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After being challenged on the comments at a news conference in Miami on Wednesday, Anthony Joshua backtracked about making controversial “kill” comments about Jake Paul.

When Joshua was asked if he would back down against Paul on Tuesday, he replied, “If I can kill you, I’ll kill.”

Due to safety concerns and the size differences between the fighters, Paul, a YouTuber-turned-boxer, has received criticism for Saturday’s fight.

For the “kill” comments, former world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury called Joshua a “classless loser.”

Joshua, 36, continued, “We fight, but it’s my job.” We are permitted to kill.

Although I’m sure many people don’t understand it, my job is to explain it. Simply put, I enjoy what I do.

As long as my hand is raised, that’s what matters, respectfully, whatever happens, happens.

That is the mindset we need to have as fighters, exactly. Other fighters may have similar opinions, I don’t know. They might be a little bit more tame, perhaps.

“The way my mind operates,” It’s dangerous to be in the ring when you’re in it. There is always a chance.

You can go to bed knowing you did your job, but you still have to hope your opponent leaves the ring safely. It wasn’t intimate.

As a natural cruiserweight, Paul, who is a huge underdog in the heavyweight division, responded in a no less incendiary way.

Paul once said, “This is a modern gladiator sport.”

At Miami’s Kaseya Center, Joshua will square off against Paul, 28, in a fight that many consider to be significant and should have been a showcase event.

Joshua must not weigh more than 17st 7lb (111kg) at Thursday’s weigh-in, but the professional contest will be fought over eight three-minute rounds of standard 10oz gloves.

Joshua claimed he has been “called in” to save “boxing” despite the vulgar language being used and references to death that are widely accepted beyond the bounds of boxing.

They want me to end the Jake Paul show, and I get it, he continued, explaining that the boxing is on my back during this encounter.

However, there were moments when Joshua laughed as Paul sang “London Bridge Is Falling Down” to him, and Paul’s prediction vote was cast in his favor.

After all the discussion, Paul ended the conversation without incident by posing in a strange pose, raising his eyebrows, raising his stomach, and even touching Joshua’s chest.

The Jackie Gleason Theater, which hosted Frank Sinatra at his crooning height and Miss Universe pageants during Miami Beach’s mid-century boom, hosted the news conference on Wednesday at The Fillmore Miami Beach.

The grand, traditional auditorium was constructed for spectacle, and it will host a fight that is still viewed as both sport and entertainment.

Some have questioned the legitimacy of this fight because of how absurd it is, with rumors circulating about contractual fine print, including claims that Joshua may not be able to knock Paul out due to how unlikely it is to be to knock him out.

Nothing in the contract, AJ can attest, is. Paul declared, “We’re going to war.”

The Florida Athletic Commission confirmed that no contest knockouts could be canceled.

Joshua joked that the only thing that caught my attention was the money, adding that it was reportedly worth £500,000 when Joshua was presented with a silver chain.

Paul first gained a large social media following, most notably on Instagram, where he has more than 28 million followers, making him an online prankster and influencer.

He insisted Joshua would take him seriously despite never having fought anyone of the calibre of the former two-weight world champion.

Paul responded, “It’s smart on his part.” The biggest loss of his life might be this, and it probably will be.

A victory for Paul would undoubtedly be the biggest upset in the sport’s history.

Joshua’s legacy would undoubtedly be left indelible, but the Watford fan claimed that it would not spell the end.

At this point, it’s not just Wilfried Nancy’s Celtic team that’s a hard watch, it’s Nancy himself.

So many explanations and justifications, so many verbal contortions as he attempts to talk through his latest defeat. It’s become painful, quickly.

“I think I am in a good direction with the players”, he said after his fourth defeat in a row in his new job, a 2-1 loss at struggling Dundee United.

“Today you saw we had a good performance”, he stated. “We are improving”, he insisted. “We were close to winning… keep the faith”.

All around him now there are football atheists. There really can’t be many believers left. As Nancy spoke, it was hard to avoid wincing and wincing and wincing again.

As he made his way through his post-match assessment, the temptation was to shout, ‘ Stop… stop talking… stop explaining because when you’re explaining, you’re losing, again’.

The bottom line in all of this is that between his nightmarish beginning with Celtic and his low-key ending with Columbus Crew, Nancy has won just three of his past 16 games as a manager.

The defeats by United, St Mirren, Roma and Hearts now joined the ones that went before in America – Cincinnati (twice), Chicago Fire, New York City and New England Revolution.

Nancy finished seventh in the regular season in MLS, won 14 of 34 games, ranking joint sixth in the league for goals scored and eighth for goals conceded. After being manager of the season the year before, it was all very blah.

There are questions here. Many of them. Is he already doomed? If not, how long has he got? Celtic host Aberdeen on Sunday. Can he survive if he loses again? How many is too many? Five? Six? Seven?

And, given his humdrum season with Columbus Crew, how did Nancy get this job in the first place? Arguably, that’s the biggest question of all. He’d been a manager at Montreal and Columbus for a total of four years – then he’s given the Celtic job?

“We have been aware of Wilfried and his quality of work for some time”, said Michael Nicholson, Celtic’s chief executive. “He was our number one candidate when we began the process of appointing a new manager…”

What, exactly, was that process? Who else did Celtic talk to? How rigorous was their search? We don’t know. The number one candidate?

What we do know is that Nancy had Kwame Ampadu as his assistant in Columbus and that Ampadu and Celtic’s director of football operations, Paul Tisdale, worked together at Exeter City more than a dozen years ago.

On the back of a CV that shows spells at Bath, Exeter, MK Dons, Bristol Rovers, Colchester United and Stevenage, Tisdale has become a very significant figure at Celtic, one of the most influential characters in the place.

How? Again, we’re in the dark. Tisdale does not do interviews so there has been no chance to ask him anything.

How thoroughly were Nancy’s credentials interrogated? From this remove – four games played, four games lost, three goals scored and 10 goals conceded – not thoroughly enough.

From there to here was always going to be a mighty leap for Nancy, but nobody knew it was going to be Grand Canyonesque in a footballing sense.

It’s understandable that sections of the fans have turned on him – he seems like a good man in the wrong movie, which makes this crash in slow motion all the harder to observe – but what of the people who appointed him?

What of Tisdale? He is as much to blame for the sorry mess that Celtic are in as Nancy is. More so, even.

Tisdale has powerful sway over the recruitment work that Celtic do and yet, in the main, he escapes the heat of the fans who have been fixated on principal shareholder Dermot Desmond and members of the board.

One of that board is leaving soon, of course. Peter Lawwell, a titan of the club for two decades, will depart at the end of the year, citing abuse and threats from a sinister element in the support that have impacted his family.

Lawwell is a big enough operator to take stick on the chin, as he has done for years. When his family are drawn into it then it’s another matter entirely.

Celtic are in a dark place right now. Instead of more threats from zealots and incendiary statements from members of the Desmond family, it needs some healing, some understanding and some class.

Nancy must be wondering what the hell he’s walked into and it’s not hard to have some sympathy for him. He asked for context in the aftermath of Tannadice and, in his defence, there is some. Not a lot, but a little.

It wasn’t Nancy’s fault that Johnny Kenny missed an easy chance or that Daizen Maeda spurned a sitter.

The blame for having the inexperienced Kenny leading the Celtic line is not on Nancy. It lies with others way above him – the ones who orchestrated the club’s slapstick transfer window in the summer.

The new manager is missing key players in Alistair Johnston, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Jota, but there is no evidence that he would get the best out of them even if they weren’t injured.

He hasn’t gotten the most out of the players he has had in four games. Nothing quite like it. Most of them have retreated amid a haze of tactical and selectorial confusion.

Once more, Celtic lost its relevance at Tannadice during the second half. Another opponent exploited weakness once more and abused it. Nancy was repeatedly undercoached.

Nancy approaches performance in the manner of a mature man. He doesn’t, though. No matter how it turns out, winning is the unalienable truth of his job.

If Nancy had spent more than 15 minutes picking the brains of a man who is better than anyone else, Martin O’Neill would have clarified that point.

Given that the interim manager is a man at a new club in a new league on a new continent, it seems as though Nancy had a pass on the opportunity to find out.

It’s unclear how long the answer will last. Nancy is already on borrowed time, according to logic, but it doesn’t seem to be prevalent at the club right now.

On and off the pitch, strange things are happening. Aberdeen are also coming over the weekend, smelling blood and sniffing points. Now, there is no fear factor.

At this point, it’s not just Wilfried Nancy’s Celtic team that’s a hard watch, it’s Nancy himself.

So many explanations and justifications, so many verbal contortions as he attempts to talk through his latest defeat. It’s become painful, quickly.

“I think I am in a good direction with the players”, he said after his fourth defeat in a row in his new job, a 2-1 loss at struggling Dundee United.

“Today you saw we had a good performance”, he stated. “We are improving”, he insisted. “We were close to winning… keep the faith”.

All around him now there are football atheists. There really can’t be many believers left. As Nancy spoke, it was hard to avoid wincing and wincing and wincing again.

As he made his way through his post-match assessment, the temptation was to shout, ‘ Stop… stop talking… stop explaining because when you’re explaining, you’re losing, again’.

The bottom line in all of this is that between his nightmarish beginning with Celtic and his low-key ending with Columbus Crew, Nancy has won just three of his past 16 games as a manager.

The defeats by United, St Mirren, Roma and Hearts now joined the ones that went before in America – Cincinnati (twice), Chicago Fire, New York City and New England Revolution.

Nancy finished seventh in the regular season in MLS, won 14 of 34 games, ranking joint sixth in the league for goals scored and eighth for goals conceded. After being manager of the season the year before, it was all very blah.

There are questions here. Many of them. Is he already doomed? If not, how long has he got? Celtic host Aberdeen on Sunday. Can he survive if he loses again? How many is too many? Five? Six? Seven?

And, given his humdrum season with Columbus Crew, how did Nancy get this job in the first place? Arguably, that’s the biggest question of all. He’d been a manager at Montreal and Columbus for a total of four years – then he’s given the Celtic job?

According to Michael Nicholson, CEO of Celtic, “we have known about Wilfried and his high standard of work for a while.” When we began the selection process for a new manager, “He was our number one candidate.”

What precisely was the process? Who else spoke to Celtic? How thorough was the search? We are unsure. Who is the most popular candidate?

We do know that Paul Tisdale, Celtic’s director of football operations, and Kwame Ampadu worked together at Exeter City more than a dozen years ago.

Tisdale has come to be one of the most influential players at Celtic, appearing on a CV that lists stints at Bath, Exeter, MK Dons, Bristol Rovers, Colchester United, and Stevenage.

How ? We are again in the dark. There hasn’t been a chance to ask Tisdale anything because he doesn’t do interviews.

How thoroughly were Nancy’s credentials examined? Not nearly enough from this remove, which includes four games played, four games lost, three goals scored, and ten goals conceded.

No one knew that going from there to here would be a huge leap for Nancy, despite the fact that it would always be football-themed Grand Canyonesque.

What of the people who hired him? It’s understandable that some fans have turned against him because he appears in the wrong movie, making this slow-motion crash even more difficult to watch.

How about Tisdale? He is equally responsible for the sorry mess that is Nancy and Celtic. Even more so, perhaps.

Tisdale has a lot of influence over Celtic’s recruitment efforts, but in the end, he shies away from the attention of the fans who have focused on Dermot Desmond and the board’s members.

Of course, one of those boards is going to leave soon. At the end of the year, Peter Lawwell, a renowned clubman for 20 years, will step down due to abuse and threats from a sinister side of the family.

Lawwell has operated effectively for years, and he has done so consistently. It’s entirely different when his family becomes involved in it.

Celtics are currently trapped in a dark place. It requires some healing, compassion, and class rather than more zealot threats and incendiary statements from Desmond family members.

Nancy must be wondering what the heck he just entered, but it’s not difficult to feel sympathy for him. In his defense, there is some context in the aftermath of Tannadice, which he requested. Not much, but it’s a little.

Johnny Kenny and Daizen Maeda both had poor chances, which wasn’t Nancy’s fault.

Nancy is not to blame for Kenny’s lackadacity in leading the Celtics’ offense. Others far above him, who set up the club’s obscene transfer window in the summer, are responsible for this.

Alistair Johnston, Cameron Carter-Vickers, and Jota are missing from the new manager’s roster, but there is no evidence he would be able to extract the most from them, even if they weren’t hurt.

He hasn’t gotten the most out of the players he has had in four games. Nothing quite like it. Most of them have retreated amid a haze of tactical and selectorial confusion.

Once more, Celtic lost its relevance at Tannadice during the second half. Another opponent exploited weakness once more and abused it. Nancy was repeatedly undercoached.

Nancy approaches performance in the manner of a mature man. He doesn’t, though. No matter how it turns out, winning is the unalienable truth of his job.

If Nancy had spent more than 15 minutes picking the brains of a man who is better than anyone else, Martin O’Neill would have clarified that point.

Given that the interim manager is a man at a new club in a new league on a new continent, it seems as though Nancy had a pass on the opportunity to find out.

It’s unclear how long the answer will last. Nancy is already on borrowed time, according to logic, but it doesn’t seem to be prevalent at the club right now.

On and off the pitch, strange things are happening. Aberdeen are also coming over the weekend, smelling blood and sniffing points. Now, there is no fear factor.