Anthony Joshua has admitted he is ‘out of the championship title race’ as he plans his subsequent step in the heavyweight division.
“AJ” final fought in August, struggling a second straight resolution loss to Oleksandr Usyk whereas failing to regain the WBA, WBO, IBF, and IBO titles.
Joshua was then provided a shot at the WBC belt by Tyson Fury, but the Britons may not come to an settlement over what would have been the greatest heavyweight battle of this era. Fury as a substitute boxed Derek Chisora for a 3rd time, beating his compatriot by way of TKO to keep undefeated.
Joshua, 33, has been linked with a possible rematch towards Dillian Whyte, whom AJ misplaced to as an newbie but knocked out in a 2015 skilled contest.
“I like to see my name constantly mentioned among other fighters,” Joshua informed The Sun this week. “The alternatives are always there for me, there are large alternatives to battle.
“I’ll battle whoever’s prepared; I’m prepared and we’ll get cracking in the new yr. I want to be constant, be match to battle, and every part comes off the again of that.
“I’m dying for the world championship, 100 per cent. That’s all my coronary heart and soul is main in direction of, [but] I misplaced a battle this yr which took me out of the championship title race.
“When you’re consistently combating for championships after championships, you’re consistently in the race for an extended time. When I misplaced, I was lastly out of the race, and overcoming that was a new starting […] realising that this isn’t my norm anymore. It’s difficult to overcome that.
“I’ve always been a competitor, a problem to me is simply one other impediment that I can get over, and for some, I really feel like it’s simpler to knock them down and preserve them down.
Recall that Joshua’s defeat by Usyk in August was his second straight loss to the unbeaten Ukrainian, who outpointed the Briton in September 2021 to win the unified heavyweight titles.