Anthony Joshua chose not to give a detailed reaction right after Tyson Fury’s victory over Deontay Wilder on February 22.
The unified champion let his rivals pass their time, posting a few Instagram stories that both marked them “gladiators”.
Mark Robinson / Matchroom Boxing
Anthony Joshua is the Unified WBA, IBF and WBO Heavyweight Champion
Now, two weeks later, AJ gave his first long interview since the fight and spoke in depth about his thoughts.
When first asked about Wilder and Fury, Joshua joked, “Who are they?”
He then explained on Lucozade’s Running the Show podcast: “Fury is very talented, Wilder is very talented.
“They went in there, they did their best and a man came out in the lead.
“I think maybe Wilder thought it would have been an easier fight because Fury had a long layoff, he had his own problems outside the ring and stuff like that.
Mikey Williams / Front row
Fury defeated Wilder twice and stopped him in the seventh round
“But I think he was right mentally. They were both physically conditioned for combat, but sometimes, when you’ve been at the bottom of a rock where Fury was, the only way is to climb.
“You can’t go lower than that, so he got up and he alone knew how high he was.
“Nothing is really right – you will not be going back there. So I think it was at its peak that night and it paid for it.
“So mentally he was in the best possible place and he performed very well against this dangerous puncher.”
