One minute he’s talking about a blockbuster, all-British heavyweight fight with Tyson Fury.
The next he’s looking forward to “loving life” in retirement, free from the pressure of an expectant public.
Such are the stakes for Anthony Joshua in a fight that comes at a crossroads in his career.
Coming off consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk, the former two-time world champion takes on American boxer Jermaine Franklin at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday for a non-title bout that is bigger than it appears at first glance.
If Joshua loses, his career is pretty much in ruins.
OK, he could still sell fights — he has been a huge draw in Britain for a decade, ever since he won Olympic gold at the London Games in 2012 and immediately turned professional — but he will no longer have the credibility to go along with the hype.
And, to be sure, the hype was justified in his golden period from 2016-18 when he won seven straight world title fights, including an epic against Wladimir Klitschko in front of 90,000 spectators in 2017, to allow him to dream of becoming the first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999-2000.
