Heavyweight boxing's golden boy is expected to deliver a 14th successive KO when he fights Scot Gary Cornish at The O2 on Saturday
Olympic gold medallist Anthony Joshua returns to the ring this week looking to add the vacant Commonwealth title to his collection when he faces Gary Cornish on Saturday.
Joshua returns to The O2 after making the London landmark his home, achieving the toughest wins of his burgeoning professional career to date against Denis Bakhtov and Kevin Johnson respectively.
The 25-year-old has been so far and is a staggering 1/100 favourite against his unbeaten opponent.
After just two years as a professional, AJ is already BoxRec’s second-ranked British heavyweight, having KO’d all of his 13 competitors each within three rounds.
But his 14th fight should be his hardest.
Cornish is nicknamed ‘The Highlander’, having fought the majority of his 21 bouts in his native Scotland.
That perhaps suggests his unbeaten record is a flattering one and, as expected, he is a 12/1 underdog to cause a major upset.
Rightly, the focus is on Joshua to continue honing his immense promise.
The golden boy of British boxing, who has never needed a fourth round or beyond, is 3/50 to win by KO on Saturday and 30/100 to get the job done in rounds one to three.
At 6ft 8in, Cornish is the bigger of the two men and will certainly plan on testing Joshua’s chin.
His 57 per cent knock-out ratio – against fighters of significantly lower standard to his forthcoming opponent – hardly inspires confidence, though, which is why the 28-year-old is 20/1 to win by KO.
Such an outcome – along with the fight going the distance – is unlikely.
Joshua will start by demonstrating his power before unleashing his huge straight right on Cornish, who is 12/5 to be KO’d in the second round.
It should be another early night for the heavyweight division’s next big thing.
