“Before I Leave I will Secure More Wins” Anthony Joshua Makes Retirement Admission In Post To Fans
Anthony Joshua is in the final stages of his career, And a fine one it has been too. The former Olympic gold medalist turned professional in October 2013 and racked up 20 consecutive knockout wins which took him all the way to the IBF title, and then an epic unification fight with Wladimir Klitschko which saw him add the WBA and IBO belts to his waist.
It was Joseph Parker who was the first man to take ‘AJ’ the distance, but he still surrendered his WBO belt in the process. Joshua’s first loss came to Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019, but he avenged it later that year to regain his belts before once more losing them to Oleksandr Usyk and failing to win them back in a rematch in 2022.
A series of four rebuild wins saw him stop the likes of Robert Helenius, Francis Ngannou and Otto Wallin before young IBF strap holder Daniel Dubois derailed his quest to become a three-time world champion by knocking him out at Wembley Stadium in the fifth round last September.
Many hoped Joshua would fight Tyson Fury before his career ended, but instead, Fury retired at the start of January.
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Posting on Instagram, Joshua quoted from the 2002 film ‘Paid in Full’ to make his point that he could now leave ‘the game’ with the money he has made, but questioned whether he would still get the fan admiration if he were to hang up the gloves
“I love the game. I love the hustle. I feel like one of them ball players you know? Like Bird, Magic, James, Jordan, Kobe or something. You know I got dough, I could leave the league… But if I leave.…………. Are the fans still gonna love me, man? I get love out here in streets man.”
One option for Joshua right now is a rematch with Dubois, though ‘DDD’ has made it clear that he would prefer a rematch with Usyk for the chance to become undisputed champion. Parker is another in-form fighter who wants a second shot at Joshua.
