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Anthony Joshua just needs an attitude adjustment to return to top of heavyweight division

Anthony Joshua sat at a table at a hotel in London on Wednesday, talking about his fight on Saturday at the O2 Arena in London against Jermaine Franklin. Above him were the large words "New Dawn" that told the story about where the former heavyweight champion and 2012 Olympic gold medalist is in his career.

Joshua is, without question, an enormous talent, but he's not always put that full talent on display. Most notably, he struggled in a knockout loss to Andy Ruiz in 2019. But he's also coming off a pair of losses in bouts for the IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles to Oleksandr Usyk.

Usyk, though, is an elite fighter who, if he retired tomorrow, has likely already punched his ticket to the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He is 20-0 as a professional and was the undisputed cruiserweight champion and has three of the four major heavyweight belts. In five of Usyk's last seven fights, at least two of the four major title belts were at stake, whether it be at cruiserweight or heavyweight.

Losing to that guy is no reason for embarrassment.

So much is expected of Joshua because of his physical skills. He's not only massive, standing 6-foot-6 and weighing roughly 245 chiseled pounds, he's also highly athletic and a powerful puncher. He's a highly intelligent young man with a mind for the fight game and a brain that will help him succeed long after he's done with boxing.

He's accomplished a great deal in his young career, though that often gets overlooked as so much attention is focused on his losses. But if he had the attitude of, say, Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder, his two biggest rivals, he may never lose.

Think first of Fury, who at 6-9 and 275 pounds makes even Joshua look small. But Fury is not nearly as athletic as Joshua and doesn't punch nearly as hard as either Joshua or Wilder. Wilder is arguably the biggest puncher in boxing history, and if he's not the best, there are very few who clearly hit harder.

After fighting Wilder to a draw in 2018, Fury recognized the best way to beat Wilder was to attack, and make him back up. But that meant going right into the lion's den, risking being hit on the chin by Wilder. A win meant more to him than the possibility of being dropped and/or hurt, and so he willingly put himself in danger to chase the win.

If Joshua fought with that attitude, we might be hailing him as one of the best of all time at any weight.

Wilder loves the battle, and he knows that he's going to get hit because of his attacking style. But it has never prevented him from aggressively going out in an all-out blitz trying to win.

You might say that Fury and Wilder are fighters, while Joshua is a boxer. They're often used interchangeably, but there is a difference.

No matter how he fights. though, Joshua has been an unqualified success. The problem he faces as he heads into the Franklin fight is the industry's obsession with losing and the cluster of talent near the top.

The heavyweight division is loaded with talent, with Fury, Usyk and Wilder still leading the pack and Joe Joyce among the many knocking on the door at the top.

Joshua is clearly in the midst of that group, but to hear him speak, it's almost like he doesn't believe it. He entertained a question about the possibility of losing to Franklin, who is 21-1 but who has faced subpar opposition. His biggest name opponent came in his last fight, when he fought Dillian Whyte. Whyte, who is toward the end of his career, won a majority decision over Franklin, taking eight rounds on two of the three judges' cards.

Joshua shouldn't for a moment even consider the possibility of defeat. But asked about what would happen were he to lose to Franklin, he said he'd think of retirement.

"If Jermaine were to be successful on Saturday night, I'd give him the respect he deserves," Joshua said. "I'll make the decision if I want to fight on or not. I feel like I can make that decision. If I want to continue fighting, I don't think it's up to anyone to dictate to me. I don't think anyone can tell me what to do in my career, anyway."

Joshua is a -1000 favorite at BetMGM and it's almost ludicrous to hear him speak like that. He's good enough to beat anyone in the world — Usyk, Fury and Wilder, included — but doesn't seem to believe that as much as others do.

If a fighter loses and puts on a good show, who cares? The only time a loss should matter is when a fighter doesn't give a full effort and is lackluster in the ring. If you're fighting the best in the world, as the Top 10 guys all are, it should be understood that losses are a part of the game.

Joshua is talented enough to win on any night, but he's not the only talented one out there. He admitted, though, that there is pressure at the highest level.

"We put a lot of pressure on ourselves, fighters," Joshua said. "Hearing that final bell or hearing the ref count it out is such a high feeling that no amount of money can give you that feeling. It's true. It's a mad feeling. Each fight is a new chapter I'd say. Every chapter is so important."

This chapter is important because he's not that far away from being champion again. And with a couple of wins, it's not inconceivable he could be standing across with Fury in what could be one of the 10 highest grossing fights in boxing history.

I believe in Anthony Joshua, as do so many others. It's up to him to believe it, too, however.

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