Despite not being the unified heavyweight champion any longer, Anthony Joshua is a man high in demand.
Following his better-than-expected showing against world heavyweight prospect Jared Anderson on July 1, Charles Martin is talking up his chances of a big fight next time out and, in particular, is eyeing a second chance against the Brit after claiming he went into the first fight with a fractured rib.
In his most recent outing, Martin took big-hitting heavyweight Jared Anderson the distance for the first time in his carer. The fight, in Anderson’s hometown of Toledo, Ohio, saw Martin hurt the hotly tipped prospect as well as going down once himself. He lost a unanimous 10-round decision but remained competitive until the end.
It was a stark difference to his world title fight against Joshua seven years ago, in which he was dispatched of quickly.
Speaking to BoxingScene.com, the 37-year-old southpaw has outlined his frustrations following that loss in 2016 and the injury he carried into the fight.
“I wanna fight Anthony Joshua so bad that I will donate my entire purse to a charity if he beats me. I fought AJ with a fractured rib, and it was the worst mistake of my life. I’ve taken sh!t for it since that day. He’ll never get back in the ring with me. He knows he got me at my worst.”
It was a short-lived match-up that saw Martin go down twice and ultimately get stopped in the second round at the O2 Arena in London. He claims the loss has weighed heavily on him for years and that only now is he taking the fight game as seriously as he should have all along.
“I don’t have any more time to waste. I wanna fight in another big fight before the end of this year. I’ve always been my own worst enemy. I’d be off for six to 12 months, roll off the sofa, take a fight and train for four or five weeks. It took me a long time to realize you can’t do that and be the best. Now I live in the gym, and hopefully, it showed.”
While Martin hunts for second fight, two-time heavyweight champion AJ has his own rematch coming up against Dillian Whyte on August 12.