Anthony Joshua has revealed that he has decided not to fight again this year in order to’rest mentally’ following his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in August, glamsquad reports.
When he faced Usyk for the second time in August in Saudi Arabia, the British-Nigerian boxer failed to reclaim his world titles from the Ukrainian.
Following the fight, Joshua went on a bizarre rant in the ring, for which he later apologized.
The former two-time world champion admitted that his post-fight behavior demonstrated how important the rematch was to him, prompting friends to advise him not to rush back into the ring.
‘You saw how it tore me apart after my last fight,’ Joshua said in an interview with DAZN.
‘I had so much riding on it for me, for the British fans, for the undisputed fight, it just tore me apart.’ So my friends and family are telling me, “you should rest mentally.”
‘Physically, I’m prepared to fight. I’m a warrior, and I enjoy this game and competing. But, from a psychological standpoint, I believe people have realized how significant it is.’
Tyson Fury called Joshua out for a potentially huge domestic heavyweight clash just weeks after his loss to Usyk. Negotiations for a December 3 fight appeared to be going well, with Joshua initially accepting Fury’s terms.
After that, the talks between the two camps broke down, with Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn claiming Fury’s team failed to respond when they returned the first draft of the contract, and the Gypsy King’s chief negotiator George Warren claiming Joshua’s camp went silent when it came to discussing the proposed fight.