Anthony Joshua has admitted he felt he «let a lot of people down» after his back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk but says his heart fully remains in the sport.
Joshua takes on American James Franklyn on April 1 at the O2 Arena in London in his first bout since his split-decision loss to Usyk in August 2022.
Ad The British heavyweight failed to recapture the IBF, WBA and WBO titles he lost to the Ukrainian a year earlier. Boxing‘He’s ready to go!’ – Warren says Dubois can beat Usyk, Ukrainian can’t fight Wilder24/03/2023 AT 13:25 Joshua was forced to take stock of his career, and hired a new coach in the highly regarded Derrick James as well as basing his training camp in Texas ahead of the Franklyn fight, “I didn’t come here for a holiday and to chill out,” Joshua told Tony Bellew on the BBC. “I’ve come here for a goal.
I want to get better, I want to challenge myself.” Joshua won his first 22 professional fights, but following his first loss against Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019, the 33-year-old has a 2-3 record from his last five matches.