Anthony Joshua has mentally rebuilt

There is a saying that boxing is 90 per cent mental and 10 per cent physical, and when you consider Anthony Joshua’s natural gifts it is no surprise that so much scrutiny surrounding his recent difficulties has been focused on his mindset and self-belief.

Indeed, Joshua’s state of mind continues to be one of the overriding discussions in the sport. But now, with Joshua’s team – all of whom, bar trainer Derrick James, have been with him for his entire career – there is talk of change, of evolution.

The focus on the mental side is unsurprising when you attend one of Joshua’s fight-week events and are struck by the highlights reels on a permanent loop; a series of fantastic stoppages, none of which have been in the past five years. In recent years we have witnessed a change in Joshua, now 33, away from the wrecking machine that was present during his first 18 fights.

A focused mindset is vital when you are as rich as Joshua now is, while also facing the equivalent of a no-win fight against ‘The Viking’ Robert Helenius, drafted in on short notice after Dillian Whyte’s “adverse analytical finding” from a Vada anti-doping test.

Two things straight off the bat on Joshua’s mindset: he had elected to rematch Whyte (eschewing the wishes of his promoter Eddie Hearn) in a dangerous bout. If he had lost he would have risked a reported $60 million (£47 million) blockbuster with American Deontay Wilder in Saudi Arabia. Then, with Whyte removed, Joshua insisted on fighting against a new opponent on a week’s notice.

According to Hearn, Joshua has taken “a significant” pay-cut for the contest from broadcasters DAZN. Interestingly, Joshua’s opponent on Saturday night revealed that it “took six months to recover” from being knocked out by Wilder last October. And he meant that mentally as much as physically. Fighters can be vulnerable, even fragile at times.

Joshua has known that fragility since his shock defeat to nemesis Andy Ruiz at Madison Square Garden in 2019. Joshua was dropped four times, and stopped in the seventh round. There have been essays on Joshua’s state of mind – he has been called ‘a busted flush’ and ‘gun shy’.

Helenius explained: “Of course, you have to overcome the gun shyness after you get knocked out and I think I’ve been knocked out three times now in my life. I think the first one was the really bad one – I was probably depressed for 2 or 3 months after that – but you do come back from it, from conditioning and rounds. Some of it is mental.”

Joshua, explains David Ghansa, who is COO of the fighter’s management company, and is operations manager of his fight camps, has become “very focused on self” and “self-improvement”. 

Ghansa has been around Joshua, as friend and colleague, for over twelve years. “The whole attitude for this camp was very much about what AJ does well, it wasn’t about what Dillian Whyte would have done well, or not...it’s about what Anthony Joshua does well, it’s about what Anthony Joshua can improve on.

“There’s a lot that gets thrown in his face and his attitude to things is ‘what’s the solution?’ He likes solving problems. When Whyte was out he was, like “Get me a replacement, let’s go, talk to Derek, talk to management, talk to Eddie leave me out of it, I’ll fight anyone...”

That certainly doesn’t sound like a fighter who lacks fortitude. “I’d like to call it a rebuild. We’d be stupid to act as if something hasn’t happened that has taken us off out course, so it’s back on his journey and focusing on what he’s doing, so like I said so many things happen in boxing, people present opportunities but if it’s not on his journey, I’m not interested. We’ve got our plan for him and that’s what we’re going to do. He will be a three time world champion, and he will do it on his course.”

Most important is bond between Joshua and new trainer James, who describes himself as a “big brother” to his fighter. “He deserves a lot of respect. I’m telling you he’s a real fighter and he wants to fight, and he wants to keep fighting. He’s also growing as a fighter, we have worked on a lot of things together. I find him so focused, I’ll tell you that. I’d say mentally he’s in a great place.”

Hearn, finally, believes we are witnessing the evolution of Joshua.

“He said a great thing the other day which was ‘I’m just not a naive fighter anymore. He’s not gun shy in my view, he’s just smarter. When Wladimir Klitschko was stopped by Lamon Brewster he changed his style and became virtually unbeatable under trainer Manny Steward. Until I see him get really beaten or I mean  beaten up …I don’t see the issue.

“Okay, so he’s not gung-ho anymore, he’s not just wading in throwing punches with his chin in the air. If he wasn’t winning with this style there’d be a problem, but he has confidence and trust in the method with Derrick James.”

That confidence and trust in James has made a difference to Joshua’s outlook. Beating Helenius will only be a small step, but it could be a significant one.