When appearing on The Graham Norton Show back in 2017, the two-time world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua was invited to test out the show’s punching bag machine, as well as try and beat some records in the process!
He appeared on the show alongside guests Greg Davies, Martin Freeman and Rachel Weisz. The presenter unveiled the “very high-tech piece of equipment” to the group, which was met by smiles from Joshua and applause from the crowd as they made their way over.
‘AJ’ removed his jacket before his turn, proving he was pretty serious about beating the show’s record. He shared tips with Weisz, who scored an impressive 182, before Freeman and Davies tested their luck striking the machine, reaching scores of 594 and 632 respectively.
AJ then inevitably rose to the challenge and smashed the punch bag with his powerful right arm, scoring 848 and obliterating the show’s previous record of 787.
Former WBC heavyweight title-holder Deontay Wilder is also no stranger to the famous TV show punching bag.
He came up against Jarrett Hurd (former world champion in the light middleweight division) who scored a remarkable 935. The ‘Bronze Bomber’, before his go, reminded everyone of his injury to his dominant right hand, so stated he’ll have to “go with the left a lil bit, see what I can do” - which was to achieve a slightly lower, but still outstanding score, of 927, especially when you consider it was a static left hook on his “weaker” hand.
It is also worth noting that Wilder’s and Joshua’s scores cannot be directly compared as they were not measured on the same machine.
But what do the pair have in common? Both of these fighters are now currently in training for their upcoming bouts; with Joshua set to take on Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday, September 25 and Deontay Wilder preparing for what will be the final match in the blockbuster trilogy with ‘Gypsy King’ Tyson Fury - set to take place on Saturday, July 24.
The previous fights in the trilogy being a controversial draw and an undoubtable win to Fury, Wilder will be entering the ring with everything to prove. However, before the third and final match between the two was confirmed, UK (and global) boxing fans were eagerly awaiting an announcement of the highly-anticipated Fury vs Joshua bout.
The two boxers were teasing fans with details of the fight and openly discussing contracts and locations of the bout, before Fury announced that he was contractually obliged to see out the final match up with Wilder.
Whilst at the moment it is impossible to say when the fight will happen, it is clear that not only do all boxing fans and promoters want it to go ahead, but both AJ and Fury are adamant to battle it out in what would be a groundbreaking match in history for the UK boxing scene.
Until then, there are plenty of unmissable and exhilarating fights set to happen over the summer and the course of the year.