It’s been a decade since a boxer last won the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year Award, so in a way, you could say IBF heavyweight title belt holder Anthony Joshua is “due.”
Joshua is the odds-on favorite to win the prestigious award, the results of which will be announced during a Dec. 17 ceremony in Liverpool.
But first Joshua must defend his IBF heavyweight title against Carlos Takam in Cardiff on Oct. 28. Betway Insider has him listed as a heavy favorite to do so, setting the odds at 1/50 for him to win he fight.
Joshua is expected to win the fight with ease, and if so, all eyes will be on the 28-year-old on Dec. 17, when he attempts to win the SPOTY Award.
But what are Joshua’s actual chances of winning the award? After all, only four other boxers in history have been able to do it (with Henry Cooper being the first in 1967, and the most recent being Joe Calzaghe in 2007.)
As far as the odds, Betway’s Alan Alger likes Joshua’s chances of winning the award, and certainly wouldn’t against the 28-year-old in his quest to win. Check out Alger’s take on it:
“AJ is a very solid shot to be crowned this year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year, and it looks unlikely that Takam will put a spanner in the works. Even if Takam springs a surprise, it’s likely AJ would still remain favourite. The public won’t be forgetting his monumental victory over Wladimir Klitschko too quickly, and it’s that bout that cemented his place as SPOTY favourite.”
It’s important to note that being a non-Olympic year really helps Joshua’s chances, as each of boxing’s five other wins came during non-Olympic years. That projects well for him, and we like his chances.
If Joshua does win, he’ll join the rest of the BBC SPOTY Award winners. You can check out some cool facts about them in the infographic shown below.
All signs point to Joshua taking home the big award in December — closing out an exceptional year for both him and the sport of boxing.
And, if for some reason he doesn’t win the award, it’s still been a huge year for him. Joshua has been on top of the world since his epic victory over Wladimir Klitschko back in April, and we’ll soon see if he can finish the year on a high note.
