Anthony Joshua says he lost ‘admiration and respect’ from legends as he sends X-rated message to critics
ANTHONY JOSHUA said he lost “admiration and respect” from legends after losing the belts – but he is done with trying to prove a point.
Joshua returns on April 1 – live on talkSPORT radio – against American Jermaine Franklin following consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk.
AJ surrendered the unified titles to Usyk in September 2021 and failed to regain them in their Saudi Arabia rematch last August.
The 2012 Olympic champion’s tactics and mindset were called into question by experts of the game.
It left Joshua bemused but the heavyweight superstar is through with chasing the recognition of his peers.
He told talkSPORT’s Spencer Oliver: “I love this industry, I respect boxing so much, because I do it, and I know what it takes.
“And it’s crazy to think that a lot of the legends that I admire and people that I look up to are doing podcasts now, and I can actually go online and hear what they have to say.
“I used to do a lot of it to try and get the respect and admiration from people that I admire, and you’re kind of chasing that.
“And when I lost the belts, I just felt that admiration and respect from the legends of the game had just disappeared with those belts.
“It was a hard pill to swallow, and now I’m just in a place where it’s like, ‘F*** everyone, I’m doing this s*** for myself.
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“I ain’t going through that s*** anymore where I’m putting pressure on, ‘I’m going to do this, and I’m going to do that.’
“Listen, if I just knuckle down and take one day at a time and take one round at a time, and I put my mind to it, what will be, will be.”
Joshua, 33, is without a win since December 2020 when he knocked out Bulgarian veteran Kubrat Pulev, 41.
And following his pair of defeat to Usyk, 36, AJ has parted ways with his coaching team to link up with Derrick James in Texas.
Even his promoter Eddie Hearn has warned to expect an all-new Joshua, having completed his camp away from home for the first time.
But the man himself said: “Are we going to see something different?
“You can’t really say that, Spencer, I’ll be lying to you if I was like, ‘I’m going to do this, I’m going to come out southpaw…’
“It’s all bulls***, I’m going to go in there and do what the f*** I do and I’m going to get this win. That’s what I’m focusing on.
“Let me go in there and do my job, I’m going to do my best, I’m not going to make it over complicated, I’m a good fighter.
“I’ve got a f****** good jab, good defence, good right hand, good uppercut, and I’ll find the gaps needed to break my opponent down.”