Anthony Joshua says he didn't want to hurt Oleksandr Usyk in the first fight - "My aim was to go the full 12"

Former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has admitted that he didn't work hard enough ahead of his first bout against Oleksnandr Usyk. 'AJ' and 'The Cat' collided last September, with the Ukrainian upsetting the odds to come out victorious at the end of the 12 rounds.

Speaking about the result, Joshua revealed that his motive was not to hurt Usyk. Instead, he wanted to show that he could outbox him.

"It sounds crazy, but I'm not going to lie - my objective was never to hurt him. My aim was to go the full 12 and prove I could box as well as he does. But I didn't work hard enough to prepare for a 12-round fight at that pace." [h/t Michael Benson]

Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk are set to enter the boxing ring again in a highly anticipated rematch this weekend. While the odds now favor 'The Cat', the British heavyweight has seemingly left no stone unturned in preparation for the rematch.

That said, it will be interesting to see if Joshua can avenge his loss to Oleksandr Usyk or if history will repeat itself.

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Eddie Hearn wants the winner of Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk 2 to face Tyson Fury

Matchroom boxing promoter Eddie Hearn is hopeful of making an undisputed championship match between the winner of Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk 2 and Tyson Fury.

During a recent interaction with The National, Hearn talked about how he wants to see 'AJ' regain the belts from 'The Cat' on Saturday, saying:

“It has always been the kingdom’s aim to make the undisputed heavyweight world championship. We aren’t very far away from that with the winner of the Joshua-Usyk fight meeting Tyson Fury for the undisputed championship. I think that’s the aim of the kingdom and obviously my aim to see Anthony win on Saturday.”

It is worth noting that Tyson Fury recently reiterated his retirement once again. Moreover, the WBC has given 'The Gypsy King' until August 26 to officially make up his mind before vacating the title..

While boxing fans will be hopeful of seeing an undisputed matchup in the future, the ball lies in the court of Fury as of now and it remains to be seen as to whether or not he'll return to the squared circle for one last stand.