Anthony Joshua has revealed he has gone through a serious attitude change since losing his status as unified heavyweight world champion.
Joshua failed in his attempt to claw back his belts from Oleksandr Usyk last year, and will begin his rebuilding process against Jermaine Franklin on April 1.
And speaking on TalkSPORT, ‘AJ’ has stated he no longer will be chasing admiration – even from fighters he used to idolise.
“It’s crazy to think that a lot of the legends that I admire and people that I look up to are doing podcasts now, and I can actually go online and hear what they have to say.”
“I used to do a lot of it to try and get the respect and admiration from people that I admire, and you’re kind of chasing that.”
“And when I lost the belts, I just felt that admiration and respect from the legends of the game had just disappeared with those belts.”
“It was a hard pill to swallow, and now I’m just in a place where it’s like, ‘f*** everyone, I’m doing this s*** for myself.”
“I ain’t going through that s*** anymore where I’m putting pressure on, ‘I’m going to do this, and I’m going to do that.
Next month’s meeting with Franklin is make or break for the career of Joshua, as defeat would almost certainly spell an end to any ambitions he may have of becoming a three time world heavyweight champion.
Franklin put in a solid showing when he was defeated by Dillian Whyte last November, however Joshua still goes into the contest as wide betting favourite, and will be looking to make a statement on his return.