Anthony Joshua maintains he will continue his pursuit to become a three-time heavyweight world champion after a crushing loss to Daniel Dubois.
‘AJ’ was knocked out in the fifth round at Wembley Stadium, with his rival retaining the IBF world title and now contemplating whether to grant him a rematch.
Yet Joshua, now 34 years of age, is adamant he will not retire and is instead plotting another shot at becoming a three-time world champion.
“We came up short, but we have to look at the positives, that’s the mindset and the perspective we have to have,” Joshua said. “A positive one, always.
“Look at what we’ve achieved in the space of 11 years… It’s phenomenal. What a rollercoaster journey, but you know what the problem is, it’s far from over yet. We did it once, we did it twice. Doing it a third time hasn’t been easy, but I believe it’s something I can achieve.
“It’s about making the right steps forward, working hard and improving. But it’s got to come from here,” Joshua said, while beating his chest.
“It can’t come from any external voices, or influences, it’s got to come from here. It’s only been a day, but when I sit back, I’m thinking, I know I’ve got a lot of this. Keep your seatbelts tight because deep, deep, deep down in here, I know I’ve got a lot more to bring.”
Audio from Sky Sports has emerged since Saturday, with Joshua labelling Dubois “s***” moments before being knocked out.
Speaking in his corner to trainer Ben Davison following the fourth round, Joshua said Dubois was “really threatening” before appearing to discount the warning to himself.
“At the start of this round he’ll come out fast,” Joshua tells Davison. “He’ll step in with his jab,” continues Davison.
“He’s s***”, Joshua then replies, before standing up and receiving a final word from Davison to “start mixing it up”.
