Anthony Joshua has strained history with American fighters and it usually ends with them getting KO’d
Anthony Joshua is usually cool, calm and collected, but this all seems to change when he comes up against an American.
Joshua has fought and beaten five Americans in his career so far, with his only loss against fighters from the USA coming against Mexican-American, Andy Ruiz Jr - but he'll be looking to make win No.6 against Jermaine Franklin on April 1.
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In 2016, Joshua cruised past America's Charles Martin, knocking him out in the second round, to win his first world title.
Next up, Joshua defended his belt against another man from the USA in Dominic Breazeale, and fans saw a side to AJ they had not seen much of yet in the build-up.
Up to this point, aside from a rivalry with Dillian Whyte, Joshua had not had any particularly fiery interactions with his opponents - until he came up against Breazeale.
During a pre-fight photo shoot the pair came face to face and it got heated, as Breazeale refused to step away and Joshua did not take to it kindly, considering it an act of aggression.
"Have you got a problem?" Joshua demanded of Breazeale.
"Don't stand around like you're gonna do something to me, because - trust me - you're not gonna do nothing.
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"Listen, that belt's behind me, I'm not interested in the belt, I'm talking to you man-to-man, have you got a problem?"
"The problem's in front of you," Breazeale replied.
"Don't talk and not back it up like the rest of your American friends," Joshua responded.
Joshua then warned Breazeale to show him some respect and not push up against him, saying: "You're not about that life."
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The Brit then gave Breazeale a nudge away, as the situation threatened to escalate, but security jumped in and the two men were separated.
As both boxers walked away, Breazeale shouted over: "You've got yourself a fight, Anthony," and in theory he was correct - they did later engage in a fight, but it was not particularly competitive.
On fight night, Joshua dominated, winning every round and then in the seventh he delivered a brutal combination that put the American down.
Breazeale made it back to his feet, but Joshua pounced once again and moments later a crushing left hand saw the American collapse to the canvas, as the referee waved off the contest.
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The beef between Joshua and Breazeale, however, was nothing compared to what the Brit would experience when he came up against Jarrell 'Big Baby' Miller.
Before they were even scheduled to fight, when Joshua was at a media event for his clash with Alexander Povetkin, Miller was there and immediately got under the Brit's skin.
While Joshua was on stage Miller began trash-talking him and Joshua squared up to the American, calling him a ‘little b**ch’ and repeatedly telling him to ‘shut the f*** up’.
A year later, it was announced that Joshua would be fighting Miller, as he was unveiled to an American audience for the first time with the fight set to take place at Madison Square Garden.
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At the pre-fight press conference, Joshua was clearly riled, as he once again branded Miller a 'little b**ch', as well as claiming he was the American's landlord, for having chosen him as an opponent, and said: "I pay your mum’s rent now."
Joshua followed up by promising to 'deconstruct' Miller's face and he blew a kiss to Miller's mother in the crowd.
This meant that when the pair came face to face, Miller gave Joshua a huge shove and security were forced to keep the men apart.
Unfortunately, fight night never came about for these two due to Miller failing a drugs test and Ruiz Jr stepped in instead as a late replacement - leading to one of the biggest upsets in boxing history.
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Joshua's next fight on April 1 at the O2 Arena in London will come against yet another American in Jermaine Franklin, as AJ looks to bounce back from three defeats in his last five fights.
This is also a very different scenario for Joshua, as it will be the first time the Brit has taken part in a fight that will not have a world title on the line since 2015.
So far, both Joshua and Franklin have been mostly respectful of one another and there didn't seem to be any particular animosity at the launch press conference.
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With that being said, as is often the case in boxing, when fight week approaches, tensions will rise.
So watch this space as it could all still kick off between Joshua and Franklin.
Joshua vs Franklin on talkSPORT
Anthony Joshua's quest to become a three-time heavyweight champion begins on 1 April against Jermaine Franklin and talkSPORT will be live from London's O2 to bring you coverage of the fight.
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