Anthony Joshua’s clash with Wladimir Klitschko feels like the Thriller in Manila and the Rumble in the Jungle rolled into one for the Ukrainian’s trainer.
Joshua’s IBF title, as well as the vacant WBA ‘super’ title, are on the line when the two heavyweights collide in front of a sell-out 90,000 crowd at Wembley Stadium on April 29.
“For me, this is my Thriller in Manila because I wasn’t around for that,” Klitschko’s trainer Johnathon Banks told Sky Sports News HQ at his fighter’s Austrian training base.
“This is my Rumble in the Jungle. This is the highest mountain you can be at. The bottom line, the goal for me, is to win.”
Read also: Boxing: Joshua To Defend IBF Belt Against Klitschko April 29
Both fighters are former Olympic champions, with Klitschko claiming super-heavyweight gold at the Atlanta Games before Joshua landed the same title in front of his home crowd at London 2012.
Banks says that illustrates the quality of both boxers and insists the outcome of the titanic showdown all boils down to desire.
“This fight is about will. Power has nothing to do with it, both guys have power,” he said.
“You can’t say one has a gold medal because both have a gold medal. This fight all comes to down to will and who wants it most. That’s all it is. Whoever works the hardest and whoever wants it the most and you’re going to see that on fight night.
“This is not a one-way street – this is a street that goes both ways.”
