ANTHONY JOSHUA admitted he may never become undisputed heavyweight champion after a period of grieving following his losses to Oleksandr Usyk.
Joshua came up short against Usyk twice – firstly in 2021 when he lost via unanimous decision and then in 2022 following a split-decision defeat.
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AJ is now set to face Otto Wallin on December 23 and a victory could set up a dream bout with Deontay Wilder, provided the American also beats Joseph Parker on the same card.
The winner of that tasty heavyweight battle could then go on to lock horns with the victor of the undisputed superfight between the undefeated pair of Tyson Fury and Usyk on February 17.
But the 34-year-old understands he may have to wait six years before he can regain the WBO, WBA, IBO and IBF belts he lost to the Ukrainian superstar, as the titles will split after the Cat battles Fury.
Joshua told TNT Sports when asked if he feels he could still be a challenger for the undisputed title: “I used to, but it won’t happen anymore.
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“I think it is because of the reality, because what will happen is that Usyk and Fury are in a position to compete for the undisputed.
“And once they compete for the undisputed, the belts will get split up again.
“And I feel [it] will probably take me about maybe five to six years to go through and get all the belts and beat all the independent champions.
“And that will probably take me until I’m 40 or 41, before I do that again. So I’m just like, it’s probably not in my time frame.”
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Joshua then opened up on a “grieving” period he went through after his second loss to Usyk last year.
The British star broke down in tears during an emotional post-match press conference.
Looking back on that moment, Joshua added: “Yeah you saw it after that [Usyk fight].
“Because if I weren’t in the undisputed race anymore, I wanted to be champion so that was like a massive, like, I don’t know how to explain it but something comes over you but it’s just passion.
“Passion, a lot of emotion. Yeah, a lot of emotion. So, now I’ve got over that.
“It’s not part of my plan anymore. So what’s next I could aim to become champion.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
