Anthony Joshua has drawn up a hit list of the next fighters he wants to knock out.
And just like Father Christmas’s naughty list, you probably don’t want to be on it.
The unbeaten British boxer has sparked out every man who has stood before him en route to the IBF heavyweight title.
Joshua is set to face tricky American Eric Molina at The Manchester Arena on December 10 but that’s not stopped him sizing up possible opponents.
The 6ft 6in knockout merchant has drawn up a list of three names who he would really want to fight.
But to the surprise of boxing fans there are two major names missing off there.
One is fellow British fighter and former two-weight world champion David Haye, who is set to fight again in December against an as-yet unannounced opponent.
The other, which is even more surprising given all the media attention in recent months around their slated £30m superfight, is former world champion Wladimir Klitsckho.
Those would surely be among the biggest money fights out there in the heavyweight division and fights that would have fans drooling.
But they’re not the dream match-ups that the former Olympic gold medallist picked when 2017 Boxing News Annual asked him who he would face next if he only had three fights left in his career.
The 27-year-old said: “I can only have three? [Tyson] Fury, Dillian [Whyte] and [Deontay] Wilder.”
It could be a long wait before Joshua gets the chance to fight Fury, who pulled out of a big money rematch with Klitschko and had his world titles stripped.
Fury cited mental health issues as the reason for taking a break from the sport and there is no indication about when he might return or even if he will be able to wrest his belts back.
Unbeaten American southpaw Deontay Wilder is another name that’s been in the frame for Joshua for a while, with the ‘Bronze Bomber’ already calling out the Brit for title unification fight.
The third name – Dillian Whyte – is an interesting one. The Londoner is the first man to have rocked Joshua in his pro career and arguably gave him his toughest fight to date.
He took Joshua into the seventh round before being KO’d in front of the 02 Arena crowd. The pair are long-time rivals going back to their amateur days when Whyte scored a points victory over the champ.
‘The Body Snatcher’ will fight Dereck Chisora in a spicy all-British WBC title eliminator on the undercard of the Joshua vs. Molina card.
What’s clear is that there are some very interesting fights ahead for Joshua in the heavyweight division if he successfully defends his crown against Molina in Manchester.
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