Anthony Joshua feels he 'let a lot of people down' in Oleksandr Usyk losses as he targets comeback win

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.

The recent slump has seen him fall from the top of the heavyweight picture, with much talked about super fights with Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder now in doubt. ‘He’s ready to go!’ – Warren says Dubois can beat Usyk, Ukrainian can’t fight Wilder Fury launches foul-mouthed rant on Usyk as fight falls through Following the defeat to Usyk in their rematch in Jeddah, a visibly frustrated Joshua threw two of the championship belts out of the ring before launching into an emotional rant on the microphone. “When I fought Usyk I felt like I let a lot of people down," he said.