JAKARTA British heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua finally revealed the reason he lost his first fight against American boxer Andy Ruiz four years ago.
The owner of the 2012 London Olympics gold medal suffered his first career defeat in the ring against Ruiz at Madison Square Garden, United States, on June 1, 2019.
The defeat made him lose the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO belts before taking them back six months later when they had their Volume II duel in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.
"Many people think that boxing is about popularity, but actually it is related to skills. Seeing Ruiz, you see that something is wrong, but I never talked about it," said Joshua, confiscated by The Sun.
"You can watch (the fight) as much as you want, but until you meet me you'll never know," he added.
The 33-year-old boxer then went up in the ring to face Oleksandr Usyk two years later. However, he again had to look at his status as heavyweight champion missing.
The third defeat in his career then followed after that during a rematch with Usyk in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in August last year. In that duel, he lost points in 12 rounds and failed to reclaim the heavyweight belt.
After suffering a third defeat in his career, Joshua was challenged by Tyson Fury. However, the fight with Fury did not materialize because he did not sign the contract until the time limit given.
Several names were also on Joshua's list of potential opponents after that before the official announcement that he would be in the ring against Jermaine Franklin on April 1.
If you lose against Franklin, Joshua's career journey could reach its lowest point. Renowned promoter Eddie Hearn even said if you lose, Joshua could immediately retire from boxing.
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