Anthony Joshua revealed that he had been ‘through a lot of pain’ over the past two years as he looks to claim Daniel Dubios’ IBF world heavyweight title on Saturday.
The pair will collide in an all-British clash at Wembley Stadium and Joshua is hoping to prove just ‘how good he is’ by besting his 27-year-old opponent.
But the former IBF, IBO and WBO heavyweight champion has had to overcome some tough times to fight back to becoming a mandatory challenger, after losing his belts to Oleksandr Usyk in 2022.
‘I’ve worked hard and been through a lot of pain, and I’ve worked hard to get better,’ Joshua told BBC Sport.
The 34-year-old broke down in tears during his post-fight press conference after suffering his second defeat to Usyk.
Anthony Joshua (left) stated he had ‘been through a lot of pain’ since his defeats by Oleksandr Usyk
Joshua cried during his post-fight press conference as the Brit was overcome by emotion after suffering defeat in his rematch vs Usyk back in 2022
Joshua was fuming following the fight and threw Usyk’s belts out the ring after the result
He had also admitted that he had ‘let himself down’ with his erratic behaviour, grabbing Usyk’s belts and throwing them out of the ring in the immediate aftermath of their rematch.
‘Hopefully, those experiences won’t happen again,’ he continued. ‘Because as you saw that night, I don’t like losing.’
In response to those losses, Joshua has gone undefeated in his last four fights and revealed how he thinks he has changed as a fighter over the past 10 months.
‘I think I’m gifted with an ability to fight and compete. In boxing you’re able to read certain tendencies, you’re able to read your opponent, so I can always have an eye for that.
‘But there’s a supreme level that you can take it to. And it’s happened over the past eight or 10 months. I’ve really honed in on those s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s.’
The British fighter stated that he had ‘worked hard’ to come back from losing his world titles
He will now face off against Danield Dubios (right) for the IBF heavyweight belt and insisted he wanted to ‘prove how good he was’
Joshua also lumped praise on Dubois (left) claiming that his 27-year-old opponent was a ‘brilliant fighter’
On Saturday, he has the chance to become a three-time world champion but will come up against a tough opponent in Dubois, who is also fresh off the back of two victories.
While winning Dubois’ belt will be a huge motivation for Joshua, he insisted he wanted to showcase just how good of a fighter he is.
‘He [Dubois] is a good fighter, a brilliant fighter,’ Joshua said. ‘Everyone speaks highly of him. I think they underestimate me as well, so I will go out there and prove how good I am.’
