Joshua says Loftus-Cheek ‘beat me’ to dream date Laura Woods

Anthony Joshua told Laura Woods she was his ‘dream date’ – but then admitted that Chelsea star Ruben Loftus-Cheek has “beaten me to it”. The two-time heavyweight champion was chatting to popular talkSPORT presenter Woods after scoring a unanimous points victory over Jermaine Franklin on Saturday night. 

Joshua’s career was on the line against Franklin and he fought tentatively despite dominating the limited American at London’s O2 Arena. Many fans had been expecting a destructive knockout in what was billed as a “new dawn” in Joshua’s career but his performance wasn’t entirely convincing. 

However, while he was frustrated that he was taken the distance, Joshua was ultimately relieved to get his hand raised in victory for the first time in two years following his back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk. 

And the Brit cut a relaxed figure in the locker room post-fight as he shared a warm chat with Woods during an interview for iFLTV. The conversation quickly moved away from boxing as Woods asked the 33-year-old who his dream date would be. 

“You,” Joshua replied, as the pair both burst into laughter. Woods jokingly celebrated Joshua’s response, before he added: “I know [Ruben] Loftus-Cheek’s beaten me to it.”

Joshua was referring to Loftus-Cheek confessing to Woods, 35, that she was his celebrity crush in a talkSPORT show last week. At the end of a light-hearted Q&A session, she jokingly told the midfielder: “It’s been an absolute pleasure and I’ll get your number later!”

Woods responded to Joshua mentioning Loftus-Cheek by saying: “It’s fine, it’s fine … there’s no competition.” Joshua then asked if Woods was in a relationship. “I’m not in a relationship, are you?” she replied, before suggesting that she was too focused on work and asking Joshua if he was of a similar mindset. 

Joshua also confirmed he was single, saying: “With boxing I didn’t want to commit because I didn’t want to go training and then I’m busy arguing with my Mrs or something and my head’s not in the game.

“So I just decided to keep my head where it needs to be. I’ve seen good relationships and bad ones.” Woods then asked the Watford-born fighter whether he had simply not met the right woman yet.

“I know some good women for sure, I’ve met some really amazing women but it’s me not them,” Joshua replied. He then clarified that he is putting all his energy into boxing and he will look to settle down once his career is done and dusted.

Meanwhile, Matchroom chief Eddie Hearn has outlined that Joshua will fight three times this year and wants his star fighter to make a quick summer return. Joshua called out Tyson Fury in the ring after beating Franklin, declaring that the “the ball is in his court” over a blockbuster ‘Battle of Britain’ showdown.