Anthony Joshua has seemingly been taking cues from Mike Tyson since his knockout loss to Daniel Dubois in September.
Riding a four-fight winning streak at the time, many tipped AJ to secure the vacant IBF heavyweight world championship when he squared off against 'DDD' at Wembley. However, the bout took an unexpected turn - with Dubois outperforming the two-time title holder and sealing victory in the fifth round.
Joshua attempted to end the match as he rocked his adversary during the round, launching an attack after landing a series of powerful right hands. This proved to be a miscalculation on AJ's part, as Dubois hit him with a counter right hook during the exchange and sent him tumbling to the canvas, marking the fourth loss of his professional boxing career.
Rather than wallowing in the disappointment of defeat, it seems Joshua has taken the advice Tyson gave Errol Spence Jr. following his own first loss to heart. Spence Jr. hasn't stepped into the ring since his 2023 TKO defeat by Terence Crawford, which led him to relinquish his WBA (Super), WBC, and IBF welterweight titles.
Discussing the matter during a guest appearance on the It Is What It Is podcast, Tyson opined that a single loss should not signal the end of a fighter's career. The former heavyweight champion said: "The sky's the limit. That doesn't mean nothing, a loss. He [Spence] can still make a lot of money. This is what fighters nowadays [do]. They lose a fight, they get discouraged, [think] I might not do this no more. That's what life's about - you don't get discouraged.
"In life you're going to lose...whatever. Lose our job, lose our mother, lose our teeth, lose our hair, and we've got to continue to live, continue to navigate." Meanwhile, Joshua's promoter, Eddie Hearn, is adamant that his fighter isn't hanging up the gloves yet.
Hearn detailed Joshua's determination to rise to the top again, and that he'd hoped to face the winner of Dubois' bout with Joseph Parker on Saturday night before the former was forced to pull out, citing illness. Parker will now take on Martin Bakole instead.
Hearn told BetFred: "Right now because Tyson Fury is retired, so put him to the side, the number one choice for AJ is to fight for the world heavyweight title. That's 99 per cent of what he wants to do and if that's Daniel Dubois, no problem.
"If that's Joseph Parker, no problem. If AJ turns around and says that's what he's doing, then it's done. It's not me saying he can't fight Daniel Dubois. Some people say he shouldn't have fought Oleksandr Usyk. What are you talking about? It's your job, he's the mandatory, what do you want to do? Give your belt up and have all that criticism that you ducked Usyk and you vacated your belt to do it?"
Hearn also clarified that Joshua has no plans to follow Tyson Fury into retirement anytime soon. The 'Gypsy King' announced his departure from the sport in January after consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk, dashing any hopes of a much-anticipated face-off between him and Joshua.
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