The faces change but the target remains the same. Anthony Joshua, less than 24 hours after learning of his change of opponent, remains tunnel-visioned in his pursuit of a "legacy" that extends far beyond his well-earned reputation as a knockout artist, writes James Dielhenn.
Simply knocking them down, it appears, is no longer good enough for the affable world heavyweight champion and that might spell bad news for Carlos Takam, who has stepped in for the injured Kubrat Pulev at 12 days' notice. Joshua is methodical in assessing his opponents' body types and skill-sets so swapping Pulev for Takam, he believes, is an opportunity to demonstrate part of his own arsenal that has so far been restricted to unfortunate sparring partners.
Relaxed on the ropes after greeting a gym-full of onlookers with individual handshakes and hearty addresses of "'ello, geezer", Joshua exclusively told Sky Sports about his reluctance to settle for KO after KO after KO.
"Yes, of course [I want to show new skills]. This what people will remember me for. 'What type of fighter was he?' What do you know Guillermo Rigondeaux for? Phenomenal skills. I'm trying to display a few different things while I'm here, to add to my legacy."
He's not been doing badly so far, it's suggested to Joshua, with 19 consecutive knockouts with only three opponents surviving beyond the third rounds. Why not just continue blasting the challengers away?
"That would be great, wouldn't it? But it's not the reality, unfortunately. I will have to find different routes to beating everybody."
Joshua briefly looks tense when it's questioned whether an over-confidence in his craftsmanship led to a mid-fight knock-down against the wily Wladimir Klitschko. "No," he said, never losing eye contact. "I just got tired in the middle rounds. If I hadn't had got tired, I would have got him out of there."
The late-notice change of opponents has, almost, caused a stir from Rob McCracken, the trainer so down-to-earth that he forced Joshua, his star pupil, into a marathon session of skipping in their first session after the glory of toppling Klitschko, just to re-establish the fundamentals.
"Rob wasn't happy," promoter Eddie Hearn told Sky Sports about the swapping of opponents. "Rob said: 'this is a complete disaster! We had prepared for a 6'4'' rangy fighter now we've got a 6'1'' little machine'. Rob has seen a lot, and this is where his experience comes in."
If McCracken wasn't happy, you wouldn't know it. The performance director of GB's Olympic squad explained how the culture in their Sheffield gym, where Joshua is a key component, instils a mindset which renders irrelevant short-notice change of opponents.
"They have a mixture of opponents when they go to [amateur] tournaments, so they will know the best five or six opponents," McCracken said. "Nobody is the same, there's nobody just like Pulev or AJ or Takam. You have to be prepared to box all different shapes and sizes.
"We now have to focus on a different style, a different physique, so Anthony has to adjust. There's plenty of work we can do in 12 days. Anthony is good against shorter opponents, anyway."
It was in part McCracken's call to persevere with fighting Takam when Pulev withdrew, and his wisdom is something that Joshua is so clearly enamoured with. "He's very experienced, I'm not the first person he has trained at this level," Joshua said, about his coach. "He had Carl Froch when they fought Mikkel Kessler after the ash cloud. Rob knows I'm laid back."
Plans are, understandably, afoot to revamp Joshua's last few sparring sessions before he takes on Takam. The taller, back-foot boxers can take a breather, and some pressure-based brawlers will replace them as the clocks ticks towards Joshua's fourth world title defence. That difference in opponent is something the champion will notice, and he will box accordingly.
"With Pulev it wasn't about whipping him around the body, it was about staying off the line and boxing down the middle," he explained. Joshua is never more illuminated than when discussing the nooks and crannies of boxing. "Carlos is different - he can trade down the middle. My speed will beat his combinations. A good way to beat Carlos is to take his body out, that's what Alexander Povetkin did to him. I look at each individual fighters, and what their strengths are."
The knockouts are becoming harder to come by, as the opposition becomes sterner, and Takam's durability is recognised by Joshua who compared his head to a "block of cement". A 20th KO might come, but Joshua is preparing for the day when he cannot just rely on the power of his fists.
