Anthony Joshua motivation is never a problem in his fights but still, to this day, he wants to fight one of his old rivals more than anyone.

We are now six days out from heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua’s latest fight when he takes on Carlos Takam next Saturday in front of 80,000 fans in Cardiff, Wales.

In many ways Takam could offer a better stylistic fight for fans to watch compared to previous opponent Kubret Pulev of Bulgaria.

Pulev was forced to withdraw from the fight due to a shoulder injury. Takam likes to come forward and throw heavy bombs and is arguably a bigger puncher than Pulev.

If he comes with this aggressive intent against Joshua, fans could see a good old fashion heavyweight dust up.

But it turns out Takam wasn’t the first replacement opponent that Joshua wanted. If the IBO, WBA (Super) and IBF champion had his way, he would have chosen one man first.

Speaking to The Mirror, Joshua said:

“Whyte’s the first person I asked to fight in Cardiff.”

He was of course referring to Dillian Whyte.

A rival of his going back to the amateur days. He met him in the pro ranks only a couple of years ago and knocked him out.

Before delivering a sickening uppercut to take Whyte out however, Joshua was made to come through some adversity early on.

Whyte buckled him early on in the bout and nearly stopped him. The build-up to the fight was intense, too. Whyte berated him with trash talk beforehand:

(Hat tip AK Productionz YouTube):

Clearly this still is unfinished business for Joshua. Whyte, for his part, is currently on course for a potential shot at WBC champion Deontay Wilder.

Time will tell if a Joshua vs Whyte rematch will happen in the future or not.

The Anthony Joshua motivation for such a rematch won’t be a problem on suspects, judging by the above.