Anthony Joshua has revealed his grief in a candid and open interview with Laura Woods ahead of his fight on December 23.
Joshua returns to action next weekend when he faces Otto Wallin in the main-event of the 'Day of Reckoning' card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
He goes into the bout having won back-to-back fights following his consecutive defeats to Oleksandr Usyk, where he lost his unified titles then the chance to regain them.
After his defeat in the rematch, the 34-year-old broke down in the ring as he delivered an emotional post-fight interview.
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Speaking after his second loss to Usyk, he said: "It's really, really hard for me to say I'm proud of myself. I don't feel anything, I'm just... I'm upset. Deep, down in my heart."
Asked by Woods whether he went through a stage of grieving after the defeat, the former world heavyweight champion replied: "Yeah you saw it after that [Usyk fight]."
She replied" "Yeah, was that grief?"
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Joshua added: "Yeah. Because if I weren't in the undisputed race anymore, I wanted to be champion so that was like a massive, like, I don't know how to explain it but something comes over you but it's just passion.
"Passion, a lot of emotion. Yeah, a lot of emotion. So, now I've got over that. It's not part of my plan anymore. So, what's next I could aim to become champion."
He continued: "Because it's still like you could still fight this person. You could talk about that person. And this person just emerged out of nowhere. So, there's still competition."
Joshua, who has no world title to his name, could still become undisputed champion if he can secure a fight against the winner of Tyson Fury vs. Usyk.
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Of course, he needs to get past Wallin next weekend then Wilder in 2024.
Featured Image Credit: TNT SportsTopics: Anthony Joshua, Boxing