British ex-world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) spoke in detail about the mood before the rematch with Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs), with whom he will soon have a rematch in Saudi Arabia and try to get even for last year’s defeat , which cost him the WBA, IBF and WBO titles.
“I refuse to lose – that’s my mentality. I refuse to be shocked, I refuse to be knocked down, I refuse to be knocked out. I refuse any negative situation in the ring. I have already declared myself the winner – that’s my mindset, ”said Joshua.
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“The reason I talked about the possibility of defeat before is because I looked at history, and all the greats – Joe Louis, John Sullivan, Dempsey, Muhammad Ali – everyone except Marciano lost,” states the Briton. “I looked at myself and thought that only history would determine what place you would end up with. And so, when I first lost, I already knew how to accept defeat properly.”
“All this pressure hardened me. This is my motivation,” says the ex-champion. “It’s a big fight, but I’m sure I can win. My mind is fine, my heart is in the right place. I want my heart to keep beating. I want to test myself and I want my punches to affect my opponent. I want to defend against his punches and I want to do things in the ring that will allow me to believe in myself, like, “oh yeah, it works.” I am sure that if I do all these things, victory will not go anywhere from me.
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