Original subtitles

The following programme contains strong language and adult humour.

'Ten years ago, Rob Beckett and I met on the comedy circuit.

And we've been friends ever since.'

We complement each other. He's sad, I'm happy.

We'll always have a smile about things.

Just a shame that smile is so punchable.

(LAUGHS)

'Now we're putting our friendship to the test...'

Why are we in this vehicle? The bigger the better.

'..as we travel the world...'

I'll get out and smack your arse -with this. -OK, get out then.

'..to meet some of the greatest athletes on the planet.'

'As well as some of the biggest stars...'

Hello, Shania!

'..from the world of music and entertainment.'

'This week we were going to meet the Heavyweight Champion of the World,

Anthony Joshua.'

'We're gonna catch up with him as he sets out

to win the two remaining belts in his division.

Which would make him the first undisputed Heavyweight champion

since Lennox Lewis 20 years ago.'

COMMENTATOR: Liftoff for AJ!

'Last time we met, Rob made a complete mug of himself.'

I can't believe this dude!

(LAUGHTER) He's done me off!

'And there was no doubt who hit it off better with AJ.'

Who have you more of a connection with, me or Rob Beckett?

My man. Yes, mate!

'So I'm hoping to repair the damage and win him over this time.'

He's quite muscly, ain't he?

'We'll be joined by AJ's friend Tony Bellew.'

Do a rollover, son. Straight over.

What the fuck was that? I feel sick already.

'We'll be watching AJ in action...

at a world title fight.'

Come on, AJ!

'As we go toe to toe with the colossus that is Anthony Joshua.'

Christ, no!

'Well, I'm back! Are you pleased to see me?

Yes!'

AJ, we're back again. The journey continues.

What annoyed me about the last one we did,

was that AJ really liked you.

You know, like, I wanted to be his pal,

because I'm a big boxing fan.

He's one of the coolest men on the planet.

Do you not think you come across as a bit sort of...

You're yappy. I'm a bit needy, a bit too full-on.

In your heart, you're a wonderful, wonderful person.

I love you, but...

encased in that...

it's like the tiniest Russian doll is the good Rob Beckett.

And then around that are six other progressively larger Russian dolls

of an annoying prick.

Do you see what I mean? Sure.

Once you know the tiny one's in there,

you go, "I'd put up with this."

So someone like AJ's just seeing the Russian doll that's a prick?

And also it was almost like you'd put on another...

another coat of prick before you met him.

Because you were so keen to - I got him to sign too many gloves.

Eight gloves, right?

I texted him as well. So bleak.

I texted him the day after we met,

saying, "Hey, AJ -" Jesus Christ!

"..good to meet you."

I bet you did a little... tried to put a gag in it.

I think I did an emoji boxing glove.

Which I think I regret. The day after?

The day after. And what did he say in his reply?

He didn't reply. That's right, he didn't reply.

So, then, he hasn't replied to that? No.

So you text him again a month later and what do you say in that text?

"Hey, AJ -" Did you say, "Hey, AJ" again?

Yeah. "Hey, AJ, my tour show next week, do you fancy coming?"

So desperate. On the beg. It gets worse.

So, then, that was a week before.

No reply.

"Hey, AJ -" Oh, my God!

Did you honestly?

A third text?

"Hey, AJ. I've got you on the guest list plus..." I think about ten.

"I'm gonna have to, like, release some -"

Oh, my God! You put the false pressure on him?

Oh, my God!

It had sold well, I did want to try and sell them if he weren't coming.

Nothing, and I've not replied since.

Well done, playing it cool.

Send him a text now. I can't, I'm driving.

No, no, no, no.

Dude. No, dude.

Just let me text him.

No, he's gonna think I'm a dick.

Anthony Joshua. Oh, God.

I wasn't sure but I thought it'd be funny.

"Hello, mate. Got you on my guest list for provisionally coming -"

God, provisionally? Provisionally?

(MAKES CHOKING SOUND)

This is awful. Please stop reading.

Oh, my God, there's another one! No!

Mate!

What did I say? What did I say?

I don't want to hear!

I don't want to hear. What have I said?

"Good luck tomorrow, mate. It's just a hobby that's got out of hand.

Enjoy it. Beckett."

Oh, that's awful!

That's awful. Cos we were chatting about... Oh, no!

Oh, God, no!

(LAUGHS) Oh! Eugh!

"Good luck tomorrow." I'm giving him advice.

"It's just a hobby that's got out of hand."Why give advice?

Why sign it "Beckett" like your mate?

I'm trying to be friends with him.

I'm really trying hard to be friends with Anthony Joshua.

Fucking hell, that's good!

When we interview him, you'll bring that up immediately.

100 per cent. First thing.

'For AJ to become the undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World,

he needs to win all the belts in his division.

Only two remain.

So we had tickets to watch the 2018 fight against Joseph Parker,

and the WBO belt was up for grabs.

A victory against the then undefeated New Zealander

would see AJ take another step closer

to becoming the undisputed champion.

And not only had I got us brilliant seats for the fight,

I also called in some favours and got us backstage for the weigh-in.'

We've got, like, VIP access.

We'll get to chat to the boxers, speak to the promoters

and watch the weigh-in up close and personal.

Can you do me a massive favour? What?

Let me know how that goes.

What? You're coming. Why aren't you coming?

Am I coming to watch two blokes weigh themselves? No.

I'm out. It's part of the show!

It's part of the event!

It's in an arena, there'll be 4,000 people there.

Why don't you want to come?

I don't want to join 4,000 mugs watching two grown men weigh themselves.

If we did an episode about hip-hop,

I'd turn up to the battle or whatever it is they do.

Yeah, bruv, but if I invited you to a rap battle,

I wouldn't say, "Can you also turn up

to when they weigh themselves the night before?"

Do they weigh themselves? No! Because that's shit!

'The arena was at capacity

and it was time for legendary boxing announcer Michael Buffer

to welcome the main event.'

Let's meet the fighters.

Joseph Parker!

'The crowd weren't too happy to see Parker.'

But considering he was about to come face to face with Anthony Joshua,

I was actually surprised by how relaxed he looked.

And then the moment we'd all been waiting for.'

And now making his entrance to the official weigh-in,

Anthony... Joshua!

I'm gonna try and high-five him. I've got to, ain't I?

(MUSIC PLAYING)

AJ. Yo, mate.

Are you OK? Yeah, good.

Yes! Just normal mates.

That's what I do with my normal mates,

just wait behind the barrier to say hello.

So happy.

♪ DRAKE: God's Plan

It's the big man. It's Beckett. He pulled me in.

Fuck you, Romesh!

♪ Bad things

'Now down to business as the fighters prepared for the scales.'

He's quite muscly, ain't he?

'AJ was looking absolutely ripped.

And Parker looked, well...less ripped.

But I still wouldn't say that to his face.'

This is the stare down now. Head to head.

They're not breaking the stare.

'Watching AJ and Parker stare each other down was intense.

But it got me thinking about my beef with Romesh.'

He's an idiot - 4,000 people, electric atmosphere.

He's supposed to be a boxing fan. If he was, he'd be here.

'And like a true fan of the sport, I managed to grab a few words

with the one and only Michael Buffer.'

Let's get ready to rumble!

You're slicker than a buttered otter.

You look amazing. The announcement brings so much to the event.

The hairs on the back of your neck go up.

Were there other words that you trialled and then settled on...

I didn't just come up with this right away.

I tried, you know, going back over 30 years ago,

"Ladies and gentlemen, fasten your seat belts."

No, it doesn't work, does it?

"Let's have it, you mug!"

Yeah, you know, the great Muhammad Ali had that phrase,

"I'm ready to rumble, rumble."

So that word was there.

So I said, "Let's get ready to rumble."

It's become a moment in boxing, do you know what I mean?

Incredible. You've seen it all, you've been in it for years.

How good is AJ? You've seen the best.

No doubt about it, he's a superstar. He transcends boxing.

Mike Tyson, people loved his fights cos he was knocking guys out.

AJ does the same thing, and then he's Anthony Joshua.

The full package. He's this handsome, articulate,

charismatic young man.

What we have here is a rock star in boxing.

Look at him. What a man!

I think I'm in love.

I think that's what I need in my life.

Imagine him in the bedroom. I bet he's an animal.

You're sprawled out waiting for him and he's, like,

"Let's get ready to rumble!" Do what you want, Buffer.

Buffer me up, bruv.

'Romesh and I are on a mission to meet up with Anthony Joshua

as he endeavours to win the two remaining belts in his division

and be crowned the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.

Our journey began last year as we set off

to see AJ fight Joseph Parker in front of 80,000 fans

at Cardiff's Principality Stadium.

But as excited as I was,

something a little bit embarrassing had happened.'

I stepped off a kerb and rolled my ankle.

I've got a compressed fracture or something.

I can't walk on it. So I've got this stupid moon boot.

'It wasn't an ideal situation.

Hobbling around a massive stadium was out of the question.

But luckily I had a backup plan.'

Look at it! Why am I having to wheel you?

-Cos I can't walk! -Am I like your brown butler? This is bullshit.

Rob has injured himself walking.

Rob injured himself doing something

that my three-year-old son smashes out every day without incident.

This way, Romesh. Sorry, mate. Exterminate!

I'm like a Cockney Dalek, ain't I?

This is doing my head in. Round here. Down here.

Not only do I not feel guilty I wasn't at the weigh-in,

I'm annoyed that I'm here now.

Romesh, this way. Excuse me, sorry.

It's seven hours before the fight. What are we doing here?

Sorry, mate. Romesh. This way. Sorry.

'The reason we had arrived so early was I'd arranged something

that might even cheer Romesh up a bit.

We'd been given permission to step into the ring

and walk on the very canvas where AJ would be fighting later.

It was a huge moment for me.'

How am I gonna get in?

(LAUGHTER) I'm in.

But arguably the most degrading moment of my life.

MAN TESTING MICROPHONE: Two, two, one.

It's exciting, ain't it?

No. No, it's not.

You're in the ring before a Heavyweight Championship unification fight.

You can't pay for this experience.

No, and nor would you want to. It's empty.

Well, where were you yesterday? You didn't come to the weigh-in!

Two men getting on some scales is not an event.

It is! It's part of it!

Two men are weighing themselves. My God, are you serious?

It matters. And AJ said hello. He gave me a fist bump and chest bump.

Did he? Yeah.

I was, like, "What's up?" and he was, like, "Yeah, Rob!"

Imagine what he'd have done if he'd have seen me.

I've got our seats sorted, -over there. -Over where?

Over there. Don't look down there, look up.

Higher. That little box up there.

You're taking the piss?

What do you mean?

We might as well have watched it in Crawley as from the box.

You're in a corporate box. It's a brilliant view.

If I sat you there, I could've got you the best seats ringside.

You'll only have one eye on it. The other will be halfway up the stadium

-It's a waste! -We could've just watched it at home.

I know, but it's the atmosphere, ain't it? Better atmosphere.

Last time at the Haye-Bellew fight, Rob sorted out a platform.

I was irritated about that cos I couldn't sit down.

So in response to that, he's sorted out something worse.

He's gone, "Were you annoyed at how far away we were?

Let me sort that out." Now we're further away.

It's so annoying. I've been looking for you.

What are you doing?

Just having a little chat.

See you in a minute, yeah? OK.

See what I mean? Even that was so annoying.

(SQUEAKY VOICE) "I've been looking for you!"

Wheel him away!

'Finally people were starting to fill the 80,000 seats...

almost all of which were closer to the ring than ours.

And with no sense of irony, Robert arranged for us

to meet the man with the best seat in the house...'

Hello, how are you doing? Romesh.

'..the voice of Sky Boxing, Adam Smith.'

What fitness, what heart from Klitschko!

But the fight has been stopped!

Lift-off for AJ!

Any tips if we were to be commentators?

Hold the mic.

We've got the mic. Do you have to press it right up to -

Oh, yeah. Let's give it a go. Go on, Rob.

And AJ connects with Parker and he's gone to sleep,

like he's just watched the box set of It's Not Rocket Science

with Romesh Ranganathan and Ben Miller.

You love each other, you two, don't you?

You absolutely love each other.

AJ wins, what is your line,

not only to the thousands here but to, as Michael Buffer says,

the millions around the world?

That's a lot of pressure, ain't it?

It's all over and...

AJ has defeated Parker! World domination is at his feet!

It's lift-off again for AJ.

Very good!

That's excellent.

Romesh, do you want to have a go?

Hasn't he done well?

(GUFFAWS)

The boy from Watford. Yeah.

Well, he's done well there, ain't he?

Put the mic down, it's time for us to get prepared.

We've got a long night. Rob, good to see you. Romesh.

Cheers, thank you.

Hurry up or I'll dock your wages.

Mate, I will leave you in the corridor.

We're nearly there, look.

We can have a nice little settle down and watch the boxing.

You're taking it too wide, Romesh. What have I told you?

Mate.

Romesh!

All right, mate?

Don't worry, I'll get the door.

♪ LL Cool J

♪ Is hard as...

Be honest with me. It is too far away, isn't it?

It depends. Too far away from what?

Too far away to see the fight clearly.

♪ LL COOL J: Rock The Bells

Do you reckon you can take a punch?

Could I be in a boxing match? No.

No. What feature would you worry about getting hurt?

That's the advantage that I've got.

I don't care about my face.

And that makes me dangerous as a boxer.

♪ LL COOL J: Rock The Bells

You've got the eye, haven't you?

If it was my good eye, I guess it'd be my most precious...

That's your good eye there and then you've got your other eye.

But one big punch...

bang...

put it straight.

Do you know what I mean? Yeah.

Can I put these on? Go on.

Oh, you've got different ones, one for each eye?

Look at my face. Do you think they're the same prescription?

That one's got loads, ain't it? Yes.

If you were a boxer, you'd have to have such a great defence.

Cos you would arguably have the most punchable face in the sport.

Know what I mean? I think I do have a punchable face.

(BELL RINGS)

'The undercard had finished and the atmosphere was building.

But there was one thing I hadn't warned Romesh about.

Just before the main event, it is boxing tradition

for the fans to partake in a sing-a-long

to the Neil Diamond classic Sweet Caroline.'

Here we go!

Yes, Romesh!

Sweet Caroline.

(CROWD CHANTING)

Go on.

Sing along.

♪ Where it began

'This felt like a low point in the evening.

But things were about to get worse.'

♪ Touching hands

I don't know him, he's a stranger. It's bringing people together.

♪ Reaching out

♪ Touching me

♪ Touching you

♪ Sweet Caroline

♪ Da-da-da

♪ Good times never seemed so good

So good, so good!

♪ I'd be inclined

♪ Da-da-da

'I could see how desperate Rob was for me to sing along

with his new bunch of mates.'

Come on!

'Sometimes, it's a case of if you can't beat them, join them.'

♪ Touching you

♪ Sweet Caroline

♪ Da-da-da

♪ Good times never seemed so good

So good, so good!

♪ I'd be inclined

♪ Da-da-da

♪ To believe they never would

♪ Oh, no, no

Corporate hospitality, this is.

Go with it.

♪ Sweet Caroline

♪ Da-da-da

Those people should not be allowed to touch us.

So good, so good!

'But Rom would have to suck it up,

because the fighters were about to make their appearances.

(HAKA BEING CHANTED)

That's the haka.

Intimidating, the haka, isn't it?

'And as Parker made his entrance to the ring,

it was finally the moment we'd been waiting for.'

Unbelievable. It is unbelievable.

Imagine what it'd be like if we were near enough to enjoy it.

(LAUGHS)

He is the Heavyweight pride of the United Kingdom,

the reigning, defending, undefeated,

WBA, IBF, IBO Heavyweight Champion of the world!

(CROWD CHEERING)

Holy shit! Look at that lot!

Anthony... Joshua!

I'm excited now. Officially excited.

Ladies and gentlemen.

Let's get ready to rumble!

(RAUCOUS CHEERING)

(BELL DINGS)

The glamorous Heavyweight division. Who takes home the treasure?

Here we go.

'As AJ and Parker got to work in the ring...'

Joshua with a right hand.

'..I finally had something to admit.'

You know what? I can't really see what's happening.

Try looking at the screen.

I'm gonna have to look at the screen.

A big one.

Did he catch him? Hard to tell, even on the screen.

We're actually too far away from the screen.

-Well done. -We couldn't be further from that screen.

We're possibly in the worst position.

If we were under the ring, that's the only place worse.

It is far away, isn't it?

'In the meantime, AJ was clinically racking up the rounds.'

Good jab. Solid from Joshua.

'But for some reason, people around us were getting distracted.'

(VOICES RAISED)

Someone's doing a haka at me.

No one's watching the boxing.

Corporate hospitality.

'There were only a few rounds left.

So we did our best to focus on the action.'

Oh, caught him!

AJ's unloading, AJ's unloading! Come on!

Oh! He rocked him a bit there.

Good work from Joshua. There's a cut for Parker.

Oh, he's hurt him! Yes!

Come on, AJ.

(BELL DINGS)

Anthony Joshua goes the distance for the first time.

It will go to the score cards.

He's done what he needed to do.

He could've really gone for him but it would've been risky.

The thing that I've enjoyed most is being proven right about the seats.

Yeah.

What do you mean? What's wrong with them?

All right, I'll give you that.

All three judges scored for the winner by unanimous decision.

The fighting heart of the United Kingdom.

He won! He won, yes! He won!

Anthony... Joshua!

'Defeating Parker was a huge step on AJ's road to unification.

So we headed ringside...'

A wheelchair gets you everywhere.

'..to grab a word with the champ and congratulate him.'

Ready? You've got to do it. He's your mate.

You do it. You love him.

AJ?

AJ? AJ?

It's Romesh! AJ? Remember me?

Go and get him.

AJ?

You lost him? He didn't even look at me.

He almost sort of looked at me and went, "Nah."

Not gonna lie, Rom, that was embarrassing.

That was really bad.

If that was me, that would haunt my dreams.

That was one of the biggest shutdowns -I've ever had. -Awful.

He definitely heard you but just zoned out.

I thought he was your mate?

'Obviously I was happy for AJ.

But as he left the arena shaking hands with every single one of his fans,

I couldn't help but feel a little bit pissed off about it.'

For me, I finished on a huge high.

If somebody said to me, "What's the worst that could happen?"

I'd say AJ blanking me after a fight.

If they said, "How could you make it worse? "

I'd say, "Rob Beckett was watching."

The only thing that could make it worse.

And you had to sit in corporate hospitality. What'll you say to him?

I'm gonna mainly ask him why he made me look an arsehole after this fight.

I shouted "AJ" four times like a mug.

I don't even shout at my kids like that

when they're about to get run over.

I shouted for AJ and he blanked me. That's all.

If he doesn't answer that question,

we're not chatting about promotional, "What's your next fight?"

I don't give a shit, mate. I've been mugged off.

AJ! AJ!

AJ! AJ!

'AJ had seen off the tough New Zealander Joseph Parker,

meaning there was only one belt in the Heavyweight division left to win.

And we were back on the road.' (ROB FARTS)

Oh, my...

I'm holding the window. You can't open it.

Romesh. Let me open the window!

My God, that stinks! Rob, open the window. Rob!

Rob, open the fucking window!

(LAUGHS)

And you're a vegan. I reckon that's against veganism what you sniffed.

'After Romesh's ringside humiliation and AJ ignoring my texts,

obviously we weren't doing a very good job of impressing him.

So before we had our chat with the champ,

I though we could spend an afternoon with a genuine mate of his.'

I've arranged for Tony Bellew to watch some boxing with us.

How well do you get on?

I saw him when I was really drunk after a boxing match.

How did it go? I think I annoyed him.

If you'd said you'd seen him sober, I think you'd have annoyed him.

You drunk... Yeah, I am bad drunk, ain't I?

'In 2017, AJ clashed with Wladimir Klitschko

in a Heavyweight superfight at Wembley Stadium.

It was hands down the fight of the year.'

Spine-tingling anticipation.

'As Tony was there that night,

who better to relive AJ's past glory,

as well as take a look ahead to what the future might hold for the champ?'

Tony. Gentlemen.

Thank you very much for coming. Thanks for having me.

You know Romesh. I know Rom, superstar.

Take a seat. And his weak friend.

OK. Thanks for coming, David Haye was actually busy.

Let's get to the boxing.

The time has arrived. Light the touch paper.

AJ v Klitschko, you were there. I was.

-Ringside. -Amazing.

AJ's defining moment in the sport so far.

90,000 people, was it? 90,000.

London turned out for AJ, the whole country did.

Anthony Joshua is going for it in the 5th round.

Klitschko looks shaken!

I was looking at Klitschko in his corner.

I was looking and screaming, "He's exhausted! Put it on him!"

A left hook and Anthony Joshua cuts loose!

He's taking him out here! Down goes Klitschko!

Once you see Klitschko go down like that,

then you're waiting for AJ to wrap it up.

And then the longer it doesn't happen, because you're naive,

you're thinking, "I can't believe this hasn't finished now."

Joshua has predatory finishing instincts.

Can he do it in this class?

He's your pal. What's he like socially?

Is he just relaxed and calm?

Is he likely to ignore you if you repeatedly call his name?

The best way of saying it with AJ is, God's own,

he is exactly as he comes across.

Is he a good friend of yours?

Yeah, he's a friend. If you rang him now would he answer?

I'd like to think so but he's probably training.

People ask me if McIntyre would answer when I call.

"Oh, yeah, he's probably doing a work in progress."

If I text him - Seinfeld is at the gym now.

If I text him and ask can he take a call,

he'll text back and say yes or no.

Alan Carr, I know at 2:45 goes for a walk.

Ah, it's a big right hand.

You know it's bad when they go straight down like a lift.

So what was the atmosphere at ringside now?

I remember looking at Eddie and Eddie looking at me and thinking,

"Please, no."

There's hundreds of millions of pounds at stake here.

Not just a couple, hundreds of millions of pounds.

If Anthony loses this,

it's not over but it's back to the drawing board in a massive way.

What a right hand!

What does it feel like to get hit

with one of those heavyweight punches?

I can personally physically show you, or...

I can replicate the feeling without you actually getting punched.

I think I know which option you'll take.

Can we do the not punch in the face version?

Let's have a go.

Go outside? Come on, Rom, don't worry.

It's gonna be OK, champ. Let's go.

I like replicating getting punched. I'm up for it.

Boys, I'm gonna demonstrate

just exactly how to get that discombobulated effect

when you're boxing.

Watch this and then you're gonna try and replicate what I've done.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Shadow box. Poom, poom!

Stay balanced.

(LAUGHTER) That's so hard!

That was four.

There we go. Go again.

And again. Go on, straight over.

Stand up! Punch!

You're not dizzy at all. Cos he's rolling on his shoulder.

He's turning round on his shoulder. Pathetic. Romesh, show him how it's done.

So we roll over, straight over.

Oh, for fuck's sake!

(LAUGHTER)

Romesh, what the fuck was that?

Do a roll over, son.

What the hell's this? Put your hands flat.

Roll your head under and jump over.

I feel sick. Toss over.

-Was mine like that? -Yours was worse. At least he's having a go.

Up you get, quick, quick! Up!

Box, box, box!

Nice little few punches.

Keep up! Attack, Rom!

Do what you want to do. Show him what you feel about him!

Attack! Jesus Christ, call it a day.

Let's watch some more boxing.

People on their feet at ringside.

Ohh!

Just stretched his neck by about a metre.

Joshua's going for a big left hand!

And down he goes, the tired Ukrainian!

For the second time in the fight.

And this is Anthony Joshua's big chance!

Klitschko's absolutely exhausted.

He's done. He's just done, it's over.

It should've been stopped there for me.

What heart from Klitschko! But the fight has been stopped!

Lift-off for Anthony Joshua!

So happy when he done it. He's got it.

Remember what you said to him?

I said, "You are the fucking man."

I just said, "You are the fucking man, you've done it, champ."

What AJ's doing is helping us all as boxers in the same groups as him.

So when he fights, all British boxers should be, like,

"I'm behind him, I need him and want him to win."

As long as he's winning, British boxing is gonna be booming.

Anthony Joshua...

launches himself into the sporting elite.

'That 2017 win against Wladimir Klitschko

remains Joshua's biggest victory to date.

But two heavyweights stand between AJ and world domination -

Tyson Fury, who many regard as the boxer AJ needs to defeat

to call himself the best in the division...

..and the man wearing the only belt still eluding AJ,

the heavy-handed American Deontay Wilder.'

Say AJ beats Wilder in April.

Or Fury if Fury's got the belt by then,

and has all the belts undisputed.

And goes to you, "I'll fight you in Wembley Stadium."

90,000 people - absolute mills, that is.

That's like 15 million to you.

First two rounds, cos we're mates, I'll go easy on you.

OK, we're getting somewhere.

What about the next ten, though?

An opportunity for you to be

the undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World,

beating one of the greatest Heavyweights of the modern era.

Do you take that?

In all honesty, absolutely not, no.

It's not just the fact we're friends.

Have you seen the fucking size of him?

Intense, ain't he?

He stands next to me and puts his arms round me

and it's like man and child.

I don't need that in my life. Would you spurn him?

For the right price, I would.

-So you'd rather do that? -I'd rather do that than take a punch.

Who do you think is gonna win out of AJ and Wilder?

I'm gonna be totally honest.

I hope Anthony wins.

But it's a 50-50.

It's genuinely whoever lands first.

I was pretty adamant I was gonna fight Deontay Wilder.

I was ready to do the fight, it was on Sky broadcast...

When the filming stopped, I went over to him.

When Deontay's hand got mine, it covered my whole hand.

At that point, I was thinking, "What the fuck is going on here?"

Then he pulled me in and he hugged me.

As he hugged me, his arms went right round my whole body

and it's like he scratched the side of his own face.

I just thought... At that point something went off in my mind.

I just went, "No way!" (LAUGHTER)

I just remember thinking,

"I will never get in the ring with this... he's a human cricket."

His arms covered my body and he's got serious power

and I thought, "OK."

What could AJ's legacy be?

Anything that he wants to be if he keeps going.

This kid has the potential to go down as one of the all-time greats.

If he unifies all the belts, defends them and cleans out the division,

he's gonna be one of the greatest Heavyweights of all time.

Tony, thank you very much. It's been a pleasure. Really enjoyed it.

Thank you, Tony.

You said that like you really meant it.

Why don't you just tell me, "Fuck off, we've had our money's worth"?

We've got enough for the show. Fuck off.

Cheers, Tony. I'll see you out.

See you, mate. Yeah, yeah, piss off.

Yes. Yes.

♪ MOP: Ante Up

Ante up!

'Rob and I were back on the road and off to meet Anthony Joshua.

Since we'd hung out with Tony Bellew,

AJ had added another victory to his record,

stopping the resilient Alexander Povetkin

in front of a packed Wembley Stadium.'

I'm worried.

What are you worried about?

We're gonna see AJ.

I'm gonna ask this prick what his problem is.

We've got two things. I'm very excited and scared.

One thing, we need to ask him why he completely blanked you,

which I'm excited about -

I've got a pretty good idea why.

And... Why?

I think I have been mugged off by association.

What?

Let's look at the evidence.

The last time we met him, he liked me more than you.

-Correct. -And then what contact has there been

between Rob and Rom and Anthony Joshua since then?

What contact has there been?

Your stalker text messages.

And now we go up to him at the fight and he doesn't speak to me.

I think it's obvious what's happened.

He's scared of you.

I don't means scared you're gonna beat him up,

scared he's gonna find you in his garden.

I don't. I think he just couldn't be bothered with you.

I don't think it's my fault.

Shall I tell you something?

If I was AJ, I'd be a bit worried about meeting us for a second time.

He's pissed you off, made you look like a chimp.

And then he's mugged me off to the level

that a complete stranger told me I looked bad.

Mate, I've been a bit keen and he's ignored me.

He has publicly humiliated you. That's where we're at.

Strangers were noticing it.

I'm gonna ask the muggy little rat what his problem is.

I think this might be quite a fractious conversation with AJ.

Yeah, we've both got crosses to bear.

Here's a question. If he mugs us both off,

if we both attacked him at the same time,

do you think we could take him?

No. No way, mate.

Two of us?

Mate, have you seen him? We went for him, hell for leather.

How are you gonna attack him?

Are we tooled up? I'll get behind you.

All right, OK, you're behind me.

I run up to AJ and try and punch him.

He dodges it, punches me in the face, kills me.

You run up.

You go to punch him, he dodges it, punches you in the face, kills you.

What other outcome is there?

We've got to surprise him.

So...

To be fair, you could scream his name 15 times, he won't turn round!

You might be able to sneak up on him!

I was trying to get the interview -for the show. -He's your mate.

He was, until you texted him like Single White Male.

He don't like either of us, all right?

He doesn't like me because I'm mates with you.

You overstepped the mark somewhere.

How did I overstep the mark? We'll find out.

You texted him four times. We'll find out.

There's a good Nike factory outlet down there.

Opposite a Nando's.

We don't have to talk the whole time, man.

'AJ had invited Romesh and I

to the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield,

where he'd given us exclusive access to his training camp.'

I'm always slightly ahead of you with walking.

It's cos I want you to open doors first. I get slightly nervous.

'We were moments away from what could be a pretty awkward interview

with the Heavyweight Champion of the World.'

Hello, mate, how you doing? Afternoon.

You good? Nice to see you.

How are you? Good, thanks.

You are basically smashing life.

No! What am I doing that's so -special? -Come on, mate.

You're on the verge of unifying the division,

you beat Klitschko in one of the best fights I've ever seen.

I enjoyed that. You are basically nailing it.

For me, the icing on the cake

is ignoring Rob Beckett's text messages.

Fucking hell, Rob. That was heavy.

That was heavy times on my life.

Be honest, did it start to get annoying?

It's not annoying but you've got to prioritise.

It's about a pecking order.

You've got people you actually want to interact with.

Family. Exactly, family.

Friends. Yeah, stay there.

What do you think is the etiquette when you've sent somebody four texts

without response? It's not that, it's fight week.

You did seem keen on coming to my show, though. Be honest.

You invited me to your show as well. You asked to come.

Fight week. You know those messages you texted?

"Hey, bro, I got those tickets."

"Listen, I put the tickets aside for you, mate.

The seats are still there if you want."

"Bruv, just about to go on stage, are you still coming?"

(LAUGHTER)

It has been a great chat!

Just gonna shoot.

Just gonna go home.

Anthony... Joshua!

Since the last time we saw you,

you had one of the best fights ever, the Klitschko fight.

Is there anything in particular that sticks out?

Klitschko is a tough competitor so I thought I'd treat him like everyone else.

So I got him down in Round 5.

And there's this picture of me roaring, hands in the air.

What I didn't realise, in the corner of my eye,

Klitschko's rising up like The Terminator.

Marching over to the corner like he's gonna take my head off.

What were you thinking at that moment?

When he got up? Yeah.

I honestly thought, "I'm gonna take him out."

You talk about moments.

At that moment was the best, cos I thought,

"I'm gonna do it in better fashion than anyone's done it.

I'm gonna take him out."

He knocked you down. Let's not get bogged down in it.

I slipped. You slipped?

-No, no. -He slipped and went down immediately.

(LAUGHTER)

Quite a strange slip. See you later, boys.

What an entrance!

Big left hand!

And AJ rocks Wembley all over again!

Too much for Alexander Povetkin.

You look a bit like Povetkin. Do I?

If we can get a shot next to him.

Short, square man. I don't think -he's this little. -He is.

Would I cause you trouble up close? What are you, 5...

5...like, 13.

Something like that. No, 5'8".

What, he's 5' 10", is he?

5'11", six foot, something like that.

Much taller. Let's leave it.

Heavyweight Champion of the World.

And you're still going for undisputed?

That's the ultimate aim in the next year or two?

It's a long-term strategy.

It's not, like, undisputed, there I am, sitting on the beach,

a couple of Coronas...

What do you think you'll have to achieve to have that moment -

"Smashed it, nobody can say anything to me"?

Fight the best - Fury, Wilder, Dillian Whyte rematch, Ortiz.

Then I've fought the best. Then you're done?

Who else do I need... There's no one else...

The English Povetkin. English Povetkin, maybe.

You'd do a lot of pay-per-view, -me fighting you. -Can you imagine?

We'll have to chat later.

We met up with Tony Bellew.

He was talking about Wilder and he was saying

that he just said hello to Wilder,

and he described him as a human cricket,

his arms completely wrapped around him.

Wilder's a big lad. He's a new era of the Heavyweight division.

Remember, Alis and all that, they were like six-foot-three.

They were the big guys then.

We are the new era of Heavyweight boxing.

Six-foot-six, six-foot-seven, six-foot-nine.

It's abnormal.

Have you got a missus? Nah.

No missus? Single.

Oh, my God. You must be so tired.

That was straight down the barrel, mate.

Straight down the barrel.

What I would like to bring up, at the end of the Parker fight,

did you hear Romesh shout your name 20 times and completely blank him?

Did you hear him?

No, I didn't. You know I wouldn't -blank you. -Bollocks!

Can I tell you something - You turned, looked and carried on.

After the fight, we came down.

I'll be honest, you were looking the man with the -

The old robe. The robe and all that.

So I was going, "AJ? AJ? AJ?"

And I did it, honestly, mate, 20 or 25 times.

To the point where somebody behind me, a complete stranger,

tapped me on the shoulder and went, "That's embarrassing."

I was gonna get back to you, I knew -we were booking this day in. -Sure.

This looks a bit pathetic, we're being a bit desperate.

Let's just be journalists now. Put that behind us.

But I have got some tickets put by for the tour in 2019 if you want.

Just give me a message. Of course.

Anyway, we've been on a platform watching fights

and we've been in corporate hospitality in Cardiff.

But we were hoping to get something a bit closer to the ring.

Could you help us out? We'll see what we can sort out.

The ringside, yeah?

He's not doing it! That's twice! No!

You can't do this to me. It's really hitting my morale.

Nice to see you, man. Cheers, mate. Thank you very much.

Ringside! See you soon.

This line. Cracked me up.

Unbelievable. Charisma -by the bucket load. -Exactly.

He's won me over again. A good guy.

I might text him, see if he wants to go for a drink.

I wouldn't bother, mate. Nah.

It's like a hobby that's got out of hand.

'If it's a boxing match, I think I can beat anyone.

That's not disrespecting anyone or being cocky.

You just have to believe in yourself.

When I step into the ring...'

Anthony... Joshua!

'..I'm a force to be reckoned with.'

♪ I ain't tryin' to break you down

♪ For real, you might as well give up now

♪ Think you got a chance but I don't see how

♪ Got a real tight grip when I hold that crown

♪ My life been good and bad and all around

♪ The more things I lost, the more I found

♪ One thing I taught myself to do

♪ No matter the problem, refuse to lose

♪ How you want it, man? You can choose

♪ If you can't take the heat, don't light the fuse

♪ I walk in slow and ignite the room

♪ Like fire, everything I touch I consume

♪ I came here ready to fight

♪ On this night, you better just run for your life

And a right hand lays him out!

He's got him!

On the floor! It's over!

Unbelievable!

'I'm not worrying about who's behind me.

I'm leading the pack and that's the way it's gonna stay.'

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