Johnny Nelson urges Anthony Joshua to take a break from boxing

‘He should take a YEAR off – he’s still broken!’: Johnny Nelson urges Anthony Joshua to take a break from boxing to get over back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk… and insists the Brit should only continue ‘if he wants to’

• Johnny Nelson has urged Anthony Joshua to take a year away from boxing
• He said the heavyweight needs time to get over defeats to Oleksandr Usyk
• Joshua was in negotiations to fight fellow Brit Tyson Fury but a deal collapsed
• The 33-year-old’s current mega-DAZN deal states he has to fight twice a year
• He has fought just five times since the start of 2019 and has no clear direction 

Johnny Nelson has urged Anthony Joshua to take a year off from boxing following back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk.

Joshua lost his world titles to the Ukrainian in September 2021, and failed to regain them earlier this year in a bout that saw the Brit break down following the conclusion of the fight.

Nelson, a former world champion himself, told iFL TV via Boxing News 24 that ‘AJ’ should take time away from the sport to become ‘comfortable’ again as he looks to resurrect his career as he reaches his twilight years.

Johnny Nelson has urged former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua to take a break

Joshua broke down after losing for a second time to Oleksandr Usyk earlier this year

Nelson insisted Joshua is ‘still broken’ following the defeats and should ‘sit back and reset’

‘AJ is at the crossroads now where he’s going to different trainers, and then he said, “I might take a year off”. I think he should take a year off,’ said Nelson.

‘I think he should sit back, reset, spend time at many, many gyms, training, submerse himself in it, feel comfortable with it and say, “Now I’ve reset, now I can do this”.’

Nelson praised Joshua’s achievements but insisted the Brit is yet to recover from the defeats to Usyk.

He seemed set to face Tyson Fury earlier this year, but negotiations collapsed and, after fighting only five times since the start of 2019, there’s now no clear indication of who the 33-year-old could face next, despite his DAZN deal stating he has to fight twice a year.

Joshua was outboxed twice by Usyk as he lost his heavyweight titles and failed to regain them

‘Look at what he’s achieved. He started boxing when he was 18 years old,’ Nelson added.

‘He’s achieved ridiculously good things, but he’s still broken. He’s still not over the two losses from Usyk. He still has got to get his strength back, his belief back.

‘AJ, he needs to reset. He needs to think, “I need to be back here again”. He needs his motivation to fight, and he needs them for the right reasons because it’s not for the dollars. He has more money than you and I will ever spend.’

Joshua has spoken of retirement recently but will almost certainly fight again before he calls it a day.

It’s unclear when he will hang up his gloves for good, but Nelson used Derek Chisora as a reference for a fighter carrying on too long when they should be thinking seriously about their future.

Nelson used Derek Chisora (left) as an example of a fighter carrying on too long in their career

He said: ‘He’s got to do this because he wants to do this because he has a purpose to do this. He doesn’t just what to make up the numbers. These are the things that are coming into play right now.

‘Derek [Chisora] is going out there entertaining everybody, but getting his head smashed in. It’s to the point where even the fans are saying, “Oh God”. 

‘AJ has lost two fights off a bounce, and now he’s got to sit back and think, “I’ve got to make the right decision”. He needs to make it through the head, not the heart, because if he fights from the heart, he’s fighting for the wrong reason.’

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