BEVERLY HILLS, August 09, (THEWILL) – World heavyweight boxing champion, Anthony Joshua, has stated that it is difficult to ignore criticisms from fans and pundits.
The boxer has had to deal with lots of criticisms over the last thirteen-plus months after his shocking defeat in June 2019 by Andy Ruiz.
However, a focused, determined and leaner Joshua returned in December to face Ruiz in a rematch and ended up scoring a calculated unanimous decision victory to win back his WBO, WBA, IBF, and IBO titles.
After suffering his only career loss, the champion has had to deal with a lot of negative comments and criticism from fans.
“I think that it’s hard to ignore it. I’m not going to lie and say that I don’t pay attention to any of that, because it’s impossible not to see (the criticism),” Joshua told Men’s Health.
“I started my social media on my own and, even though it has turned into a business page, I still handle a lot of it myself.
“I think that it’s fine to have doubters, as long as you don’t believe what they’re saying the whole time. You have to prove your doubters wrong. When they don’t believe, you should always believe. The doubters aren’t always bad, either. You just have to try to find something positive out of it. They might say, ‘You’re s–t, and you’re going to get knocked out because your hands are too low’ – and I would think, ‘That’s a good indication I’ve got to keep my left hand up.’ I use the doubters as a positive factor, not as a negative one.”
He also spoke on his performance against Ruiz in Saudi Arabia, as he regained his belts and placed himself back atop the heavyweight food chain.
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“I think it’s all about adapting. Different circumstances require different preparation. It was the same war, but I had learned a lot from the first battle,” said Joshua.
“Ruiz isn’t the type of fighter that you go head to head with. For the first fight, I was planning on going in there and trading with him. But there’s an old boxing saying: ‘You don’t hook with a hooker!’ So, what did I do? I went in there and hooked with a hooker and the actual hooker came out on top.”
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