to beat him.”
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