Anthony Joshua jokes ‘he wants to go back to fighting easy opponents’

The Briton conceded his WBA, IBF and WBO titles to Andy Ruiz Jr after being repeatedly knocked down by the Mexican earlier this month

Samuel Lovett
Tuesday 18 June 2019 10:37 BST
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Anthony Joshua reacts to shocking Andy Ruiz defeat

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Anthony Joshua has jokingly said he wants to “go back to fighting some easy opponents” after watching heavyweight rival Tyson Fury outclass Tom Schwarz in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

Fury knocked down his German opponent in the second round of their clash – just two weeks on from Joshua’s stunning defeat at the hands of Andy Ruiz Jr, in which the Briton conceded his WBA, IBF and WBO titles to the Mexican.

Speaking in a live Instagram story, Joshua praised Fury for his performance but couldn’t resist landing a small dig.

“Thoughts on Tyson Fury’s win? He done what he had to,” Joshua said.

“I could talk s*** but he done what he had to, well played to him.”

“I wanna go back to fighting some easy opponents,” he joked, before being asked about Schwarz’s ranking.

“56th. I think, why am out here doing all this s*** myself? D’ya know what I mean?”

In the wake of his victory over Schwarz, Fury made time to take aim at his domestic rival.

“I don’t take myself too seriously. I’m big, fat, bald-headed and I came walking out in an Uncle Sam outfit.

“A couple of weeks ago we saw a man (Joshua) who was a bit afraid to be in the ring. Did I show any of that? I don’t think so.

“I love to fight, I love when the crowd is all there and want to see a good fight, the big attention. I thrive with all of that sort of stuff.”

Next up for Fury could be Kubrat Pulev or even drugs cheat Jarrell Miller, with the American's doping ban set to end in September.

For Joshua, a rematch against Ruiz has been pencilled in for November or December.

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