Anthony Joshua has dismissed the importance of world title glory ahead of his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk.
'AJ' will return to the ring seeking redemption when he takes on Usyk for a second time at the Jeddah Super Dome in Saudi Arabia this Saturday night. Victory would see him reclaim the unified world titles he lost to Usyk in September and become three-time heavyweight world champion.
An added incentive for Joshua will now be the Ring magazine belt being on the line after long-term rival Tyson Fury opted to vacate the belt as he closes in on his planned retirement. Despite the bonus prize at stake, Joshua has claimed the belt "don't mean s***" and is annoyed at the price he pays in sanctioning fees.
"Not much it don't mean s***," Joshua responded when asked by a reporter what the Ring title meant to him during a Zoom call. "None of them belts do it is what it is. They just f***ing taking my sanctioning fees and they literally just look good when I go to show all the kids and say 'look at my belts'. "I always say 'I am the f***king man'.
"All that stuff for me is here today and gone tomorrow. I just have never felt like these belts made me, you have to be the champ before you are the champ. That way you always keep your head held high. I never want to go to rock bottom because I am not champion because I need to believe I am solid. That is why I am not interested in Ring Magazine and the other titles because I don't want them to depend on for my happiness."
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Joshua has spoken at length for his reasons of getting into the sport, and is eyeing a number of goals to complete including a lucrative meeting with long-term rival Fury. A win for Joshua in his latest revenge mission against Usyk will likely set up an opportunity at challenging Fury with all the belts on the line including his rival's WBC crown.
Joshua has previously suggested he would bin the belts to secure a fight with Fury if needed to prevent the fight from collapsing, but has also claimed he would be willing to sacrifice the titles to earn more respect. "I feel like I’m not getting looked at as someone who is a dominant heavyweight in the division," he told JD Sports.
" Anthony Joshua goes and wins, becomes three-time, I'm going to dash these belts. Because you’ve got to learn to respect me as a person. I don’t want to be respected because of the belts I hold."
