Joshua: A second defeat would be disastrous, fight to hold at 10 pm
Anthony Joshua admits a second successive defeat against Andy Ruiz Jnr tonight would be ‘catastrophic’ for his career. The rematch is scheduled for 10 pm.
But the former world heavyweight champion is adamant that he is not at all nervous about his high-stakes rematch here in the Saudi Arabian desert.
Joshua lost his WBA, WBO and IBF titles to Ruiz back on June 1 when the Mexican American stopped him inside seven unforgettable rounds at Madison Square Garden, New York.
The 30-year-old decided to jump straight into an immediate rematch in a bid to get his belts back and re-establish himself as arguably the No.1 heavyweight on the planet.
He said: “It will definitely be catastrophic if I lose but I’m not even thinking about losing anyway.
“It will be big business when I win. As bad as it would be when I lost, is as great as it will be when I win. I need to keep focusing on the keys to win.
“I’m not nervous at all, I’m confident. I definitely wasn’t nervous for the first Ruiz fight either. I don’t ever think I’ve been nervous you know, I’ve probably been more nervous before sparring.
“It’s about the pressure of performing.”
That pressure has certainly been cranked up on Joshua as a result of his first professional defeat and only the fourth of his boxing life, when Ruiz dropped him four times before the ending came midway through the seventh.
But Joshua has used the disappointment to drive himself through an exhaustive training camp, which has resulted in the leanest, lightest Joshua for years. At Friday’s weigh-in at the fight hotel in central Riyadh, Joshua scaled 16st 13lbs which was nearly 10lb lighter than he was in New York. Ruiz, meanwhile, has gained 15lbs since that night and weighed in at an astonishing 20st 3lbs.
Joshua’s remarkable weight loss, which means he is the lightest since he fought Denis Bakhtov way back in 2014, is a result of a training camp which started within weeks of his defeat on June 1.
“After that fight, I knew my mistakes and that’s why I congratulated him, well done, hats off to you,” Joshua said. “I wasn’t low because I know I’m better than that and knew I had a lot more to give.
“I went back to my list and started training in June. When I’m in training camp I trap myself in a dungeon so I feel like I’m an experiment in a lab.
“Then I come and present my effort to you and that’s why I put so much pressure on myself. Behind closed doors I swear I work so hard mentally and physically to try and stay at the top.
“There is so much pressure on performing in sparring, how many rounds. Training is the hardest part I think and that’s why I’m never nervous before a fight because I put in so much work in the gym.
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“Now I just know I’m going to perform, I’m confident of that.”