Anthony Joshua says he’s ‘got to work harder’ after cryptically teasing fight announcement amid doubt over Usyk rematch
ANTHONY JOSHUA admits he needs to ‘work harder’ if he’s going to become a three-time heavyweight champion.
AJ has been putting in the hard graft after having his second-reign as unified heavyweight king ended by Oleksandr Usyk last September.
But the Watford warrior seemingly believes there are more stones he can turn over in his bid to return to the summit of the stacked division.
On Friday, he tweeted: “Note to self: I got to work harder.”
Joshua, 32, has changed things up in a bid to exact revenge on Usyk – demoting long-time trainer Rob McCracken and bringing in a new head coach.
But the identity of his new head coach has yet to be revealed, although promoter Eddie Hearn has hinted it soon will be.
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Joshua’s admission about his work ethic came less than 24 hours after he hinted that an announcement over his next fight is imminent.
He tweeted on Thursday night: “Announcement soon come.”
Joshua’s rematch with Usyk is currently in major doubt as the proud Ukrainian is helping his countrymen fight off a Russian invasion.
Former undisputed cruiserweight champ Usyk seemingly has no intention of fleeing from the fight and leaving his comrades on the front lines.
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And promoter Hearn recently revealed AJ could take an interim fight while Usyk battles the Russians.
During an appearance on , he said: “Firstly, our thoughts are with everybody in Ukraine.
“People are showing incredible bravery out there, particularly some of the great fighters of the past and Oleksandr as well.
“He can have the time that he needs, we don’t want any fight other than Oleksandr Usyk.
“So whether there’s a delay to that fight and we have an interim bout – I guess that’s subject to the situation with Oleksandr Usyk and how much time that he needs.
“It’s a very emotional and personal time for the people of Ukraine, so we respect them and we’ll give them all the time.
“But we wouldn’t be looking to get out of our obligation [to fight Usyk again] is what I’m saying.
“The only fight that AJ wants right now is Oleksandr Usyk.
“If we have to fight in between, no problem at all, but we’ll respect this time for Oleksandr Usyk.
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“We’ll speak to his advisers and if there needs to be a delay to the contractual period, we will be happy to grant that.
“But we want that fight and we don’t want that obligation to slide away.”
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