19 December 2025
Anthony Joshua believes his boxing career has suffered because he has been “distracted” by things outside of the sport in recent years.
Anthony Joshua gives reason for his boxing failures
The British fighter will return to the ring for the first time in over a year when he takes on YouTuber Jake Paul on Friday (19.12.25) and has stressed that he is fully committed to the sport again after taking his eye off the ball and focusing on his business ventures.
Joshua told reporters: “I went off track for a few years, I was doing a lot of stuff, man.
“I was watching a [Mike] Tyson video, with Cus D’Amato, and he said: ‘Your mind’s not on your work, something’s distracting you.’ He said that to Tyson.
“And I said: ‘That’s it! I’ve been too distracted.’ And that’s when I shut down all my businesses and devoted myself to the fight game again.
“My mind is just filled with pain, hurt, victory and just wanting to win. I’ve put my mind in boxing again.”
Asked about the pain he has felt, the former world heavyweight champion added: “The sort of stuff I want to do to opponents. I want to compete, fight. You hit me? Okay cool, I’m going to hit you back 10 times harder.
“That’s where my mind is. I’m not going to the gym on my phone thinking about, ‘Has the [tax] bill been paid? Has the rota been done? Has this employee’s contract been done?’
“I’m thinking about how can I beat up my sparring partner? How can I look good? How can I hit the bag today? You have to really think about how you’re going to do well in training.”
Two-time heavyweight champion of the world AJ – who lost his last fight in September 2024 by knockout to Daniel Dubois – has promised that he will show the “full” version of himself against Paul and won’t waste time in his search for a knockout.
He said: “I’ve never gone in there and knocked someone out within 10 seconds.
“There’s a methodical process to knocking someone out. But if the opportunity presents itself, I’m not planning on carrying Jake for one second more than I have to.”
