Anthony Joshua contacted former rival Wladimir Klitschko to offer war support after losing to Oleksandr Usyk last year.
The British heavyweight was looking to overturn his loss to Ukrainian star Usyk last year when the pair met in a unified world title rematch in the Middle East. Joshua lost by split decision in a fight that may have normally been held in Usyk's home country, had a war not been tearing its way through Usyk's homeland during the time of the fight.
Russian president Vladimir Putin elected to invade Ukraine and declare war on its people, which delayed Joshua's second meeting with Usyk as the new champion decided to stay at home and help his country with the war efforts. After being granted permission to leave, he decided to continue his career and finish his business with Joshua.
Despite the rivalry becoming intense in Saudi Arabia, Usyk has admitted he found huge respect for Joshua after learning that he personally called Klitschko just days after losing the clash. "This is boxing! It's not like I beat him up, humiliated him, or something," Usyk told Parimatch when assessing his relationship with Joshua after their two showdowns.
"This is boxing, we go into the ring, he hits me and I will try to hit him, it's part of the job. For example, I know that Anthony Joshua called Wladimir and asked him how he could be useful to Ukraine or help and I have double respect for him for that. So that's where it comes in: boxing and helping."
Joshua had already addressed the ongoing war in his rival's homeland by sending his wishes to the country during a face-off with Usyk before the sequel last year. It is not the first member of the country that 'AJ' has impressed, having earned glowing praise from Klitschko after their epic showdown in 2017.
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The Briton now faces a rebuild to his career after the losses to Usyk, and he will next take on Jermaine Franklin in his comeback fight on April 1 at London's O2 arena. It has been a time of change for the former two-time champion who has now appointed Derrick James as his new trainer after parting ways with Robert Garcia.
And he has admitted he will need to prepare in much more detail to pick up a win in his upcoming test with Franklin. He said on the DAZN Boxing Show : “I have to take Jermaine Franklin more seriously than I did Usyk. Not that I’m comparing the two, but I now know better.”
“How I trained [for Usyk], it wasn’t enough. I have to put more pressure on myself in order to perform better. As long as I’m fighting, I’m going to have a level of self expectation to improve as a fighter.”
