Experience is the greatest teacher of them all and WBA Super, WBO and IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua believes he has been galvanised by the mistakes of the past.
Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs) faces Kubrat Pulev at the SSE Arena on Saturday night determined to display his focus and prove he has no glaring weaknesses ahead of mooted unification clash with WBC heavyweight king Tyson Fury next year.
Following a shock loss to Andy Ruiz in New York in June 2019, Joshua had to analyse his flaws and reinvent himself as a fighter before handily defeating the Mexican-American on points in their December 2019 return.
Now Joshua believes he is a fighter without “any chinks in my armour” ahead of Saturday night’s defence against Bulgarian warrior Pulev.
“Sometimes when things are going well you keep working on your strengths,” Joshua told Sky Sports. “After my loss in New York? What people call weaknesses, I call strengths that I haven’t identified yet.
“I saw the strengths I hadn’t identified – what [others] call weaknesses. I enhanced them, improved them. Now there aren’t any chinks in my armour.
“I’ve worked a lot on honing my craft. This will be a tough fight but I need to retain my belts. I have a warrior mindset. In my mind, nothing else is important apart from Pulev. That is my focus.”