Anthony Joshua 'never questioned his place in the world' after Usyk defeat

When punters say "you're done, yesterday's man, finished" and you've lost three of your last five fights, you could begin to doubt yourself.

But not Anthony Joshua.

His erratic behaviour in the direct aftermath of the second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk he regrets, but he didn't wallow in self pity for long.

Yes, it was massively disappointing but it wasn't as dark a time as you'd think.

"It wasn't too dark because I've always just got on with it, you can't stop, stopping is a luxury," he says.

"When you're under pressure you put expectations on yourself I didn't have time to stop but in those quiet times when I'm sitting there and questioning myself I definitely had to soul search a bit.

"Questioning myself, how do I get better, what am I looking for, what's the purpose, why did I act like that (after the fight), if it happened again how could I do better?

"But I didn't look for answers from anyone else apart from myself.

"That was in a way good because even though I was asking 'how am I going to deal with these things?' I was preparing for the future and that means I must want to continue.

"These were the questions I was figuring out - yeah I do want to continue."

It's been eight months since Joshua was last in the ring and in that time he's completely changed his training set up.

Moving his camp to Texas so he could work with Derek James and even though he's rebuilding his reputation and career he says he's "never questioned his place in the world".

He adds: "I don't need boxing to make me feel special at all. I could be done with boxing today and I would be the same old G, the same person. I don't need boxing to boost my ego."

Joshua says he's stripped back his life and his approach to this training camp.

"We've toned it down a bit. You don't need much for boxing, boots, socks, shorts, gloves, wraps - so basic, that's what I loved about boxing," he says.

"Normally when I'm in London I'd be full of life full of energy. I'd train, come back do a commercial.

"Ask the boys I'm on the phone in the morning handling business - I'm on it.

"Being out of that environment I said I'm not interested in any business I'm fully focused on boxing. I got rid of all the noise - I've subtracted."

There's no question that Joshua needs to beat Jermaine Franklin convincingly tonight at the O2, although his trainer James says any win will do.

The 33-year-old admits it's a must win, saying: "Yeah every fight is. I feel like everyone's always watching me, so yeah this is a must-win fight.

"Funnily enough the next fight after this I'll get asked the same question. It's always going to be that way."

There's a lot of pressure on the former unified World Champion whenever he steps in the ring.

He says his feelings on the day are a mixture of looking forward to it and all that goes with fight night and just getting through to the other side.

"You know how tough it's going to be but the looking forward to it is 'I've been here, I belong here'," he says.

"You can't step into the lion's den and have any doubts in your mind. It would be too risky. What's crazy is it'll be Sunday morning and I'll be having breakfast and it'll be 'oh it's done!'"

Can he see himself as World Champion again?

"I'm someone who is practical and realistic but it's far away. It's very far away. I can, but let me get through these hurdles first," he says.

Read more:
Ukraine's Oleksandr Usyk beats Anthony Joshua in heavyweight rematch
Anthony Joshua: 'I let myself down' after Oleksandr Usyk defeat
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And what about the fight that everyone wants to see - Tyson Fury v Joshua? Will that remain a never-ending circle of teases on social media or will it actually happen?

"To be honest that's one of the reasons I'm still around in the boxing business. I'm hanging on. I need to do it for the British public," he says.

"They've helped build this empire that I've got so I owe it to them. So from my perspective I'd love to get that fight cracking!"