Anthony Joshua has spoken concerning the “ache” he has endured in his skilled boxing profession forward of his IBF world heavyweight title battle with Daniel Dubois at Wembley on Saturday.
Joshua, 34, is seeking to reclaim a world title for the primary time since his first defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in September 2021, and advised the BBC concerning the inner difficulties of making an attempt to return to the top of the game, notably given he fell brief once more in opposition to Usyk in August 2022.
“I’ve labored onerous and been by numerous ache, and I’ve labored onerous to get higher,” he mentioned.
“Hopefully, these experiences received’t occur once more as a result of, as you noticed that evening [after the second Usyk loss], I don’t like shedding.”
Since that 2022 defeat in Saudi Arabia, Joshua has rehabilitated his profession with snug wins over Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin and most not too long ago Francis Ngannou. In that final battle, Joshua brutally knocked out the previous UFC celebrity in Spherical 2.
“I believe I’m gifted with a capability to battle and compete. In boxing you’re in a position to learn sure tendencies, you’re in a position to learn your opponent, so I can all the time have a watch for that,” Joshua mentioned.
“However there’s a supreme stage you can take it to. And it’s occurred over the previous eight or 10 months. I’ve actually honed in on these expertise.”
Joshua’s conflict with Dubois is about to happen in entrance of 96,000 followers at English soccer’s nationwide stadium, with the winner prone to assume prime place to battle both Tyson Fury or Usyk subsequent, relying on the result of their rematch in December.