Anthony Joshua has acknowledged that he is still not over his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk months later.
According to Joshua, the first thing that comes to mind when he wakes up in the morning is loss, as the dethroned heavyweight anticipates their rematch.
On a dismal night in North London in September, Joshua, 31, was overpowered by the wily southpaw, with the Briton having no answer for Usyk’s exceptional movement and technical abilities.
Despite some fans and commentators telling him he has little chance of turning things around, the former WBO, WBA, IBF, and IBO champion chose an instant rematch with the newly-crowned king.
AJ claimed his stunning setback is on his mind as he seeks a return to the top of the division.
‘A lot of times I wake up in the morning and the fight and fighting is on my mind,’ he told iFL TV. ‘After the fight, you sleep on it.
‘You sleep on it after the fight and then what happens is you wake up on it and I’m waking up on it and it’s the right thing because you’ve got to use it as fuel for the day.
‘I think about it a lot and not just on a physical thing but up here as well. I think about it a lot.’
‘That one made me think a lot and I could go on but I just care, I actually care. I don’t think, ‘eh, it’s a loss’. I actually deeply care.’
AJ vowed to apply destructive power to reclaim his titles next year.
‘I’m done with f***ing losing, I’m done with trying to learn the sweet science,’ AJ said in October.
‘The referee might get thrown on the floor in the next fight because this is war. It’s just straight war, I’m annoyed. I’m boiling up even speaking about it – it’s that passion to win.’
Joshua added: ‘I have one thing in my mind, that’s war, that’s murder, that’s war, let’s go out there and hurt the guy.’