Anthony Joshua backs Cristiano Ronaldo to beat Lionel Messi in a FIGHT

Anthony Joshua backs Cristiano Ronaldo to beat Lionel Messi in a FIGHT, as he reveals he’d love to see rivals square-up in Misfits boxing bout

  • Anthony Joshua backs Cristiano Ronaldo to beat Lionel Messi in a fight 
  • The former boxing champion was asked to name two non-boxers to compete 
  • Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast ‘It’s All Kicking Off’

Anthony Joshua would love to see Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo go head-to-head in a Misfits boxing match – and while declaring it to be a close contest, he’s backed the Portuguese star to emerge victorious.

The British heavyweight boxer, 33, is currently enjoying some time off after beating Robert Helenius via a seventh-round KO at the 02 Arena in London last month.

And the big football fan has said that he would love to see two icons of the team sport go head-to-head to continue their personal rivalry in the fighting arena.  

In an interview posted on YouTube, Joshua was asked to name two non-boxers he’d love to see fight based on personalities alone, and responded with ‘Ronaldo versus Messi’, taking one of modern football’s fiercest rivalries into a new battleground. 

When asked who wins, Joshua said ‘Ronaldo’, before adding: ‘I love Messi and Ronaldo. Messi’s got that vision though. I can imagine him bobbing and weaving, angles, but yeah, it’d be tough. They’re both as good as each other.’

Anthony Joshua has backed Cristiano Ronaldo to win a hypothetical fight with Lionel Messi 


Ronaldo and Messi have a long-standing rivalry in football which could cross to a new arena

Joshua refused to name a non-boxer that he would like to meet in the ring in a cross-over fight, saying ‘I got no beef with no one’.

When faced with the idea of facing the Portuguese icon was put to him, Joshua said: ‘Nah, I respect Ronaldo.’ 

The suggestion of a hypothetical fight between two other football rivals was floated as well – Romelu Lukaku versus Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

In response to that, Joshua said: ‘Yeah, they don’t like each other anyway, do they? That would be a bad boy fight too, to be fair.’

Lukaku has made a name for himself with Serie A side Inter Milan, and has joined Roma on loan from Chelsea for this season, while Ibrahimovic retired from football at the end of last season after a long career which saw him finish with AC Milan.  

Joshua, a two-time world champion, is expected to face Deontay Wilder next in a mega-money bout in Saudi Arabia before the end of 2023.

Another proposed football fight was between Romelu Lukaku (L) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (R)

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