Anthony Joshua feared Jay-Z was going to PUNCH him after asking rap legend for a photo at glamorous Will Smith premiere

ANTHONY JOSHUA once thought he was going to be PUNCHED by hip-hop legend Jay-Z.

The unified heavyweight champion managed to grab a photo with the 'Big Pimpin'' star at a Will Smith movie premiere in the States.

But the music mogul was far from happy with AJ's approach to grabbing the snap.

Speaking with William Hill Joshua recalled: "Jay-Z was cool.

"I was at a Will Smith premiere once, years ago. And as I said, Jay-Z, I listened to that a week ago.

'The Streets is Watching', 'Hard Knock Life', I just love that stuff. 'Dead Presidents'.

"So imagine - you know those lovely houses that are like mansion houses and they've got a stairway in the middle and they depart around left and right and they come back?

"Pure opulence. I was at this big premiere and it was one of those big staircases and I was in the top left. And I saw Jay-Z walk in.

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"And in my head, I was like, 'Yo, there's Jay-Z.' Know what I mean? Ready to jump down the balcony. But I thought, 'Play it cool'.

"So I thought, what way is he gonna come up these stairs. Because if I stand on the left and he goes on right, there's too many people, it's a premiere.

"Thank God I stood at the right side. As he come up, I was kind of like (grabs his wrist), 'Jay, do you mind if I get a picture?'

"And he kind of looked at my hand, yeah, like, 'Boy, I will bust your head if you don't get off my hand.'

"But it was just one of those things where I just gave the guy the camera.

"And in that picture, I think it's one of the first pictures on my Instagram, Jay-Z has just got a plain face. And there's me with a big smile."

Joshua's admiration for Jay-Z - real name Shawn Carter - stems from the 51-year-old's rags to riches story.

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AJ said of the American: "He's a hustler, isn't he? He came from the bottom.

"But he also transferred his music ability into becoming one of the most successful businessmen in the music industry."

Joshua, 31, is currently gearing up to defend his unified heavyweight titles against Oleksandr Usyk, whom he'll meet at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday night.

Anthony Joshua and Rio Ferdinand are William Hill ambassadors. WilliamHill.com. 18+ BeGambleAware

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