Anthony Joshua says Ilia Topuria’s defeat change his mindset

Former world heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua said that after watching Ilia Topuria lose to Justin Gaethje at UFC White House, he realised that fighting is not a joke and reduced his social media activity to focus on training and his career.

Topuria, the former lightweight UFC champion, was dethroned by Gaethje, winning the title unification bout by TKO at UFC Freedom 250.

Speaking about the fight between Topuria and Gaethje, Joshua explained that ‘El Matador’s defeat and the damage he sustained were a turning point for him.

Struggling with impaired vision, Topuria was examined by the ringside doctor before being allowed to continue into the fourth round.

However, his corner chose to stop the fight before the fifth and final round could begin.

The fight left the Georgian‑Spanish fighter marked up and bloodied as Gaethje’s pressure, jab and power shots accumulated damage. Joshua said: “When I watched that Ilia Topuria fight, I stopped replying to people. [The fight game] is not a joke. You saw his face, it’s not a joke.”

Joshua explained the mindset shift, pointing to how the clear favourite, Topuria, had been going into the White House fight.

“The odds were in his favor. Not that it was a bad thing, but I saw him celebrating before. He didn’t tell us what he would do once, but I just took something from it, and I said, ‘Get back to being uncontactable,” Anthony Joshua added.

“Be less accessible because the fight game is so serious. You saw his face. What he went through is not a joke, man. It’s not a joke.”

Joshua is making a comeback to the ring on July 25 against Kristian Prenga, which is dubbed a ‘warm-up fight’ before his showdown with Tyson Fury later this year.