Former unified heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua says watching Ilia Topuria suffer the first defeat of his career reshaped how he's approaching his own comeback. Joshua told Combat Evolved that seeing the damage Justin Gaethje inflicted on Topuria at UFC Freedom 250 was a stark reminder of how brutal combat sports really are. "I think you've got to be in the fight game to truly know it's not lit. It's not what people think it is. It's not all fun and games. It's a serious, serious, serious job, man," Joshua said.
Gaethje stopped Topuria between the fourth and fifth rounds at UFC Freedom 250's main event on the White House South Lawn in June, handing the previously undefeated fighter the first loss of his career and taking the undisputed lightweight title in one of the sport's biggest upsets. Joshua's own comeback is set for July 25 against Kristian Prenga, a warm-up fight ahead of a showdown with Tyson Fury, which is what has shaped his renewed mindset towards fights.
