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Anthony Joshua is set to face Oleksandr Usyk in their highly anticipated rematch on August 20 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The Brit was handed his second professional defeat by the Ukrainian in September 2021, where he had his world titles taken from him.
While 'AJ' is planning to retrieve his WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO Heavyweight Titles, he has revealed that he isn't very interested in the belts anymore.
The former Olympic gold medalist has suggested that he hasn't received the respect he deserves during his time as a fighter and that he will throw his belts away if he wins again.
This was revealed while doing an interview with JD Sports, where Joshua was reflecting on his recent defeat. Speaking about how he started his professional career with a large volume of knockout victories, he said:
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"I feel like I never got that respect. When I came into this division, it was whack. I thought, 'I'm gonna come in and take on everyone'… I feel like I'm not getting looked at as someone who is a dominant heavyweight in the division."
Joshua continued:
"This big Anthony Joshua wins and becomes three-time [world champion], I'm gonna dash these belts because you gotta learn to respect me as a person. Quote that. I don't wanna be respected because of belts, I wanna be respected because of the man you see."
Watch Joshua's full interview with JD Sports here:
Why hasn't Anthony Joshua received the respect he feels he deserves in his boxing career?
When Joshua entered the professional ranks after securing a gold medal at the 2012 Olympic Games, his career took the sport by storm. The Englishman demolished his opponents within the early rounds.
After 'AJ' faced his first defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr. in 2019, many fans began to doubt the former champion. This was then accompanied by the hype and the return of Tyson Fury, who returned to defeat Deontay Wilder and become world champion again.
'AJ' is certainly one of the kings of the heavyweight division but it is a lot more competitive than it was when he first broke onto the scene.
Watch Joshua vs. Ruiz 1 here:
