Former unified world heavyweight champion who held the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO titles, Anthony Joshua has rebuted comments by Tyson Fury, asking for him to retire should he lose to Andy Ruiz in the rematch.
“Who is he to talk?” Joshua said to IFL TV when told that Tyson Fury says he should retire if he loses the Ruiz rematch. “Did he help me get into boxing to tell me when I should leave at? No one can tell me when to retire except for me. That’s how I look it. Unless you were the one to take me into boxing like my old man was the one that took me down to the gym. If he had, son, I think you should retire.’ If no one helped me get into it should tell me when to get out of it,” said Joshua.
“No excuses. He beat me, and he deserves everything that comes his way,” said Joshua about Ruiz. “He’s the best champion out there right now. I’m going to fight him, and I’m going to have another champion on my record. If it was only about the money. Why didn’t they speak about it in my early days after Charles Martin and after [Wladimir] Klitschko. Why now? I didn’t have to go to New York [to fight Ruiz]. It wasn’t a mandatory. I wasn’t told. I thought New York was a good option.
How come he didn’t say that before the Ruiz fight?” said Joshua when told that Deontay Wilder wants Tyson Fury to step aside so he can fight the winner of the Joshua-Ruiz rematch. “Now we’re talking about Lennox Lewis situation. I didn’t appreciate how he was speaking about me in the media. So this is how I address you back, because you don’t call me. So I address you back in the media. As a boxer, he was a bad boy boxer. I’m not searching for anyone to reach out and help me,” said Joshua.
“No, no, no,” said Joshua when asked if he ever considered not taking the rematch with Ruiz. “When you look at it; you’ve got Charles Martin champion, Povetkin Champion, Takam, Parker, Povetkin, Parker champion, and Andy Ruiz Jr. champion. So he’s the best. Who else is out there to fight? He’s the best person out there for me to fight. It’s not about the belts,” said Joshua.
“I don’t hate the man. He come into the ring and did what he had to do as a challenger, so You have to give the man credit and respect,” said Joshuaabout Ruiz during Thursday’s round table in New York. “Now I’m on the other side of the fence. I’m going to go do what I’ve got to do. And, I’m not going to over complicate the situation. I’m going to simply it, and do what I have to do in 22 fights I had. My blueprint worked. In my 23rd fight, I had a little glitch in the matrix. I’ll get it right, and we’ll go again. What’s interesting is I’m not hearing about any other fighter right now, you know? I’m hearing about Ruiz, and that’s what’s important, and blessing as well.
It’s not about staying down. It’s about pulling yourself back up. Even when the whole world is against you, and doesn’t believe in you no more, you pull yourself back up no matter how much it takes. When you go to war, you need more than one thing in your toolbox. That time it didn’t work. Now I’ve got to sharpen my other tools,” said Joshua.
“Even though it’s a short amount of time, that’s why I’ve trimmed down, because nothing is more important to me in these three months is sharpening the tools I left out the box rather than just coming in strong and fit,” said Joshua. “The same things would have happened. You noticed a change, because I’ve been working on those other aspects. I’ve never looked at my weight for fight night. It’s more about feeling. How do I feel in sparring. That’s the ultimate preparation for a fight. For Ruiz, I’ll know how I feel when I get the right sparring in, and tell my coach, ‘This is how I’m feeling.’ Then we’ll figure out a weight once the training adapts to it,” said Joshua.
“Not necessarily,” said Joshua when asked if Ruiz looks heavier. “Ruiz is a big boy anyway. The bigger they are the harder they punch. He’s got a certain style that he just needs his feet planted for him to land a good shot. The heavier he is the better he is. I think this training camp will be about being fitter, quicker. My training camp will be about being better, and slicker. This is a camp in general. Going into the camp already ready. I can spar right now,” said Joshua.