Anthony Joshua admitted that the one-sided defeat to Alexander Usyk “hurt” his pride as he had no excuse to back down.
The Watford Warriors lost the unified heavyweight title after being overturned by an undefeated Ukrainian in a fight at Tottenham last September.
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But unlike the spectacular stoppage loss against Andy Ruiz Jr. two and a half years ago, the loss to southpaw Usyak has been a tough bullet for AJ.
The 32-year-old told Sky Sports: “I’m on the big stage.
“I am, as a champion, I am among the names of this current generation. You will see why.
“If I don’t fight with the best, I can’t lose. People have high expectations of me and I have high expectations of myself.
“That’s why I feel like I didn’t make excuses when I lost the first time.
“But I had my reason and I always felt good because I took my loss because I knew I would get it back so I gave it away.
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“But it hurt because I was at 100%, no problem, everything was good and I lost the night to the better man.”
The loss of the former undisputed cruiserweight King has kindled a fire led by Joshua, who has vowed to rise to the top again after mentally removing himself from the canvas.
He said: “It inspired me to get myself out of the situation where it killed me mentally.
“I have fought for my return and I will redeem myself.”
Joshua will have a revamped coaching team for his spring rematch with Usyk, although it is currently unknown whether he has split with longtime coach Rob McCracken.
During an appearance at Expo 2020 in Dubai, Joshua said: “I am a loyal character. I believe loyalty is important.
“I’ve been to Sheffield and have had a good conversation with my coach and I want to try some new things, I want to try a new environment.
“Maybe I can do a training camp in Dubai, maybe I can do a training camp in Africa, in America – a new environment to get inspired again and take the heavyweight division by storm.”
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“New environment, work with some good coaches and just go to war. It’s a warrior mentality.”
SunSport understands that Joshua’s potential do-or-die rematch with Uisk is currently scheduled for late March or early April.
An official announcement is expected to be made in the coming weeks.
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