Anthony Joshua has explained how the second loss to Oleksandr Usyk has impacted his mental health.
Over the course of the last few years, it’s safe to say Anthony Joshua has had some ups and downs.
In addition to being a former world heavyweight champion and one of the most popular British boxers in history, Joshua has also been beaten by two different opponents – Andy Ruiz Jr and Oleksandr Usyk.
While he was able to avenge the loss to Ruiz, the same can’t be said for Usyk as the Ukrainian sensation defeated Joshua in their Jeddah rematch back in August.
AJ fought well and definitely improved on his performance from the first fight, but it just wasn’t enough to overcome the size of the task that was in front of him.
Now, a few months removed from what went down, Joshua has spoken candidly about his emotional state in a recent interview.
“You saw after my last fight. I swear to you, [it] just tore me apart. I had so much riding on it for me, the British fans, the undisputed fight. It just really tore me apart, so from a mental capacity, my close ones are telling me you should rest mentally. Physically I’m down to ride. I’m a warrior. I like this game, I like competing, but on a mental aspect I think people are really seeing that this means a lot.”
“Even if I’m not fighting I see my name getting called out everyday. So, it’s the mental pressure that’s being AJ as well. And obviously holding up a reputation as well, these type of things go hand in hand. It’s tough, man.”
Anthony Joshua probably has enough money to ride off into the sunset but as the man himself has noted in the past, he’s still interested in squaring off with Tyson Fury at some point in the future.
It seemed as if it may actually happen in December but for whatever reason, ‘The Gypsy King’ opted to go for Derek Chisora instead.
Joshua, meanwhile, will be sitting out until 2023 in order to get back to 100% both mentally and physically, with a whole host of possible opponents on the table.
The two that come to mind are Deontay Wilder and Dillian Whyte but in reality, it’s anyone’s guess.
