For the first time since defeating Wladimir Klitschko in April 2017, Anthony Joshua finds himself preparing for a fight without having to look ahead and answer questions about other figthers and upcoming bouts on his radar.
The former world unified heavyweight champion has blinders on about taking back his WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO titles from Andy Ruiz Jr. in their rematch and that's refreshing to "AJ" to the point where he can already envision his ring walk Dec. 7 in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, and live on DAZN.
"I don't have to overlook the man sitting on the right of me to get to that," Joshua said during the Ruiz-Joshua II press conference in London on Friday about his goal of becoming a two-time world champ.
"I am walking straight to it and as the days are ticking away, it will come closer and closer and closer to the point where I'm in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, walk into that ring — probably jog into that ring this time — cracking my neck, clinching my fists and when that bell goes, we're going to get down and dirty and handle business. And I can't wait to trade some leather."
That kind of ring walk Dec. 7 would mark a far cry from how Joshua entered the ring at Madison Square Garden in New York City on June 1, essentially without a drip of sweat on his body, before going on to lose by seventh-round TKO to Ruiz.
During an interview with DAZN's Ak & Barak last month, Tyson Fury said that Joshua got "caught cold" entering the ring that night.
“I seen him walk into the ring, and he had no sweat on him,” Fury said. “And it’s an old cliché in boxing that you got to warm up — it’s called ‘being caught cold.’”
He added: “He was like a rabbit caught in the headlights. I said, ‘He’s getting knocked out.’ I said, ‘A hundred percent, he’s getting knocked out.’”
Four knockdowns later and Fury was right.
That being said, Joshua vows that history won't repeat itself. Already looking slimmer, Joshua dashed any thought of overlooking Ruiz for another opponent, saying the Mexican fighter is the best in the division, period.
"Right now, in my opinion," Joshua said, "Andy Ruiz is the best heavyweight out there."