Anthony Joshua surprised fans by declaring he isn't participating in any "bulls***" after changing camps ahead of his comeback fight with Jermaine Franklin in April.
The Brit flew back from Texas, where he is now training under Derrick James, to participate in the launch press conference with Franklin in London today for their April 1 bout at The O2 arena. And in his first major press conference since losing to Oleksandr Usyk back in August, he made a number of bold comments, including that he is only boxing for the money.
And despite promoter Eddie Hearn insisting that the ability to live a normal life is one of the appeals for Joshua in America, he insists that his lifestyle hasn't changed much and that he has yet to go for coffee or visit a mall since moving to Texas. The two-time heavyweight champion is unable to leave the house without an entourage in the UK given his celebrity status, which is considerably less Stateside.
"I'm not really there go out for coffees and talk about bulls***, I'm there to put my head down and work and get ready for a fight," Joshua explained, rubbishing Hearn's theory of living a different life in America. "I still feel fresh and young, not like a seasoned pro. I adapted to certain fights so I've not taken crazy punishment. At this point in my career I'm not like 'oh s*** I've taken so much punishment,' I still feel fresh."
Joshua was his usual rambling self during today's launch event, and showed respect to his opponent who many believe should still be undefeated after a tight decision loss to Dillian Whyte in November. But he admitted that his primary motivation for fighting was money when asked by Hearn what keeps him competing.
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"I like making money, straight up this is a prize-fighting sport," he admitted. "I've been broke, my family's been broke, I know what this s*** means. I do it because I'm good at it and I hustle hard and when it's all said and done nobody will care any more so I have to make the most of it while I'm here.
"People question 'is his head in the game?' But waking up every day is a normal everyday thing, you don't think about it and going to the gym for a fighter is the same. So many fighters go to the gym every day, but there's a difference when you put your heart into it. I've had to get rid of a lot of distractions to get my heart back in the game.
"I've always built businesses outside of boxing out of fear of going back. I wanted to build an empire so I will never say I made stupid decisions. "But I made a conscious decision last year to just step back and put my heart into boxing and nothing else. So, I've definitely got that fire going again. It's not just the mind and where your head is at it's the heart."
