Anthony Joshua once wandered around Wembley looking to buy fake designer gear at the markets when he was a teenager.
But now he’s back again to prove he is still the real deal. It was before he fought Wladimir Klitschko in 2017 when Joshua told the tale about coming to the area to source a dodgy Gucci belt or other counterfeit goods.
It fit as that weekend he went on to add the real WBA heavyweight strap to his IBF title with a stunning knockout of the veteran fighter. On Saturday night, he faces Daniel Dubois with that IBF trinket on the line again but this time he is not in the market for the real or fake belts.
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Instead this is to prove he is still among the top brand of heavyweights. It’s now over two years since Joshua threw down the WBA and Ring Magazine titles in the ring and cried in the press conference after suffering a second defeat against Oleksandr Usyk.
Despite winning three heavyweight titles twice and earning phone number length sums of money over the years, it led to questions if ‘AJ’ was really among the best of this era. Joshua, who turns 35 next month, was so low after his third career loss that some felt he might even walk away from the sport.
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“I never really felt that,” said Eddie Hearn, his promoter. “For me it was more ‘how do I get better’ attitude? He felt ‘How the f*** do I beat someone like that’?”
What followed was months of not just soul searching but looking for a new coaching team. Some felt he was lost. The team of Robert Garcia, Angel Fernandez and Joby Clayton were dismissed after just one fight of taking over from Robert McCracken.
A move to Texas to work with Derrick James was finally the decision but it never worked out. Joshua got back to winning ways against Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius without really thrilling.
Those close to Joshua never felt he ‘gelled’ with James despite the CV of the talented American trainer. It was in downtime between camps when Joshua wanted a bit more than working out back at his amateur club in Finchley, that he visited Tyson Fury’s former trainer Ben Davison in Harlow.
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“He went from the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, all the way to Texas and ended up finding peace in Essex,” said Hearn. “He found that and I think he’s found love in the sport again.”
Davison would take charge of the Otto Wallin fight last December and sources insisted it was a one-off as they tried to put away talk of another overhaul of camp but Joshua’s mind was made up. The ‘neverending’ search was over.
“I went into the dressing room before the Wallin fight and watched him hit the pads and I thought ‘wow, the beast is back’,” said Hearn. “I’d not seen him that fired up and firing since the Klitschko fight to be honest.”
Wallin was dismissed in five rounds and MMA fighter Francis Ngannou in two. Two lesser opponents but because of the bouts they’d both pushed Tyson Fury all the way had some credibility.
Now here is Joshua back at the national stadium. Not for the first time since that epic night against Klitschko, but it feels like a similar moment in time for him. That night when he stopped the Ukrainian legend in the 11th round, the London Olympic gold medallist became a bonafide superstar of British sport.
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Wembley will be packed again to see if he can thrill them once more and reclaim that adoration. Dubois is the dangerous younger man standing in the way with heavy hands and a point to prove himself after earlier career defeats.
The prize is not only the IBF belt but a shot at Fury or Usyk next year and the potential seat at the top table of heavyweights again.