Joshua vs Povetkin: Anthony Joshua has built up eye muscles before Alexander Povetkin fight
Thursday 20 September 2018 15:57, UK
Anthony Joshua has primed his imposing physique for a world title fight against Alexander Povetkin - and even built up the muscles in his eyes.
The unbeaten world heavyweight champion put himself through a punishing training camp ahead of Saturday's Wembley showdown with Povetkin, live on Sky Sports Box Office.
Joshua has revealed how he worked on every aspect of his body ahead of his fight with the Russian, introducing new techniques to strengthen his vision.
Asked about his pre-fight routine, Joshua told Sky Sports: "Just for the warm-up and stuff, if I go sparring, it's like opening up my eyes a lot, looking left, looking right, looking up, looking down, because eyeballs have muscles as well. You need to activate those as well.
Eyeballs have muscles as well.
"There's a lot we can talk about, a lot of research on YouTube, a lot of reading to find out how to stimulate the whole body."
Povetkin warned Joshua that he is much stronger than when he suffered a 2013 points loss to Wladimir Klitschko, but Joshua pointed out that he has also built up more raw power since he defeated the Ukrainian at Wembley last year.
"Mentally, you know when you know your body, trust your instincts, and stuff like that," said the 28-year-old.
"What you're being told, what you're trying to work on, and you learn. I'm learning every time. Every training camp we improve, and every fight we aim to improve.
"Like he said, he's stronger now than when he was against Klitschko. I feel stronger now than I was against Klitschko as well, so I can understand this process, because I'm going through it as well."
Watch Joshua vs Povetkin, at Wembley Stadium, on September 22, live on Sky Sports Box Office. Book via your Sky remote or book it online here.
Even if you are not a Sky TV subscriber you can book and watch it at skysports.com/boxofficelive.
