Anthony Joshua offers stinging rebuttal to claims he's lost his mental edge

Anthony Joshua insists he does not need any psychological help ahead of his rematch with Andy Ruiz because he has ‘not become a p***y overnight’.

Joshua was dropped, stopped and relieved of his WBA, WBO and IBF world heavyweight titles by late stand-in Ruiz at New York’s Madison Square Garden on 1 June in one of the biggest heavyweight upsets of all time.

He will get his chance for revenge on 7 December in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia and has been locked away in his usual Sheffield training camp devising a game plan with which to despatch Ruiz.

However, the London 2012 Olympic champion has revealed that his preparation has not included any form of psychological support because his champion’s mindset remains despite a lack of belts.

“We haven’t done anything differently mentally,” he said. “I am a champion.

“I walked into the gym in 2008 and three years later I was Olympic champion. I have had one loss but I am not about to become a p***y overnight and not be able to fight.

“I can fight, that is it, I don’t need to reflect on that, I just need to win.

“One loss can’t strip your skin off overnight, when you put your solid foundations in, one chip in the brick can’t destroy the whole building.”

Instead Joshua has invested heavily in recruiting the best sparring partners to recreate 6ft 2in Ruiz’s size and style. Heavyweights Bryant Jennings and Tim Motten have both done numerous rounds with the former world champion while cruiserweight Andrew Tabiti has also provided hand speed comparable to Ruiz’s.

David Haye, in particular, had questioned the suitability of sparring in Joshua’s previous training camps, suggesting that it may not have prepared him for what he described as a ‘dogfight’ against Ruiz.

“He has never been in my camp,” Joshua hit back at Haye. “And I only needed 16 fights to become champion of the world, I have always been a fighter. You cannot be lacking anything and I have not been protected, Rob [McCracken] has not been telling my sparring partners to tie one hand behind their back.”

Joshua has also denied that his training camp has also involved a significant weight cut from the 17st 9 3/4lb frame which was toppled by Ruiz nearly six months ago, even though a series of photographs appear to show a far leaner physique.

He said: “I think it is more to do with the angles of the photos.

“I am still as strong as ever, still as heavy as ever and in the heavyweight division.

“Weight is a big factor in the heavyweight division these days but I don’t think it should be such a big deal.

“I leave it down to my sparring and how I prepare for the fight, I am not really focused on my weight, I am just focused on my sparring.

“I could weigh anything but it just comes down to how I perform in the ring. I am not interested in getting down or up to 110gk and then thinking I am fit.

“My diet is the same as before but I’ve just cut down on the salt.

“Everyone in the team has different opinions on my weight but I like going off of my sparring,” Joshua said.

“If I am sparring 10 or 15 rounds at 120kgs them I am good. The sparring gives me all the information I need.

“If I sparred six times and after a chat with Rob I decided which one was my best spar, we will know what weight I was and adjust it to that.

“I will never get my weight down and then adjust my sparring to that. I am not concerned with anything apart from how I am performing in the ring.”

Sky Sports Box Office will exclusively show Ruiz vs. Joshua 2 on 7 December. Available to buy now at www.skysports.com/joshua.

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