Matchroom photographer Mark Robinson nominated for Picture of the Year

Matchroom Boxing photographer Mark Robinson has been nominated for ‘Picture of the Year’ at the prestigious SJA British Sports Journalism Awards for his incredible image of Anthony Joshua.

The ceremony takes place in London on March 25 and Matchroom man Robinson is among 10 leading snappers vying for the coveted prize.

Ahead of the awards gala, AFP’s Paul Ellis – chair of the photography judges, and a former chair of the BPPA – told the SJA website: “2023 was another incredible year for sports photography, and the judges had a huge task to get each category down to the number of shortlisted entries.
“We saw photography from a huge variety of sports and not just set-piece events. There were well-worked pictures that demonstrate the ability and skills of individual photographers.”

Here, in his own words, the man behind the lens tells all behind his special image – and the equipment he used to capture it:

Canon EOS R3
24-70 mm RF 2.8
ISO: 3200

The description above might not make a lot of sense to the casual fan. But that’s the camera and frame I used to capture this award-nominated Image of Anthony Joshua.

I took this shot of AJ, in his full fight attire, during a promotional shoot with DAZN ahead of his fight last April against Jermaine Franklin. AJ is always a joy to photograph – he’s the consummate professional and easily one of the best to work with.

For me, it’s nice to get recognition of my work – but more so for the sport of boxing as it’s a hard sport to cover. So, to be nominated for such a prestigious award, amongst a high-level of competition, at the SJA Sports Journalism Awards it is a real honour regardless of whether I win or not, purely because it has always been regarded as one of the leading organisations in the industry.

I am especially grateful to AJ, of course. But I want to say thank you to the brilliant teams at Matchroom Boxing and DAZN for having me to come along and take these photos of the boxers.

It’s such a privilege to be around the sport at the highest level – and I can’t wait to take many more photos, starting next week in Riyadh!