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Joshua vs Klitschko: Reflections as Wladimir Klitschko exercised his mind games at Thursday's meeting

Did Klitschko's mental warfare affect Joshua?

Britain's Anthony Joshua (L) poses by Ukraine's Wladimir Klitschko during a joint press conference at Sky broadcasting headquarters in west London on April

The icy cold Wladimir Klitschko has ramped up the control and the calculation as Saturday’s Wembley extravaganza looms. Sky Sports wonder if the visiting fighter knows something that Anthony Joshua doesn’t…

It was like the class president putting the school bully back in his place. Anthony Joshua, unbeaten and the world heavyweight champion, was afforded a screaming reception at Thursday's press conference inside the walls of Sky Sports, transforming office workers into selfie-seekers. He might not have realised, but he was the victim of Wladimir Klitschko's trademark mind games with just three days remaining until punching replaces speaking.

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Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko's press conference highlight

Klitschko and co could have been the villains in a Bond film upon arrival; manager Bernd Boente's silver silhouette finally leading them to their destination over an hour late. Wladimir's elder brother Vitali, the ex-heavyweight champion and current Mayor of Kiev, had been on site much earlier as the backstage wrangling began.

This was not just a press conference. For Klitschko, it represented an opportunity to make Joshua's heart beat slightly faster. Accustomed to the attention as a veteran of 29 world title fights, several of which were won on enemy territory, Klitschko immediately became a conductor in controlling the direction of the entire event with his USB stick.

Wladimir Klitschko

Stick or shtick? His insistence that Joshua's fate had already been digitally predicted but would not be revealed until afterwards was reminiscent of Sir Alex Ferguson and the notorious envelope that inspired Manchester United to the 1994 championship.

Then Joshua was asked a question but the elder statesman wouldn't let him get a word in edgeways.

"No, no, no. I was actually helpful," Klitschko later explained. His tone was at best knowing, at worst condescending. "He was mumbling. He couldn't find an answer, he didn't know. As an experienced man, I took over and basically helped him."

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Anthony Joshua and Wladamir Klitschko take part in a press conference ahead of their Wembley showdown

Joshua, it must be clarified, doesn't see himself as the victim of mind games. He said: "Everyone I speak to says 'did you hear about that' but I don't take it that way. When they asked about defeat, I swear to you, if I had the answer then I would have answered. But I didn't.

"He said: 'let me help you, when you lose…'

"I thought it was him talking about the experience with Tyson Fury. But other people took it like him telling me 'when you lose'. It's just how you interpret it."

Anthony Joshua smiles during the media conference with Wladimir Klitschko at Sky Central.

Joshua's calmness, he believes, is a strength but the Klitschko camp view him as a naive youngster unaccustomed with the magnitude of the occasion. Vitali, dressed for battle rather than politics, is a meaner version of his sibling and threatened: "Joshua has never fought against an opponent as high-quality as Wladimir, and that's why Joshua is relaxed."

Klitschko's clear attempts to force his seniority upon Joshua included talking over him, switching sensationally between three of his four mastered languages, and uttering statements such as "obsession is love in an extreme form".

Anthony Joshua, Wladimir Klitschko

Joshua didn't have the poetry but, in his own way, was articulate on the simplicity that he expects the fight to evolve into.

His trainer Rob McCracken perhaps delivered the most scathing remark of Thursday when he claimed: "I think Father Time is a terrible person when he shows up and I think he already has."

McCracken's star pupil added: "Whatever type of fight it is, if it gets tough, I will slug it out. If I don't come out as the same person I was, I don't mind. I'll go to war.

Whatever type of fight it is, if it gets tough, I will slug it out. If I don't come out as the same person I was, I don't mind. I'll go to war.
Anthony Joshua

"I am a fighter; I am not caught up in the entertainment side of it. It's a military mindset. Then, when you win, what do you do? You get up and fight again."

Joshua was caught up in Klitschko's control and calculation on Thursday, a place that 64 men have perished from. But did Joshua allow himself to be controlled? If not, he might have already landed the most damaging blow that he could hope to deliver.

Watch Anthony Joshua vs Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley Stadium on April 29, live on Sky Sports Box Office. Book the event online here or via your Sky remote.

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Anthony Joshua reacts to Wladimir Klitschko's use of a USB stick

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