Anthony Joshua has called for Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder to fight better opponents, and claimed: "It shouldn’t be about anything else apart from the best fighting the best."
Joshua has previously explained how focusing on becoming undisputed heavyweight champion contributed to his shock defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr - a result he plans to avenge on December 7.
Joshua said on AJ: The Untold Truth: "I've taken on the world from my 16th fight, I've consistently done that. Then I'm fighting Ruiz Jr?
"Tyson Fury is fighting Otto Wallin but nobody talks about that. I fought Wallin as an amateur. [Wilder and Fury] are the cream of the crop and shouldn't be fighting those type of people.
"Look at the time frame of when I turned professional to when others did. And they don't want to fight me. It shouldn't be about anything else apart from the best fighting the best."
Joshua became world champion in his 16th fight after three years as a professional. Fury accomplished it in his 25th fight after seven years, whereas it took Wilder 33 fights and seven years.
He continued: "The guys who I'm supposed to fight are turning down the most lucrative offers in boxing.
"[Promoter Eddie Hearn] told me that when I win the belts: 'you will be in a position of power, nobody will dictate to you'.
"I give people the opportunity to fight in front of the biggest crowd, the biggest global audience, get the most publicity, earn the highest purse, and to become champion. They turn it down. Credit to Ruiz Jr."
Fury and Wilder drew a match-up last December with the WBC title at stake, and plan a rematch in February 2020 if they each win a fight in the meantime. Fury faces Wallin on September 14 and Wilder is expected to meet Luis Ortiz, who he has already beaten.
"I've got something to fight for now," Joshua said. "The guys I wanted to fight are tying themselves up for a year-and-a-half.
"They froze me out. Wilder has [agreed] his next fight with Ortiz, his next fight with Fury.
"We take on the best competitors in the division every time. We take challenges, and Ruiz Jr was the best of the crop that was available to me.
"Manuel Charr, Michael Hunter? How can I fight someone like Charr? I wanted the best, and Ruiz Jr was the best. If you want to win every fight, don't step into battle."
Joshua reiterated that his focus has renewed on regaining the IBF, WBA and WBO titles from Ruiz Jr.
"All eyes on Ruiz Jr. Nobody can talk to me about Wilder or Fury - that is irrelevant," he said.
"And nobody should talk to me about Wilder or Fury after I beat Ruiz Jr, because they have made it clear what they are doing. They have got the whole of 2020 booked up. Until they are free, nobody talk to me about Wilder or Fury."
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Caption: Anthony Joshua, after his loss to Andy Ruiz, in June this year in New York.
I was never knocked out before Ruiz match-------Anthony Joshua
British-Nigerian boxer, Anthony Joshua, has stated emphatically that he was not knocked out in
sparring before he suffered a defeat against Mexican's Andy Ruiz in New York.
Joshua in June this year suffered his first ever career defeat at the hands of Ruiz, which stunned many sports enthusiasts especially boxing buffs, as the former lost all his World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Organisation (WBO) titles on a night.
But during the build up for the boxing fight, Anthony Joshua was reported to have been hurt and the Englishman has rubbished the claims.
"Definitely not. I feel like people are more interested in their five minutes of fame. Even in sparring, everyone wants to be famous, rather than a good fighter.
"Silly stories about knocking me down and all that stuff. You can't even enjoy your training and work on things without someone trying to make up false allegations, and trying to get five minutes of fame.
"You bring someone into your training camp to do them a favour, you’re paying them, nothing like the knockdown rumour in that nature has happened, you beat them up in every round, then they go and do an interview,'' Joshua told Sky Sports.
Joshua is now preparing for a rematch with Andy Ruiz which is expected to take place in Saudi Arabia on December 7.
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REVEALED! Joshua agreed Pulev fight before Ruiz loss
ANTHONY Joshua had agreed to fight Kubrat Pulev at Wembley in November before his stunning first professional defeat at the hands of Andy Ruiz Jr, in New York in June this year.
It mean the Brit lost his world heavyweight belts but will look to get them back when
the rematch with Ruiz takes place in Saudi Arabia on December 7.
But it wasn’t meant to be like that for Joshua, it seems.
Joshua appeared to be on a collision course for a undisputed bout with Deontay Wilder before the defeat to Ruiz.
Pulev will fight the winner of the rematch having been named mandatory challenger by the International Boxing Federation (IBF).
It comes two years after Pulev was expected to face former champion Joshua in 2017 before pulling out due to injury.
And Pulev’s team has revealed that Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn had initially set up a fight against the Bulgarian for later this year.
“Eddie is running this heavyweight title like it’s his own private enterprise,” said Ivaylo Gotzev of Epic Sports.
“The bottom line is, Pulev originally fought an IBF eliminator over three years ago. He
was next in line with his IBF mandatory status."
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Real story behind Ruiz victory------Joshua
ANTHONY Joshua has admitted it was a mistake to allow Andy Ruiz Jr to handle his world title belts before the Mexican beat him earlier this year.
Ruiz Jr stunned the boxing world when he knocked Joshua down four times on the way to a seventh round stoppage.
Prior to the bout in New York, Anthony Joshua allowed Ruiz Jr to playfully hold the World Boxing Association, International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Organisation belts in a press conference.
But just two days later, Ruiz held the belts for real after getting up from the canvas to hand Joshua his first professional defeat.
And, with the rematch set for December 7 in Saudi Arabia, Joshua has admitted he shouldn’t have allowed Ruiz the chance to hold the belts before the fight.
"In hindsight, I would probably tell my fighter, as a psychological thing: 'don't give them away'," Joshua said on AJ: The Untold Truth.
"I always said previously that the belts didn't represent me. I was responsible, and a champion, before I had those belts.
"The belts can't dictate who I am, as a man. The belts can go but I still have a championship mind-set.
"Boxing means, to me, more than the belts. Boxing is about building a championship mindset."
Joshua and promoter Eddie Hearn have received criticism for taking the rematch to Saudi Arabia.
It’s been claimed that the bout will only take place in the country for financial reasons with Saudi Arabia previously hosting golf events and WWE.
But Hearn believes the rematch provides an opportunity to grow the sport of boxing.
"We had approaches from Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Qatar and Abu Dhabi," Hearn said.
"We wanted to go somewhere that believed in the sport of boxing, which had a vision.
“We already knew Saudi Arabia was for real and knew they were investing in the sport of boxing. That was very important for us.
"If Saudi Arabia is going to invest in these fights, with the population they have, with
the potential to grow the sport of boxing, you could be seeing a big change in the dynamics of the sport, which truly excites me.”
Hearn also dismissed the notion of Ruiz Jr vs Joshua 2 being sold to the highest bidder, insisting: “I can’t tell you that money had nothing to do with it but it was more
about the infrastructure and the fact they have done it before.
“We had to be very comfortable because we knew there would be criticism. And we
also looked at the bigger picture.
“If he wins this fight it opens up a whole new world for him and for boxing. It could change the sport forever.
“He’s always had the mindset of boxing all round the world. I expect him to box not just in Saudi Arabia but in Nigeria and in China.
“That’s an iconic global fighter, not just someone who boxes in Cardiff and Madison Square Garden.”
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Why Ruiz may refuse Joshua rematch in Saudi
ANDY Ruiz Jr holds a “strong position” in his refusal to travel to Saudi Arabia for a world title rematch with Anthony Joshua.
That’s according to promoter Frank Warren, who believes the sequel is being held in the Middle East simply because of money.
Joshua and Ruiz fought back in June and the Mexican came out on top to shock the boxing world - winning AJ’s World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Organisation (WBO) world titles in the process.
After months of back and forth over a rematch venue and date, it was announced last
week that Diriyah, a small town situated on the outskirts of Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, would host the mega-event on December 7.
Criticism of the event has been peddled by those questioning the morality of the fight
being staged in a country with questionable human rights laws.
And because of these doubts, Warren believes that Ruiz Jr holds a strong case for not
travelling to the Middle East, despite Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn’s belief that
‘The Destroyer’ could be stripped of his belts if he refuses to participate.
“Eddie has a point that he’s got a contract with him, but he’s got a real problem in saying he’ll be stripped of his titles,” he told talkSPORT.
“That’s not up to him at all, the titles belong to the governing bodies.
“The bottom line is, the US State Department advises its citizens not to go to Saudi Arabia for many reasons – the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, human rights issues, they’ve got a long paragraph on torture, cruel and inhumane treatment,
women’s rights and it talks about the risk of going to airports where terrorists may attack – that’s all on their official website
“His own government is telling him his life could be in danger.
“All this nonsense about having his titles taken away from him, that is nonsense.
“You can be sued for breach of contract, and he may have a point there, but it’s not an easy case, that’s for sure.
“He has a very, very strong position for not travelling.”
And when quizzed on why he thought Hearn was so insistent on staging the lucrative
rematch in Saudi Arabia, Warren had one answer.
“It’s because Eddie Hearn wants to broaden boxing’s appeal around the world,” he joked.
“No, of course it’s the money!
“Come on now, we all know what it’s all about. It’s purely about money, no more than
that.”
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PHOTO 1: Joshua (left) on the defensive during the ill-fated clash with Ruiz Jr in New York, USA.
PHOTO 2: Joshua before the showdown with Ruiz leading to his first career defeat.
Reigning World Boxing Association, International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Organisation heavyweight champion,
Andy Ruiz, Jr, could be stripped of one of his world titles if his rematch with Anthony Joshua goes ahead.
The Mexican-American boxer shocked the British heavyweight in June this year when he won with a seventh-round knockout.
The victory saw Ruiz take Joshua’s WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles at Madison Square Garden in New York.
An immediate rematch looks likely and promoter Eddie Hearn says it will be ‘finalised very soon’ for December 14 in the UK.
But World Boxing News reports that a spanner has been thrown into the works as Kubrat Pulev is the mandatory IBF challenger.
The Bulgarian is back from his ban for kissing a reporter after he completed a sexual harassment prevention course.
If the IBF call for that bout to happen, then it could either push the Joshua rematch, Ruiz could relinquish the belt or he could be stripped of it.
Bob Arum, founder and CEO of Top Rank, which co-promotes Pulev along with Epic Sports said: “We’ve been waiting patiently. The time is now.
“Andy Ruiz has an obligation to fight No1 mandatory IBF contender Kubrat Pulev.”
And Pulev himself added: “I was ready to face Anthony Joshua in November. Now I’m eager to challenge Andy Ruiz.
“I will fight Ruiz anywhere in the world. Let’s make it happen.”
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Caption: Ruiz deals with Anthony Joshua, during their heavyweight clash in June this year.
