Anthony Joshua has stated why his loss to Oleksandr Usyk hurt much more than his shock TKO defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr.
They have been the two defeats of Joshua's career, coming against the American-Mexican in 2019 before losing to Usyk this past year, and the 32-year-old has explained why one hurt more than the other.
Ruiz shocked the world when he defeated Joshua in 2019.
Coming in as a replacement for Jarrell Miller, Ruiz was a heavy underdog for the fight, with Joshua having a five-inch height advantage and a significant reach advantage too.
Many had joked about Ruiz being out of shape on the night but he was able to land a number of big shots on Joshua in the early rounds before dropping him twice and winning via a seventh round TKO.
It was a result which almost no-one saw coming.
Joshua would go on to avenge the loss later that year, beating Ruiz decisively on points in Saudi Arabia.
In the past year Joshua seemed primed for the fight we've all been waiting for - an all-British heavyweight contest with Tyson Fury.
All he had to do was get by the tricky Usyk, but the Ukrainian was able to outbox Joshua throughout the night - winning on a points decision in a somewhat dominant performance.
He told Sky Sports: "When I lost the first time (vs Ruiz) I never made any excuses. I had my reasons but I took my loss because I knew that I would get it back, so I brushed it under the carpet.
"But this one (vs Usyk) hurt, because I was 100 per cent. I had no problems, everything was cool. I just went in there and lost to the better man on the night.
“It hurt but it gave me the motivation to pull me out of the position where it had mentally killed me. I have fought my way back and I will redeem myself.”
Joshua has since admitted that he got his tactics wrong against the 19-0 champ and is likely to employ a more aggressive style in the rematch.
He said: "With that fight, it’s clear that styles make fights and I adopted the wrong style.
"That’s not to say next time I’ll go out there and swing like a mad man, but I have certain strengths that will cause him and a lot of other people a lot of problems."
Usyk was noticeably smaller in terms of physicality against Joshua, but his technical quality and in-ring awareness saw him pick apart his illustrious opponent.
The rematch could take place in April but a confirmed date has yet to have been announced.
