Anthony Joshua bans mum from watching his fight against Wladimir Klitschko

Anthony Joshua bans mum from watching his fight against Wladimir Klitschko

Anthony Joshua has banned his mother, Yeta, from attending his world heavyweight title fight with Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley on Saturday.

The 27-year-old, who said his 13 weeks of preparation has pushed him to a whole new level, has not allowed his mother to see him fight since the London 2012 Olympics because he is worried she would distract him in the ring.

 In an emotional goodbye on Twitter, Joshua posted a picture of him embracing Yeta alongside the message: “See you on Sunday mum x.”

His father, Robert, will be at Wembley, but Yeta will wait at home for the phone call, telling her the fight is over.

“My old man will be there again, but I don’t really let my mum come to my fights,” said Joshua.

“I’ve banned her. It’s not a place where you want to see your kid, I don’t think, at a fight. My dad can watch it, but not my mum.

“She is confident enough in me to watch, but I would rather she not be there. One of my cousins will call her after the fight. She enjoys it all, though, and she gets a few freebies.”

Joshua, Yeta’s only son, still lives with his social worker mum in north London.

She admitted she gets really nervous when he fights, adding “I do worry about him.”

The 27-year-old Joshua, who is unbeaten in 18 bouts since turning professional in 2013, said he was not concerned about the punishment he could take in the ring because of his high-intensity training programme.

“I’ve been pushed to places I’ve never been pushed before,’’ Joshua told the BBC. “I think I take more punishment in the gym than I do in fights.

“Sometimes I try things and they don’t work and I’ve broken my ribs, my hand, dislocated shoulders in the gym but we get it right for the fight.

“I’ve been training under the dark light so I can shine under the bright lights on April 29.’’

Klitschko, 41, who went unbeaten for 11 years before losing the belts to Tyson Fury in 2015, has 64 wins against four defeats.

He will be hoping to seize Joshua’s IBF crown as well as the vacant WBA and IBO titles.

Joshua expects a tough fight and saying, it will be one of the defining fights of his career when he faces the Ukrainian in front of the largest British boxing crowd for nearly 80 years.

“It is one of them. If this was towards the end of my career, I would say: “This is the defining fight that’s going to write the history books,’’ the London 2012 Olympics champion added.