Anthony Joshua: My Loss From My Side

Badlefthook.com

Former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has posted a video recounting his experience against Andy Ruiz Jr. last weekend, when he lost all of his belts in a massive upset that shook up the boxing world.

In the video Joshua takes some time to talk to fans about everything that transpired and continued to take an admirable stance, not blaming anyone but himself for what happened. He also made it a point to say that Ruiz has about six months to hold onto those new world title belts, before he comes for the repo. Check it out…

“A few days after the fight, I’ve had time to reflect, think about certain things” Joshua began. “Losing isn’t in anyone’s nature, whether you’re playing chess, PlayStation, or competing at a high level in sport or in business. And I took my first loss…how to explain that feeling?

“It’s happened to me before, but I feel like those times I’ve lost years back have made me a stronger person, and it hasn’t really changed me and my work ethic, my mindset and what I stand for, the people I’m still loyal to — my trainer Robert McCracken, my amateur coach…— still gonna work with these guys, still gonna teach me everything I need to know. They’ve done a great job for me, not only inside the boxing ring but mainly as a human. They really developed me as a person, which is important. These guys have been with me for years, my whole management team. And to my supporters as well, I’m not gonna change on you and act any different and change my ways. I’m still me, I’m still the same ol’ Anthony Joshua…

“About the fight, look, the whole training camp team pulled together and done a great job. I started my camp in Sheffield, which I normally do anyway, was working there for about six weeks, seven weeks, crackin’ on. Come to New York, continue my press tour. There was a lot of issues going on with this fight, with Jarrell Miller, [Luis] Ortiz pulling out, [Andy] Ruiz stepping in, but it all makes for the drama show — the entertainment of heavyweight boxing.

“So I traveled here, done my press conference, and then I’d gone to Miami, where the setup was spot on. You know, I didn’t go out, I just went out for lunch one day out in the open. Other days I had the chef in-house was cooking, was eating in-house and so on, so no contaminated food. I know there’s a lot of like accusations or worries about what was wrong with me, but I wanna tell you this: I’m a solider. And I have to take my ups and my downs. And on Saturday I took a loss, and I have to take it like a man.

“One of my sayings is: ‘never let success get to your head, and never let your failures get to your heart.’ It’s all about keeping a balance and moving forward and that’s the mindset that I have to keep.

“It’s tough, you know, when you lose sometimes. You know, it feels like it rips away a part of you but for me, as I’ve said, I’m never gonna switch up and change on anyone. I’m still the same me, still ambitious, and I’m still gonna walk with my head held high, like a champion because boxing is apart of my life and I’m a champion at heart, and I apply and adapt that in the ring.

“Congratulations to Andy Ruiz, he has six months or so to be champion, because the belts go in the air and he’s gonna have to defend his titles against myself. Within our contract when we was negotiating, we added some clauses as you do. So naturally we added like a rematch clause, a date, location, and so on, so I would not mind if it was in New York again. I wouldn’t mind if it was in England…I love it to be in England as well but New York, man, they opened their arms to me and the whole team, and it was phenomenal.

“Madison Square Garden, even though it didn’t go my way, what an undercard, the history that was created, I’m still speechless. Like, it was an amazing night. It was an amazing night altogether, you know from the changing room, was in the Knicks changing room, space, warmed-up really well — I had no panic attack! Like, I’m not that type of person…I have to take my loss like a man, no blaming anyone, no blaming anything. I’m the one who went in there to perform and my performance didn’t go to plan. My game plan didn’t go to plan. So I kinda have to readjust, analyze, do my best to correct it and get the job done in the rematch.”