Undefeated heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will take on challenger Carlos Takam tomorrow night in heavily anticipated fight being held in Cardiff City, Wales. Joshua is heavily favored to win the bout, but he’s also a strong odds-on favorite to win the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, or SPOTY.
This prestigious title is a position he has held ever since he vanquished the mighty Wladimir Klitschko in front of 90,000 people at Wembley Stadium this past April.
In addition to that glorious triumph at the national stadium, his spotless 19-0 record includes a win over Eric Molina.
With such an accomplished boxer like Joshua so heavily favored to win the SPOTY, it truly reflects how well the sport of boxing’s popularity has persisted in the United Kingdom
If Joshua is named the recipient of the award, it will take boxing alongside tennis, and only behind Formula One and athletics, as the most the most prolific winning sport in SPOTY history.
According to Betway Insider, if the 28-year-old does win SPOTY, which is voted for by the public and has been handed out annually since 1954, he would become just the fifth different boxer (and sixth overall) to do so. Betway also provides the following infographic, which provides a lot of insight about the history of SPOTY:
Boxing’s first ever SPOTY winner was Henry Cooper, who claimed the honor in 1967, after the Englishman won all three of his bouts that year, most notably against Jack Bodell at Molineux. Cooper made history again by becoming SPOTY’s first ever two-time winner in 1970.
To this day, Cooper remains one of just four people (Andy Murray, Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill are the others) to receive the award more than once. The biggest obstacles to Joshua winning the award are Cyclist Chris Froome and Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, who are currently the second and third most favored respectively.
We’ll know for sure come December 17, when the ceremony takes place in Liverpool, but it would certainly be a tremendous upset if someone other than Anthony Joshua is deemed the SPOTY.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now and Minute Media. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Sound Cloud, LinkedIn and YouTube.