Former American heavyweight Jason Gavern on facing Anthony Joshua at just five days’ notice and what his son said to him after losing to the British boxing hero
Former American heavyweight Jason Gavern on facing Anthony Joshua at just five days’ notice and what his son said to him after losing to the British boxing hero Former American heavyweight Jason Gavern on facing Anthony Joshua at just five days’ notice and what his son said to him after losing to the British boxing hero
A boxer’s stark five-word message to his son said it all after sharing the ring with Anthony Joshua.
Jason Gavern faced Joshua, who will become a three-time heavyweight world champion if he beats Daniel Dubious at Wembley this weekend, in 2015. Despite being early in his professional journey, AJ had already become a household name.
Therefore, it was a major show of bravery by Gavern to accept the bout in Newcastle at just five days’ notice. The American, who quit a career in the police to take up boxing, valiantly took Joshua to the third round before inevitably being stopped.
After the fight, Gavern’s son touchingly tried to console his father. He recalled: “My son said ‘dad, you were fine’ and I was like ‘son, you have no idea’.”
On how the fight came about, Gavern explained: “Eddie Hearn called me and said ‘hey, do you want to fight?’ I flew to London, we had a day of media and then I got a train to Newcastle. We arrived and I fought him two days later!
“I was in camp with Joshua a couple of times and he’s a great guy. He’s very respectful and very personable. I could talk to him and joke around. When I fought him in Newcastle he came across the ring and I thought ‘oh s***, this guy is huge’.
“He had a different look and I thought ‘oh boy, here we go’. He was a super cool guy to spar with. I was a veteran at the time, so I tried to give him some pointers and things like that.”
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Jason Gavern took Anthony Joshua to the third round
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Image:
Getty Images)
At the time, Gavern, who was put down four times before the fight was waved off, was only the second fighter after Konstantin Airich to take Joshua into a third round. On being on the receiving end of Joshua’s ferocious punching power, he said: “He’s very technical. He hit me with like a triple hook.
“I remember specifically saying ‘where the hell did that come from?’ He knocked me down three or four times. I wasn’t hurt, he didn’t knock me out, out, but the last shot really shook me. I remember being on the ropes and he came behind me and tapped me on the shoulder.
“I looked up at him and smiled but in my mind I was all over the place. My son said ‘dad you were fine.’ and I was like ‘son, you have no idea’. I think Joshua’s journey has been amazing and I’ll always be a part of his history.”
Gavern, who hails from Florida, ended his professional career with a respectable 27-4-21 record, having also fought Deontay Wilder.
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