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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Liam Prenderville

Anthony Joshua sends message to Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury after Andy Ruiz Jr defeat

Anthony Joshua insists he still has his sights set on Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury despite his shock defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr.

Joshua lost his unbeaten record and his world heavyweight titles after he was stunned by Ruiz Jr. in New York on Saturday night.

The Brit was knocked down on multiple occasions as the referee stopped him in the seventh round.

A rematch clause means the two will meet again, likely in the UK later this year, in what is a huge setback to Joshua's target of unifying the division.

But he maintains heavyweight rivals Wilder and Fury are still targets.

Anthony Joshua was beaten by Andy Ruiz Jr (Action Images via Reuters)

"If people ask me about Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury, I’m all ears to it and I’ll give you the answer," he said in his post-fight press conference.

"I still want to compete with those men but a rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr is where we are at. I got caught on the top of the head and I just didn’t recover in time, so now I brush off the cobwebs and go again."

Asked how much of a setback the defeat was, the Brit added: "Naturally it does, but if it was the end of the road I would say yes, but it’s about what is next. It is a minor setback but the locks on the door do not change and I still love the sport.

Joshua was down again twice in the seventh round (PA)

"I’ll see what is next and move on. He is a decent fighter and it was his chance, it can be easy to overlook someone because of their shape but he was the better man tonight and he won.

"I’m still a champ and I will rectify it to get the belts back. I come from a good family but I have dealt with more than this in life. I feel it is part of a journey I am on, and this is boxing. We didn’t come this far to stop under pressure."

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