Four years ago, it was believed that Anthony Joshua could become one of the greatest boxers in history. The Briton with a record of 22-0 was the world champion of the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight divisions. Joshua’s past victories include: with Wladimir Klitschko, Alexander Povetkin, Dillian Whyte and Joseph Parker.
The first scratch on his career came on June 1, 2019, when Joshua sensationally lost by knockout to Andy Ruiz Jr. Although half a year later, the British reciprocated the American, and in December 2020 he defeated Kubrat Pulev by knockout, today he is not considered in the context of one of the best in history.
What’s more, hardly anyone thinks that Joshua could compete with Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, i.e. boxers who will soon fight a unification, championship fight. The Brit has lost a lot with two consecutive defeats to Usyk. In September 2021, the Ukrainian defeated Joshua by unanimous verdict of the judges, and almost a year later he did it by split decision.
Joshua has taken an extended break from boxing again. He will return to the ring on April 1, and his rival will be the American Jermaine Franklin (21-1, 14 KOs). This will be a new situation for Joshua. The British will not be a champion, and he will enter the ring with a new trainer. As he himself announced, these circumstances make him look at boxing in a completely different way.
– When you’re looking for greatness, when you’re looking for another way to achieve it, you have to step outside your comfort zone. You have to constantly look for different ways. I ended up in the US with a new coach,” Joshua said.
“When you’re a champion, you have to fight a certain way. But I’m a challenger now and I’m ready for a new role. I have nothing left to lose, so I’m going to step into the ring with a different mindset. It’s a natural transformation. I’m at the other end, but I want to get back to where I was,” he added.
“I want to be young enough to feel free”
The fight with Franklin may be crucial for the future of the British. A possible defeat could make him drop out of the top heavyweight boxers and further away from a possible next fight for the belt. The player himself also left himself a margin of error.
“I’m definitely not going to fight until I’m 40.” I just want to live and enjoy life. I chose a career as an athlete, I enjoy it, but I still have to think about when I sleep, what I eat, whether I drink enough water. It’s all been on the back of my mind for many years and I want to be young enough to feel free,” he said.
– People are afraid of the unknown. For me, that would be retirement. I don’t know what it looks like because I’ve been boxing all my life. But I’m not dealing with that right now. I’m a fighter and for now I’m going to keep working hard,” Joshua concluded.
Source: Sport.PL
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
