It's Andy Ruiz Jr.-Anthony Joshua 2 fight week, and according to one of his sparring partners, AJ is ready to become a two-time unified world heavyweight champion.
“Almost every session I ask him how he’s doing, what he’s thinking,” heavyweight Timothy Moten told The Daily Mail about sparring with Joshua leading up to the British boxer's rematch against Ruiz on Saturday. “He says to me, ‘Ready, ready.’ Mentally he is in a good place. I can see that in his eyes. He’s got a focus I’ve not seen.
"He's got that warrior's spirit," Moten continued about Joshua. "His mentality is to destroy. He is like a focused, caged lion, and when the time is right, he will unleash."
If that time comes Saturday night at Diriyah Arena in Saudi Arabia, then the boxing world may very well see Joshua crowned as a two-time champ.
Moten also added that Joshua has "dropped a few of his sparring partners," but the former champ attempted to downplay that or dismiss it altogether while speaking with Behind The Gloves.
"Me dropping sparring partners? No. Normally it’s the other way around, they are dropping me and sending me home," Joshua said with a hearty laugh.
"No, they are doing a good job, they are with me now," he continued. "I respect all my sparring partners that come out and get me ready physically, so I appreciate them. I don’t really use sparring partners to try to knock them out because they are here to make me better. So no, none of them got sent home."