‘Been through a lot of pain’published at 19:12 British Summer Time
Dubois v Joshua
Anthony Joshua is looking to join an elite group of fighters in becoming a three-time heavyweight champion on Saturday.
The 2012 Olympic gold medallist has endured a tough three years, admitting he has “been through a lot of pain”, but feels he has come out the other side and is ready to return to the top.
Joshua suffered the second defeat of his career in September 2021, losing via unanimous decision and relinquishing his WBA, IBF and WBO titles to Oleksandr Usyk.
Ukraine’s Usyk won the rematch in August 2022 by split decision.
Joshua has since rebuilt his reputation and worked his way back to mandatory challenger position by reeling off four successive victories against Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou.
“I’ve worked hard and been through a lot of pain, and I’ve worked hard to get better,” he told BBC Sport.
“Hopefully those experiences won’t happen again because as you saw that night, I don’t like losing.
“I think I’m gifted with an ability to fight and compete. In boxing you’re able to read certain tendencies, you’re able to read your opponent, so I can always have an eye for that.
“But there’s a supreme level that you can take it to. And it’s happened over the past eight or 10 months. I’ve really honed in on those skills.”