First, an inciting event, which sets the ball rolling for our protagonist. Next are progressive complications, these are obstacles for our protagonist to clear, each greater than the last.

Then we get to the nitty gritty; our protagonist must endure a crisis, where they are faced with a choice between conflicting desires. Once that crisis is overcome, we reach the story’s climax.

This is described as the point of no return in the story, which brings about a profound and permanent change in the protagonist’s world.

That description struck a chord with me as I stood in a strange, dim side room at Exhibition White City in west London, listening to Anthony Joshua open up, for the very first time, about the car accident that claimed the lives of his two close friends of many years.

If you wind back the best part of two decades you can easily plot the points of his story so far. How he first followed his cousin to Finchley ABC to give boxing a go as a teenager, the progressive complications of his steady rise to the top of the division and the crisis of losing his world heavyweight titles, first to Andy Ruiz and then to Oleksandr Usyk.

But, by McKee’s definition, the climax of his story would unfold on December 29, 2025 on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Ogun State, Nigeria when the Lexus SUV he was riding in collided with a stationary truck, killing Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele. This was the profound and permanent change in Joshua’s world.

Of course it is impossible for those of us who have never been involved in such an accident to comprehend not only the full horror of what unfolded but also the process of attempting to piece life back together thereafter.

But as he stood in the room in the early evening on Monday, conversing with the small British press pack from behind his dark glasses as he has done for more than a decade, it was as though nothing happened. No climax, no profound and permanent change in this protagonist’s world. He explained that he has learned how to bury his emotions in order to get back to business, conceding that it might not be the right method for everyone, but it is a process that he believes will work for him.

He received what were personal questions warmly and gracefully and gave thoughtful answers where others might have shut them down immediately. “I’m content being here with you guys,” he said. “This is where I feel most comfortable.”

For years the prize ring was that place but things soured when he reached the very pinnacle, losing twice to Usyk during an 11-month span between 2021 and 2022, before he was unceremoniously knocked out by fellow Brit Daniel Dubois in his attempt to win a third world heavyweight title at Wembley Stadium.

His next chapter is a so-called “warm-up fight” against Kristian Prenga, although you will not hear Joshua call it that. He knows the overdue superfight with Tyson Fury is at stake when he and 17/1 outsider Prenga meet in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on July 25. He also knows that the families of both Latz and Sina will be watching him perform that night. How he responds under the lights after what happened in Nigeria, nobody knows.

Which brings us nicely to the fifth and final stage of all good stories according to McKee: the resolution. This is, by definition, the immediate aftermath of the climax and the thing that will leave the most lasting imprint on the audience. But don’t expect things to be sewn up quickly here.

Just before Joshua left the room last night, I asked him how long he feels like he has left in this sport. “For me,” he said before pausing. “Maybe until I’m like 40.

“I’m coming up to 37 in October so that’s only three years and they go quickly. Obviously it’s going to be tough but I definitely think I’m tough enough to do it, so why not?”

Regardless of how his resolution unfolds, all of this will make a boxing screenplay for the ages one day.

How good was Adam Azim on Saturday night?

He has long shown promise as a potential British world champion but on Saturday night against Steve Claggett, everything seemed to click. It was his sixth consecutive stoppage win but his earliest one since 2022.

Let’s not forget that Teofimo Lopez, at one point the division’s No. 1, could barely put a dent in Claggett over the course of 12 rounds. Azim made him look like a novice, dropped him and stopped him early in the third.

However by that point, the IBF had already ordered a fight for their vacant 140-pound title between Lindolfo Delgao and Arthur Biyarslanov, two men with one 12-rounder between them. Azim, only 15 fights in, has already been involved in six. Here’s hoping that something can be arranged for Azim, The Ring’s No. 7 junior welterweight, to secure a shot at the world title next. He’s earned it.