Maisey Rose Courtney thanked Anthony Joshua for keeping her fight alive before joking she was more nervous about fighting in her hometown than featuring on his undercard.
Courtney will be looking to extend her professional record to 4-0 when she takes on Gemma Ruegg in her fourth professional fight on the undercard of Joshua’s bout at the O2 tomorrow evening.
Joshua was set to face Dillian Whyte in a rematch – with the Body Snatcher looking to get revenge after AJ beat him via TKO in 2015 during their first professional bout against each other.
However, Courtney’s fight with Ruegg was thrown into doubt after Whyte returned ‘adverse analytical findings’ in a pre-fight drugs test carried out by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA).
Courtney said she was worried AJ would cancel the entire card after she heard Whyte had been pulled from the fight. However, Joshua was adamant he wanted to continue and Matchroom scrambled for another opponent.
READ ALSO Anthony Joshua weighing lighter ahead Helenius bout
It was later announced that AJ would face Finish boxer Robert Helenius – who Eddie Hearn has described as ‘a very dangerous big puncher.’
Courtney told Mail Sport what it was like waiting to hear whether her bout would be going ahead or not. She said: I was in bits on the Saturday when I found out [about Whyte’s adverse finding].
‘I thought I had to go back to work. You know, this is my livelihood. I don’t get big paydays. People starting off don’t get those big paydays so it’s important to us. If I miss a fight, I’m gonna have to make that money up somewhere else.’
READ ALSO Euro clubs’ body wary of early Women’s World Cup call-ups
Courtney went on to praise AJ for going ahead with the card despite the late change. She said: ‘I take my hat off to him. It’s easy when you’re at the top level to forget where you have come from. Anthony Joshua hasn’t done that.
‘He’s always stayed true to where he has come from and I like that about him. He’s boxing for millions of pounds. I am years off boxing for millions of pounds. He doesn’t have to worry about his money so it’s really nice to know that he’s still got an eye on the grass route fighters.’