Anthony Joshua has called for former footballer and William Hill ambassador Robbie Savage to take on his BT Sport colleague Rio Ferdinand in the ring. The remarks from AJ come after watching Savage experience a grueling workout at the hands of his first coach, Sean Murphy.

Savage, who was known for his stamina levels on the football pitch, struggles through a warm-up before entering the ring and working through a series of punching drills that Murphy used to put Joshua through in the early days of his career.

Ex-footballer turned pundit and William Hill ambassador, Robbie Savage, suffers a gruelling workout at the hands of Anthony Joshua’s first coach, Sean Murphy. After watching Savage in the ring, Joshua wants to see him take on BT Sport colleague Rio Ferdinand.

Joshua says: “You (Savage) have a good right (hook), but let’s not talk about the left. If you were to box Rio that would be phenomenal!”

Murphy, who started Joshua on his rise to the top, puts Savage and his long blonde locks through a training session the WBA and IBF world heavyweight champion experienced at the start of his career.

Joshua still visits Murphy’s gym every week and is full of praise for both his former coach and current coach, Rob McCracken, saying: “You can do it (compete) for yourself or you can do it for someone you respect and care about. I want to impress Rob and always give that little bit more and it was the same when I worked with Sean.”

Sean Murphy said: “Sav gave it a good go but most of the time I couldn’t even tell if he was hitting me!  If he wants to become a boxer he has a very long way to go. The training is brutal, just ask Anthony! Sav is a mentally very strong and driven guy though so give me more time with him and we could get that right hook flying.”

Robbie Savage, William Hill ambassador, said: “The fitness of boxers in insane. I like to think I’m in good knick but after 3 minutes of the warm-up I was blowing!”

“Sean is a great motivator and reminds me of my youth coach at Manchester United Eric Harrison – terrifying but inspiring. Give me a few more sessions with Sean and then Rio had better watch out!”

Savage’s introduction to boxing was developed by bookmaker William Hill to give brand ambassador Savage a better insight into the sport.

The bookmaker recently launched their This Is More campaign with a commitment to give punters better prices, better insight and better content.

The video of Murphy beasting Savage and Joshua giving his verdict, can be viewed below.

https://www.facebook.com/WilliamHillSports/videos/1947569225315124/

To view the video, click here

William Hill enlisted the help of Sean Murphy, AJ’s first coach, to see if brand ambassador Robbie Savage could pack a punch ahead of Joshua’s fight against Joseph Parker on Saturday 31 March.

William Hill won’t be beaten on round betting and you can back Joshua to win in the third round at 10/1. For all the best prices head to WilliamHill.com. Odds subject to change.