Wednesday 19 September 2018 21:14, UK
Anthony Joshua is "serious" and "focused" for his upcoming world heavyweight title fight with Alexander Povetkin, says his sparring partner Martin Bakole.
The unified world champion has been trading punches with the unbeaten Bakole ahead of this Saturday's fight with Povetkin at Wembley Stadium, on Sky Sports Box Office.
Joshua was taken the distance for the first time in his points win over Joseph Parker in March, but Bakole believes the British fighter has taken a more single-minded approach to his clash with Povetkin, a former world champion with just a sole defeat to Wladimir Klitschko.
"When I watched his fight against Parker, he was a little bit poor, because maybe I don't know if he was focused in the ring with him or not," Bakole told Sky Sports.
"But this time, I see he's serious now and focused, and working hard. I think it's going to be different.
"For me, he's taking it serious, because he's fighting someone who has only lost once in a big fight. He's serious and he's focused."
AJ had previously stopped all of his 21 opponents before Parker and insists his unanimous decision victory at the Principality Stadium was an ideal opportunity to prove that he possesses disciplined skills, along with knockout power.
"No-one could ever say, Joshua can box," Joshua told Sky Sports. "They can say he's a king of destruction, he can fight, he can knock people out. It looked too easy, it looked so easy after 16 fights.
"But they could never say I boxed, so after this fight, I knew that no-one could tell me nothing. I will show the world that amongst other tricks, I still have other stuff in the locker.
"This fight honestly, hand on heart, was showing at a championship level, I can outmanoeuvre and outthink a fighter like Joseph Parker."
