ANTHONY JOSHUA and Floyd Mayweather have formed a friendship in recent years – which could now see them working alongside each other.
Mayweather first reached out to AJ in 2016 when the heavyweight was in Rio for the Olympics, but their schedules did not line up.
The following year, they met at a meet and greet event for fans, and struck a bond.
When Joshua beat Wladimir Klitschko in April 2017, the pair were set to rematch in Las Vegas.
So AJ took a break out in Sin City, and after Mayweather found out, he hosted the British superstar and gave him behind the scenes access as he prepared to fight UFC star Conor McGregor.
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Joshua’s camp manager David Ghansa told the Daily Mail: “It was a holiday but we were also out there looking for training bases.
“While we were out there we got a message from Mayweather asking what hotel we were staying at.
“We told him and all of a sudden, maybe an hour after, he was in the underground car park with all his mates and loads of Rolls Royces.
“The hotel desk called our room and said Floyd is waiting for you in the car park.
“It was crazy. From that point on he basically hosted us for the rest of our time there.
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“We went to nightclubs with him and he even closed off his gym so we could watch him spar.
“He was preparing to fight Conor McGregor at the time and it was just an unbelievable experience.”
RINGSIDE SEAT
Joshua’s rematch with Klitschko never materialised, and Mayweather beat McGregor in ten rounds, retiring afterwards.
The two had not seen each other since then, until this December when AJ beat Kubrat Pulev at Wembley Arena.
Mayweather, 44, was a surprise guest ringside after calling at the last minute.
Ghansa recalled: “On the day of the Pulev fight I got a FaceTime call at 1am. I didn’t recognise the number but I answered it anyway.
“It was Floyd and he was like: ‘Where’s Anthony?’ I was like, ‘It’s 1am and he is fighting today!’
“He’d just touched down and asked if he could come to the fight.
“He’d had his Covid tests and everything so we managed to sort out a ticket for him at the last minute.”
NEW TRAINER?
Joshua’s win has set him up with a super-fight against rival Tyson Fury, 32, for the undisputed titles.
And Mayweather – who announced plans to become a trainer last year after the death of his uncle and former coach Roger – claimed he would be working with AJ.
He told entrepreneur Rob Moore: “I look forward to working with Anthony Joshua real soon, we communicate all the time, we talk all the time.
“I’ve met Tyson Fury on a few occasions, great guy, very interesting, after the fight I like to see him sing.
“I haven’t seen him fight a lot of times, I’ve seen him fight probably only twice. I’ve only seen Tyson Fury fight twice, against Deontay Wilder.
“It’s a very intriguing match-up, you can never say what’s going to happen in the sport of boxing.
“Both guys are great competitors. Like I say, me and Anthony Joshua talk on the regular, so I look forward to working with Anthony Joshua.”
It is not yet clear the capacity in which Mayweather will help out Joshua, 31.
Head trainer Robert McCracken has led AJ to both Olympic gold and unified heavyweight titles.
And Joshua has his own management stable, 258.
But there would not be too many better advisors than Mayweather, who has beaten the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Canelo Alvarez and Oscar De La Hoya.
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