Anthony Joshua at Expo 2020 Dubai: “The UAE has thousands of years of history and heritage and it was good to see the past and the future”

Two-time World Champion heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua toured the Expo 2020 Dubai site, paying a visit to a variety of top attractions, including the Surreal water feature and the Country Pavilions of the UK, the UAE and Nigeria.

The popular British athlete, who took part in a special public event at Al-Wasl Plaza, also stopped past Expo 2020’s Sports, Fitness and Wellbeing Hub today, where he sat down to talk about his Expo visit, his thoughts on how boxing can help the world, his hopes for 2022 and more.

Can you explain what you have you been doing at Expo 2020 today?

“I started off at the [UK] Pavilion. It was good to see what they are using to attract people to show the future … And obviously, I'm from Watford-slash-London, so we had to go represent. Then we went to the UAE Pavilion, which was phenomenal, a great spectacle … the UAE has thousands of years of history and heritage. It was good to see the past and the future. And I'm going to pull up at [the] Nigeria [Pavilion] as well, which is my heritage, and check out what's going on there. There's so much to see. From a tourism point of view, it’s really good for people that are here on holiday. And same for me, I'm here as a tourist … so come down if you're in Dubai.”

You have been spending a lot of time in Dubai recently…

“Yeah. Winter in Dubai is like summer in London. I've got a big family. I've been coming here for a while now and I’m a family man, so it’s important for me to take my kids and my nephews, my brothers, sister, uncles and aunties out here. And it's quality time. When I'm back home, I find myself under a lot of pressure. [Dubai] is a place where I can kind of be free – there’s a lot of activities for kids and I’m not underneath the constraints of training, so I'm away from everything. So it's good to come here for the Christmas period.”

How do you think boxing and sport more widely can help to bring the world together?

“Boxing is a sport that doesn't discriminate. It's a sport that [welcomes] anyone, because it's one of the sports that is not about your wealth, it's not about your gender. It's not about anything, if you’ve got the skill, you can make it. So for me, female, male, anyone can do well in boxing. Sport has been used for many, many years to try and unite … people across the world. So I think sports, especially boxing, can and do play a big role.”

At this time of year, a lot of people are trying to keep their New Year’s resolutions to get fitter. What would be your one top tip for people who are trying to do this?

“It starts with the mind: the brain is a muscle, so let's not neglect the brain. Once you activate that, through reading, making key decisions, commitment … the bicep doesn't grow alone, the brain tells the bicep to grow. So try and get that mind working in a positive way and all is possible.”

It seems like 2022 is set to be a massive year for you in your boxing career. What are your hopes for 2022 – for you, for sport, for the world?

“It has to be. I pray that I can become undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. It's an uphill task, but I've been climbing it for many years and I’m used to this climb now, so I'm very resilient. For the rest of the world, for the future … the next generation hopefully do well, and they're leaders of tomorrow … We’re here paving the way for the generations to come in to take the world by storm, so [we should] just have fun while we're here, see the evolution and development of where the world's going and watch the next generation come and do their thing".

Are you hoping that this is the year when you finally fight Tyson Fury? Do you have any message for him?

“I have a big hope to fight Tyson Fury [and] to fight a lot of the current champions, to fight a lot of people in the division. One of my legacy standpoints would be to be known as someone that will fight everyone and anyone. Even though it takes its toll. It's very difficult because you're always under pressure. I feel that’s what I always wanted to go down as: someone that's like a throwback fighter, that took on everyone, all challenges. Good luck to [Tyson Fury], whatever he's doing, but I just focus on myself. I’ve got a rematch with a great former cruiserweight champion, now heavyweight champion [World Champion Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk, who Joshua fought in September 2021]. I’ve got to get my hands on the belts again, create a great legacy once again, by becoming three-time champion of the world [punches his own hand].”

Late British boxer Sebastian Eubank’s family are part of your entourage today. His death in Dubai last year was a big loss – can explain your link with him and his family, and how you dealt with his untimely passing?

“I'm a good friend of Seb’s, like many people – may his soul rest in peace. I don't know how to reach out to his dad [former World Champion boxer Chris Eubank], because I can only imagine the difficulties for him, but I speak with Frank [Smith, Sebastian’s brother-in-law] … I speak with Chris Eubank [Jr, Sebastian’s brother, who is also a World Champion boxer], as well and some of Seb’s friends, and they seem to be dealing with it well. We have to understand the cycle of life, you know, for the millions of years that this planet has been here. All of us go through that cycle. We live and we die. So you understand that you take death as a celebration of life, that person got to enjoy and experience what planet Earth had to offer. He's resting in a better place, but he inspired me on my journey of fitness and health, and to eat better. I’m sure, I would be with him now [in Dubai] … I wanted to work with him because of his credibility in the sport and what he represented. His legacy will live on for his son as well.”

Text, photos and video: Expo Dubai 2020