This time, it’s personal
Joshua gets fired up for his world heavyweight title rematch
Anthony Joshua is rattled. As the former holder of three of the world heavyweight title belts prepares to face MexicanAmerican Andy Ruiz Jnr in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, there is an edge about the Londoner not seen for some time.
Joshua was forced to admit defeat in seven rounds against Ruiz six months ago in New York, a humbling moment in his career no matter how philosophically the 30-year-old approaches it. But the (for now) deposed world champion has accepted his errors on an otherwise unblemished resume, both in and out of the ring, since winning Olympic super-heavyweight gold seven years ago in London.
“What do people think this is? This is fighting. One loss doesn’t take the spots off a cheetah. I came into boxing to fight. I didn’t come to be a journeyman. I’ve been champion, I’ve been Olympic champion, I’ve been world silver medallist,” Joshua explained with a defensive edge to his voice at his training camp in Sheffield. He feels undermined, disrespected, his achievements underplayed. And he may well be right.
“The belts never defined me – I walked as the champion even before I had the belts. Nothing has changed. I made it look easy, and people underestimated what I had achieved. We don’t play games when it comes to boxing, we’re serious, and now after I took the loss I’ve had time to reflect. I now have things to prove to myself. I want to take it more seriously because I’m going to that next level.
“And when I win, I will be like, ‘F--- everybody’.”
It may seem strange to report of Joshua being this way. But the heavyweight – who will have amassed an estimated £150million in career earnings after his Middle East sojourn
– faces Ruiz in an intriguing fight, in a pivotal moment in his career. Against a smaller, rotund man who outboxed him in the first fight, in Madison Square Garden, as the underdog, Joshua must now demonstrate that he has learnt to box as a big man, and dominate the smaller man, until submission, or a points victory.
Both outcomes would spell redemption and a return to full respect for Joshua’s boxing abilities. Psychologically, he faces a tough task, given that Ruiz floored him four times.
History is arguably on Joshua’s side. Lennox Lewis, Muhammad Ali and Floyd Patterson all returned as champions after defeat by, respectively, Hasim Rahman, Leon Spinks, and Ingemar Johansson. Patterson was floored seven times by the Swede in his first defeat, and then stopped his rival twice in succession.
This is a bigger fight for Joshua than his massive challenge against Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley Stadium in April 2017, simply because he must win.
Moreover, it sets up a thrilling 2020, with Tyson Fury and the other world champion, Deontay Wilder, set to go again in Las Vegas on Feb 22. It all points to a showdown of epic proportions next summer – as long as Joshua can protect his chin.
There has also been advice from old foe Klitschko, who had his own crisis, and came back strong to reign for a decade. There is clear admiration for the legendary Ukrainian boxer. “He’s more disciplined than me. He’s more diplomatic,” Joshua said.
What did Klitschko say to him? “Loads of stuff. Wlad was definitely ahead of the game. There was dietary and training advice from him which is maybe what you’re seeing in terms of the difference [in body shape].
“Maybe that’s why – because I’ve adapted some of his teachings – and for that reason my weight may fluctuate.”
But the best advice Klitschko will have given him is the development of his boxing. “I have stuff to prove to myself. That’s the main thing; I definitely have stuff I have to prove to myself,” Joshua admitted, ahead of his 24th fight, in Diriyah. “That’s where my hunger now comes from.
“Unfortunately, it’s not a team sport, this game, so I have to prove it myself. The focus is not on the PR team, the trainers, it’s on Anthony Joshua. So it’s all down to me.”
Joshua’s final few words involved his destiny – the broad one, not just the one with his fists. “When I came into boxing, unfortunately you hear all the stories of Larry Holmes having to get a bus home after a title fight, Mike Tyson losing a lot of his money, Evander Holyfield the same… and these are, like, the greatest.
“Honestly, one of my main objectives in this sport was to not be owned. Not be taken advantage of. Don’t you remember when I met you, Eddie?” Joshua said, turning to Eddie Hearn, his promoter. “I was, like, ‘You’re not like Don King, are you?’” The room laughed out loud, but Joshua was serious in the point he was making.
“You put so much into it. The belts are important, but when your career is over, someone else has them. That’s why the decisions I’ve made have always meant I’m a fighter, but I conduct myself like a business.”
Wise stuff but, on that note, Joshua must get the business done against Ruiz in the dunes. Simple as that. And if so, his gargantuan story, redeemed, will continue under the lights.
‘It’s not a team sport, so I have to prove it myself ’
Sky Sports Box Office will exclusively show Ruiz v Joshua 2 on Saturday.