Anthony Joshua: "I took a loss and I have to take it like a man"
Anthony Joshua (22-1) addresses his fans with a YouTube video from New York reflecting on his first ever professional career loss to Andy Ruiz Jr (33-1).
"It's a few days ater the fight where I've had time to reflect, think about certain things.
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 lost years back have made me a stronger person.
It hasn't really changed me and my work ethic, my mindset or what I stand for; the people I'm still loyal to, my trainer Rob McCracken, my amateur coach at Finchley ABC. Still gonna work with this guys, they're 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've 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, I'm still me, still the same old Anthony Joshua; same motivation and trying to better myself through boxing.
About the fight; look, the whole training camp team pulled together and done a great job.
I started my training camp in Sheffield, which I normally do anyway, was working there for about 6-7 weeks, cracking on.
Come to New York to continue my press tour, there was a lot of issues going on with this fight with Jarrell Miller, Ortiz pulling out, Ruiz stepping in, but all makes for the drama show, the entertainment of heavyweight boxing.
Travelled here, done my press conference, come to Miami, where the setup was spot on. Didn't go out, had chef in-house, was cooking and eating in-house and so on, no contaminated food. I know there's a lot of accusations and worries about what was wrong with me.
I'm a soldier and 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 saying is, never let success get to your head and never let your failures get to your heart.
It's tough when you lose sometimes, you feel like it rips away a part of you.
Boxing is part of my life and I'm a champion at heart, and I apply that and adapt that in the ring.
Congratulations to Andy Ruiz, he has six months or so to be a champion and he's going have to defend his titles to myself.
Within our contract we added some clauses, as you do, so naturally we added a rematch clause, a date, location and so on.
I wouldn't mind if it was in New York again, I wouldn't mind if it was in England as well. New York opened their arms to me and my whole team, and it was phenomenal.
Even though it didn't go my way what an undercard, the history that was created, I'm still speechless, it was an amazing night.
From the changing room, we was in the Knicks dressing room, warmed up really well, I had no panic attacks, I'm not that type of person, you know me.
I'm gonna keep on saying, 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 gameplan didn't go to plan. So I have to kind of readjust, analyse, do my best to correct it and do my job in the rematch."