Sugar Ray Leonard has told Anthony Joshua he must crack America if he ever wants to join the boxing greats.
In an interview with SunSport, the 62-year-old shared his thoughts on the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight champion and has watched Joshua closely for the past two fights.
“It all boils down to what Anthony Joshua wants and what he believes in,” said Leonard. “You have to ask him the question: what do you want to be? How do you want people to remember you?
“Do you want to just be remembered here or global? I’m sure it’s global. In America they know the name Anthony Joshua but they have not all seen him. There are a lot of boxing fans, millions of boxing fans, but they have not all seen what he is about yet.
READ ALSO Barca plans 2019 Asia tour
“But that being said, he is going down the right road. America will be the next key,” he said.
Leonard has been ringside at Joshua’s last two fights against Joseph Parker in Cardiff and Alexander Povetkin at Wembley.
“I was in Cardiff for the Parker fight so I’d had a taste of the Joshua mayhem over here before Wembley. They absolutely love him, they support him and I truly believe he feeds off that. He is getting better and better,” Sugar Ray Leonard added.
“We have seen big support in the past but this is just spectacular. This is huge. But then we know why: he’s visceral, he’s smart, he’s articulate, he’s giving, he’s a nice guy and he’s a good champion.
“He is doing what he is doing over here but to recreate it in America… that is the key. That is indeed the key and the purpose.”