Anthony Joshua has admitted he has had some dark times throughout his 11-year journey as a professional thus far.
Joshua has been one of the biggest stars in the sport over the past decade, a timeframe in which he became heavyweight champion of the world on two separate occasions.
Despite his success, it has not been all plain sailing for the Watford man – he has tasted defeat on three occasions; once against Andy Ruiz Jr and twice at the hands of Oleksandr Usyk.
Following his second loss to Usyk, ‘AJ’ famously imploded in the immediate aftermath of the fight in Jeddah, tossing the Ukrainian’s world titles to the ground before going on a bizarre rant in the ring.
And speaking to BBC Sport, he stated he has no intentions of reliving the feelings that he was forced to endure than night.
“I’ve worked hard and been through a lot of pain, and I’ve worked hard to get better.
“Hopefully those experiences won’t happen again because as you saw that night [after the second Usyk loss], I don’t like losing.”
“I think I’m gifted with an ability to fight and compete. In boxing you’re able to read certain tendencies, you’re able to read your opponent, so I can always have an eye for that.
🇬🇧 Anthony Joshua last 5⃣ opponents:
– Oleksandr Usyk
– Jermaine Franklin
– Robert Helenius
– Otto Wallin
– Francis Ngannou🇬🇧 Daniel Dubois last 5⃣ opponents:
– Trevor Bryan
– Kevin Lerena
– Oleksandr Usyk
– Jarrell Miller
– Filip Hrgovic#Boxing #JoshuaDubois pic.twitter.com/kX9R5FSoDo— Pro Boxing Fans (@ProBoxingFans) September 16, 2024
“But there’s a supreme level that you can take it to. And it’s happened over the past eight or 10 months. I’ve really honed in on those skills.”
Joshua will need to put those use those skills to full effect this weekend, as he challenges IBF heavyweight titlist Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium.
The 2012 Olympic gold medalist is a betting favourite to dethrone Dubois and become only the fifth, three-time heavyweight world champion in the division’s history.
However, now 27, ‘Dynamite’ is in the best form of his career, coming into the all-British barnstormer off the back of wins over Jarrell Miller and most recently, Filip Hrgovic.
