ANTHONY JOSHUA has vowed to still fight Tyson Fury even without his heavyweight titles – but will first activate his Oleksandr Usyk rematch clause.
The British star, 31, was outboxed in front of a packed Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday night, ultimately losing via unanimous decision and seemingly blowing his chance of fighting the Gypsy King in a £500million showdown.
Joshua vs Usyk LIVE: Follow all the post-fight reaction
But Joshua was in buoyant mood despite the defeat, insisting he will still take on rival Fury even without his belts.
AJ lost his WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO titles to the Ukrainian star, 34, but admitted it’s all part of the sport and is keen to get back on ‘the road to undisputed’.
Immediately after his defeat, Joshua claimed: “The road to undisputed and all that stuff, it’s good.
“As I said, I’ll fight Tyson Fury, (Deontay) Wilder, without the belts.
“The belts are fun. It’s great, it’s legacy. But with or without the belts, I’ll fight whoever.
“The road to undisputed is a nice title to have and a nice title to chase.
FREE BETS: GET OVER £2,000 IN NEW CUSTOMER DEALS
“But would you still watch it, without the belts?
“That’s the main thing – is you’ve got two competitive fighters in the ring from UK soil, that just want to go toe-to-toe.”
Despite having one eye on Fury, AJ is first itching to set the record straight and wrestle back his belts from Usyk.
Asked if he planned to activate his rematch clause, a defiant Joshua roared: “100 per cent. 110 per cent.
“I’m ready to get back to training. Because of the 12 rounds, my lungs and everything, it was a good 12-rounder, so I’ll be in a good place when I get back into training to pick up where we left off.”
Joshua remained in an optimistic mood later in the evening after retreating to the dressing room.
The British star tweeted: “Keep positive even if the world’s crumbling in front of you!
“London I love you & thank you each and every time!”
Joshua even revealed his loss to Usyk in front of his home crowd was a ‘good experience’, taking a lot away from the fight after losing vision in one eye for the first time in his career.
He said: “From the ninth, I couldn’t see in the ninth round. Couldn’t see anything really.
“My eye was shut, but it was a good experience, because in adversity, you’ve just got to learn to control yourself, stay on top of things…
“So when I couldn’t see anything, it’s the first time it’s happened in a fight.
“I was thinking, ‘Alright, cool, it’s the first time my eye has closed up in a fight. I can’t see nothing.’
“I’m looking out of one eye, but it got better as the rounds went on.”
Joshua was taken to hospital with a suspected broken eye socket shortly after the defeat.
