JOSH: AJ PUT ME ON THE COUCH
Heavyweight king’s ‘psychology session’ has got Warrington itching for revenge
JOSH WARRINGTON has revealed how a “psychology session” from Anthony Joshua is helping him recover from his shock first career defeat.
The Leeds Warrior has also insisted he wants a rematch with Mexican Mauricio Lara next, with plans already being put in place for that fight to happen in August or September.
And he insists, if he loses the return fight, he will quit boxing.
Warrington, 30, was stunned by unknown Lara 10 days ago, when he was stopped in the ninth round despite being a huge favourite.
And who better to talk to about getting knocked out against the odds by a Mexican than WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight king Joshua.
AJ was stopped by Andy Ruiz Jr in June 2019 before getting revenge six months later in Saudi Arabia.
“I wanted to know about his mindset, he’s a deep guy and I’m a bit of a deep guy,” said the former IBF featherweight champion, who is now 30-1 as a pro.
“He was telling me things like, ‘Make sure you have your downtime, make sure you dwell because, when you do come back from that, the only way is up. You’ll have the fire in your belly and want to right them wrongs’.
“It was like he was giving me a bit of a psychology session, you feel like you want to get back after it.
“He was telling me a story about when he was in New York and, after the fight, him and his entourage went for a walk. This guy goes, ‘Hey Anthony, why did you get beat up by that fat Mexican’, and his head went down.
“He went back to the apartment and stayed there for a few days – he said he cried, ate ice cream and sulked. But, once he came back, he was ready to get back on the horse.
“I wanted to have my sulking time – but it has not happened yet.”
Warrington (below) has spent the last 10 days at home with his family recovering from a fractured jaw, busted ear drum and shoulder injury, which have masked the pain of defeat.
The former IBF champion admits he overlooked Lara and was flat when he got in the ring after over-training and failing to get fired up in the warm-up.
Lara has rocked his dreams of huge bouts against WBA champion Can Xu and WBC title holder Gary Russell Jr.
But Warrington is fired up for revenge with promoter Eddie Hearn already considering putting it on at Headingley in the autumn.
The Leeds Warrior added: “Do I want that rematch? I’ve been on the Ben & Jerry’s for the last week, but I would fight him tomorrow.
“I need to overcome this hurdle – whether it be a 12-round dominant performance or me knocking this guy out, I need to do it for myself.
“There’s no f**king point hanging around if I can’t beat this guy.”
Joshua said he cried, ate ice cream & sulked until he was ready to return