Promoter Eddie Hearn wants Anthony Joshua to free himself from the negative opinions of others and focus on the 90% positivity from his fans.
Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) is feeling down and perhaps is feeling shame following his second loss to Oleksandr Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs) last Saturday night.
Hearn wants Joshua to free himself of the opinions, as they’re getting to him mentally. Joshua is already unhappy as it is after his loss, considering that was his third in his last five fights.
If Joshua listens to his critics, they could hamper his ability to bounce back from this latest defeat and get back to his winning ways.
For that reason, it would be a good idea for Joshua to go offline and not use the Internet to read about his performance.
Also, it would be wise for Hearn to back Joshua off from fighting elite-level heavyweights and give him a few C+ fighters to help build up his confidence.
“He wants to get respect from the industry,” said Eddie Hearn to DAZN Boxing Show about Anthony Joshua. “I said to him, ‘You got to stop thinking about what other people think because it’s impossible to make everybody happy.’
“You need to remove yourself from the opinions because some people have an agenda. Some people are bitter about something that happened in the past and won’t give you the credit.
“You won’t listen to the 90% positivity. You’ll listen to the 10% negativity. All it’s going to do is make you feel like s***. I told AJ, ‘Look at what you’ve done. Go back to that 17-year-old kid that really didn’t have a future.’
“You’ve changed the sport in this country and maybe even globally. You’re a two-time world heavyweight champion, and you’ve filled stadiums around the world.
“You inspired people. You couldn’t have been there at your age and think you’re going to achieve this in your life. You’ve got to fall in love with the sport. He loves boxing.
“I said to him, ‘You did well on Saturday.’ ‘I didn’t do well. I didn’t win.’ ‘Mate, trust me. You boxed well.’
“The ones in the past that said, ‘Oh, he’s this or that.’ A lot of them are saying, ‘Fair play, he boxed well.’ He didn’t stop trying. You got battered in 10, 11, and 12. You kept coming forward; you kept trying. People respect that,” said Hearn about Joshua.
