Anthony Joshua has admitted his profession wanted a “reset” forward of his return to the ring for a shock struggle in opposition to YouTube star Jake Paul.
Joshua has been absent from the ring since a brutal knockout loss to Daniel Dubois in September 2024 and was linked with a string of big-name fights earlier than agreeing to face Paul in Miami this weekend.
Forward of the bout, which takes place on Friday night native time in Miami however within the early hours of Saturday morning within the UK, Joshua has launched a video on his YouTube channel that includes a number of interviews with him from latest weeks.
Explaining his prolonged absence from the ring, Joshua stated: “I always say this, for every time you win, there’s a reason. For every time you lose, there’s a reason.
“So why I pause is as a result of while you lose, you are likely to take a deeper take a look at your self and take time to determine what went unsuitable.
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“I had to take a look at the explanation why I misplaced, and I stated to myself ‘I feel I want a little bit of time’ as a result of I predicted this second in like 2018. Not the loss, however the work I used to be taking up was so much.
“I used to be transferring 100 miles an hour, inside coaching, making ready for fights, working outdoors of boxing and for any man or any lady, at some stage, they in all probability want a little bit of a reset.
“So it came to that stage, really, in 2025, where I was at the time and I thought, ‘you know, I probably need a year out of the game.”
“The question is, should Anthony Joshua fight Jake Paul? Who knows? But we’re going to do it anyway.”
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The 36-year-old revealed that he had been planning on making a shock return to motion in Saudi Arabia, however the likelihood to tackle Paul in a extremely profitable bout noticed him change course.
“The plan was to take a year out of the game, come back with an understated fight, make a low-key entry back into the heavyweight division,” Joshua stated.
“I was actually planning on fighting this weekend in Saudi Arabia. Plan was, go on, no media, no press conference and just walk out, have a fight and everyone like, ‘bro, where did this come from?’
“So now we’re preventing with Jake Paul in Miami, December 19. That is why you’ve got at all times obtained to remain prepared since you by no means know what’s across the nook. All the time keep prepared.”
Joshua ‘wants to grasp’ Paul’s rhythm
On paper, the struggle is a big mismatch with two-time heavyweight world champion Joshua taking up Paul, who hasn’t confronted an opponent anyplace close to the Brit’s calibre throughout his 13 skilled bouts.
Joshua insists his focus is on the finer particulars of his personal efficiency, fairly than the expectation that he’ll declare a swift knockout victory.
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Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn shares his ideas on Anthony Joshua’s upcoming heavyweight bout with Jake Paul and believes it could possibly be the tip for boxing if Paul causes a large upset
He added: “The first bell’s going to go, I need to understand Jake Paul’s rhythm, I need to understand his negatives, his positives and then obviously I’m going to exploit them.
“What I’ll do personally is be on the highest level of self.
“Everything that I’ve watched the greats do, I’m just going to do exactly what I need to do. I am going to be the best version of myself.
“If I say to myself, at present I need you to do that, I need you to do this and I need you to be wonderful, I need you to catch and counter, I need you to slide and counter, I need you to parry and counter, I need you to bounce, I need you to up jab, I need you to spear jab, I need you to flick a jab, I need you to double jab, I need you to jab going again.
“I am going do everything that I want to do and no one’s going to stop me.”
