Boxing: Anthony Joshua scares reporter who dares ask 'are you too nice?'

Rising British heavyweight Anthony Joshua claimed another victory in the ring when he left a cheeky reporter trembling in fear after daring to ask if he is too nice to be a boxer.

Sun reporter Lee Price got a taste of Joshua's dark humour when he stepped into the ring to interview the 26-year-old ahead of his world title fight with IBF champion Charles Martin on April 9.

Joshua bristled at Price's opening question and made it clear he did not take kindly to being labelled "too nice" to be in the fight business.

You're in my domain now," replied Joshua. "You're in the lion's den with me.

"You're seriously lucky I've got these gloves on because they're f****** me off these questions about 'am I too nice'.

"Ask me that question again if you think I'm too nice. You think I'm messing about, ask me that again."

Warning: Explicit language

Am I too nice?! 😂😂https://t.co/V25Cz2XMNr

— Anthony Joshua (@anthonyjoshua) February 16, 2016

Joshua's heated diatribe continues and his contempt is apparently clear before he commands Price to leave the ring.

The journalist's humiliation is complete when he sheepishly admits he is unsure how to make his exit, saying: "I don't know what to do. I feel a bit like crying."

At that point, Joshua drops his intimidating act and begins laughing before grabbing a bemused and somewhat relieved Price in an endearing headlock.

Joshua can afford to laugh, perhaps, because while his fight against Martin is being described as 'a huge risk' it is, in fact, a stroke of match-making genius.

Martin is by far the weakest of the current champions and presents less of a challenge than either Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder, the two other belt holders.

Although he is three years older, at 29, and has nine more bouts on his undefeated record, the quality of his opponents has been so paltry that he is just as much a novice as Joshua. Perhaps more so.

Promoter Eddie Hearn has shrewdly calculated the high probability of a Joshua victory before luring Martin across the Atlantic with 'a substantial financial package.'

"He thinks he can beat Anthony but the big pay day is why he is coming," says Hearn.

"He's on a split of the pay-per-view show on Sky on top of a guarantee. He will be getting three times more than he would earn from a unification fight against Wilder.

"We weren't looking for a world title shot for Josh before another two of three fights but when Martin came up I asked his team to tell me whether they thought he could beat him.

"Anthony instantly asked me to get Martin. He's a big awkward southpaw who can punch but we make Josh a 60-40 favourite to win his world title. He's at the same level as some of the other heavyweights we were eyeing as opponents for April 9 so why not do it?

"We probably wouldn't have picked a big, awkward southpaw who can punch but the carrot is a winnable world heavyweight title. You have to do it."