‘It Stopped My Progression as an Active Fighter’: Anthony Joshua Reveals How Winning the Heavyweight Title Was a ’Curse’

Anthony Joshua was one of the most celebrated boxers in the world in the last decade. There was a real hype surrounding Joshua with people, even comparing him to legends like Muhammad Ali. Joshua became a champion at a very early stage of his career and was considered one of the best.

But what happened to the former heavyweight champion? Why isn’t he in the light as he used to be earlier?

Anthony Joshua was in the limelight when he was the world champion. He was no less than a superstar who gained a lot of popularity and endorsements.

Following his success, AJ became a prime target for other heavyweights who were hungry to challenge him in the ring.

What decelerated AJ’s career?

AJ constantly faced criticism and challenges when he was the champion. Many title holders challenged him, especially the ferocious Deontay Wilder and ‘The Gypsy King’, Tyson Fury.

Subsequently, this made AJ choose his fights wisely to defend his titles from the prominent boxers.

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AJ’s loss against Andy Ruiz Jr. was a shock to everyone. The Mexican stunned everyone by defeating Anthony Joshua via TKO. But, Joshua was adamant about retaliating against Andy Ruiz Jr. and getting back what he lost.

Joshua made a comeback and regained his titles by facing Ruiz, but couldn’t satisfy the aspirations of the fans as they expected a knockout victory from AJ.

Joshua disappointed his fans again, by losing for the second time in his career. Oleksandr Usyk dominated Joshua in the ring and snatched away all his titles. The Ukrainian defeated AJ via a unanimous decision.

Also Read: ‘No War’: Oleksandr Usyk Shares a Video Message Amidst Ukraine-Russia Conflict

Joshua is in the mindset of avenging Usyk and retrieving his treasures back before fighting any other contender. But the wait will be long as he will have to wait until Usyk is back from his national duties and starts practicing again.

AJ expresses his curse

In AJ’s recent tweet, he described how his achievements made him insecure about his records and very hesitant to defend his records and titles.

Agreed! Winning the heavyweight championships in my 16th fight was a gift and a curse! It stopped my progression as an active fighter!

Having titles and fame in your name is similar to having a diamond in your crown. Everyone wants to snatch it from you.

AJ went through the same thing and thus he became very fussy about choosing his fights. As a result, he fought only 6 fights in the last 5 years. Even now, no one has the exact idea when Joshua will fight next, and whether he will fight more often.

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What are your views on AJ’s statement about his career? Comment below.