Anthony Joshua’s nutritionist revealed what it takes to fuel a heavyweight champion – ahead of his huge fight with Wladimir Klitschko .
Undefeated Joshua faces his biggest fight on April 29 when he takes on Klitschko at Wembley Stadium.
While his training in the gym is important, his preparation in the kitchen is also vital to his success – with expert Mark Ellison managing his every calorie.
And there are a lot of them, topping 5,000 on intense days where he will spend three to four hours in the gym. A Joshua day consists of five eggs, two slices of wholemeal toast, Greek yoghurt and fruit for a packed breakfast.
Lunch is a hearty portion of fish – either salmon or tuna – two baked potatoes and salad.
And to end the day, Joshua will eat chicken, white rice, pitta bread or mashed potatoes and vegetables for dinner.For every kilo of his 113kg body weight, Joshua requires six to eight grams of carbohydrates, two grams of protein and one gram of fat.
“It is a s***-ton of calories,” Ellison told Betway. “Josh is a freak.
“There’s no other heavyweights like him – that are as lean as him, as athletic as him, that can cope with the training he does.
“He’s the only heavyweight I know that trains like a middleweight. “He is an unbelievable athlete. “He’s unbelievably committed, he focuses on the details and he works his absolute nuts off.
“The challenge for me is making sure he eats enough.
“We ease a lot in with liquids. These are extra calories that we have to hide in his diet so that it is palatable.
“If you’re not doing the right training, and your diet’s a load of s***, you’re wasting your time.”
However, Joshua has revealed ahead of his showdown with Wladimir Klitschko that he is aiming to become a billionaire through boxing. The IBF champion (18-0 KO18) will next defend his heavyweight title against the Ukrainian (64-4 KO53) at Wembley Stadium in front of 90,000 fans on April 29, live on Sky Sports Box Office, with the vacant WBA ‘super’ title also on the line.
The 27-year-old Olympic gold medal winner insists his main aim is to become one of the world’s best fighters, but he has also revealed he has lofty financial goals, claiming he “needs to be a billionaire”. “I’ve still got five years, more maybe, before I get to be one of the best fighters in the world,” Joshua told GQ.
“It’s hard and I do understand the 10,000-hour rule and all that. But the thing is, I don’t get paid for overtime. Do you know what I’m saying?
Joshua next faces former WBO, WBA, IBF and IBO champion Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley
“But for me, it hasn’t been quick because I know the reality of my journey.
“When I first started, the aim was to become a multimillionaire. But now there are ordinary people, grandmas and granddads, who are worth millions just because of property prices. So the new school of thought is that I need to be a billionaire. Joshua won his IBF world title against American Charles Martin in April 2016
“Being a millionaire is good, but you have to set your sights higher. If I’m making £10m from my next fight, my next target has to be making 10 times that. And if I get to £100m-150m, why not go for the billion? I know self-made billionaires. It’s hard, but it’s possible.”
Ahead of his clash with Klitschko, with whom Joshua sparred in 2014 at the 41-year-old’s Austrian training base, the Brit has insisted 2017 is the year where he will invest everything into boxing.
Joshua delivered the 18th knockout of his professional career against Eric Molina last time out
“I would honestly say I am smarter now. What’s around me hasn’t changed – my team, the people I trust and love, that’s the same. And my routine hasn’t changed,” Joshua added.
“The struggle is still the same: camp, train, fight, rest, recover. But I am always learning and improving as a fighter and as a man.
Joshua v Klitschko from Wembley is live on Sky Sports Box Office on April 29
“The big change, though, is this is the year when I have to embrace my job more. To get to where I want to go, to achieve what I want to achieve, I have to invest all I have in boxing.”