Anthony Joshua has admitted that winning the world heavyweight title after just 16 fights was "a blessing and a curse"
Joshua was world champion four years after winning Olympic gold when he defeated Charles Martin for the IBF belt in 2016.
And since that day, his career has been a whirlwind of stadium shows and world title defences, but his activity has slowed down to a pace of around one or two fights a year.
He had put together a 16-0 record within two-and-a-half years, but since then has fought just ten times in the last half-a-decade.
Joshua was, however, due to fight Kubrat Pulev in June 2020 before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, but was forced to sit out for almost a year.
He then had an August bout scheduled with Tyson Fury for the undisputed title in Saudi Arabia, which was cancelled due to a contractual issue which forced Fury to fight Deontay Wilder for a third time.
But outside of that, he has been kept to a schedule of around one or two fights a year since beating Martin for the belt.
Participating in an impromptu Q&A on social media, he told a fan that he agreed with their assessment that he should be fighting more regularly.
"Winning the heavyweight championships in my 16th fight was a gift and a curse!" Joshua replied. "It stopped my progression as an active fighter!"
The rare Twitter session from Joshua saw him answer a number of questions from fans, including calling out rival Joe Joyce directly.
The British duo could fight later this year, if Joshua is unable to get his contractually obligated rematch with Oleksandr Usyk due to the situation in Ukraine.
He noted that when they fought in the amateurs, he stopped Joyce within minutes, and threatened to do it again if he ends up having to make that fight happen.
"You really think I wouldn’t fight Joe Joyce?" He asked one fan after claiming he had rolled his eyes.
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And he added in a later message: "Lol ok… I’ve shared this ring with most people you see in the heavyweight division today!
"I boxed Otto Wallin twice as youngsters and I boxed Joe and stopped him in one round.
"I’d do the same thing today! Ain’t nothing changed."
Joyce's promoter Frank Warren has said that he would be willing to put Joyce in with Joshua if the Usyk fight is delayed.
He has said that the fight could follow Tyson Fury vs Dillian Whyte in selling out the near 100,000-person capacity at Wembley Stadium.
"I think the public would definitely buy into AJ-Joe Joyce," Warren responded when iFL TV suggested the possible match-up. "We’d make that in a heartbeat.
"Joe would fight him in a heartbeat - what a great domestic bust-up that is, let’s get our heads together and we’ll get that done."
