Talks of Anthony Joshua retiring never seem to cease and now light heavyweight boxer Anthony ‘Pretty Boy’ Taylor has given his view.
Speaking to our team at MyBettingSites, Taylor had some strong views on people advocating for Joshua to retire and advised Joshua to continue boxing as long as he was having fun.
Recent losses will not diminish Joshua’s legacy – he’s one of the greatest
AJ, one of the biggest names in boxing history, has been going through a slump in recent years. He suffered a major upset earlier this year at the hands of Daniel Dubois and had also lost two straight bouts to Oleksandr Usyk.
Many boxing fans would say that AJ’s four losses, and the manner in which he’s lost, has tarnished his legacy but Taylor believes otherwise. He gives examples of Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard, saying that they also lost fights but they’re still considered as one of the all-time greats. Taylor also thinks that Joshua should mute the noise and retire when he’s ready to retire.
“But as far as Anthony Joshua, look, man, people, they’re gonna they’re gonna boo you when you lose, and they’re gonna cheer you when you win. Just have fun, man. You only retire when you’re ready to retire. Just because you have a couple losses doesn’t define who you are as a person. Muhammad Ali has 5, 6 losses. He’s considered still the greatest fighter of all time. Sugar Ray Robinson has about 19 losses. He’s still considered the greatest fighter of all time.”
My advice to AJ – F*** the haters
Taylor continues saying that at this stage in Joshua’s career, it’s not about winning or losing but more about having fun. If he’s still having fun while he’s in the ring, then that’s all that matters.
“It doesn’t matter about you winning or losing. It’s all about ‘Anthony, Are you having fun? Are you enjoying this?’ You are making generational wealth for yourself. That’s all that matters. I don’t care.
“Don’t care about what people think about you. Don’t care about what people think about you. Enjoy yourself. Have fun. It’s all about what you’re doing because you’re giving us moments where we’ll always remember for the rest of our lives.”
Taylor then mentions the legacy of Frank Bruno, who famously rocked Mike Tyson in the pair’s heavyweight showdown. He argues that boxing fans remember Bruno for rocking Tyson in that bout and it’s a memory that will live on forever. Finally he gives a simple three word message to AJ on how to deal with his detractors.
“Big time boxer. Right? A lot of people don’t know. Frank Bruno. Yeah. He might not be the greatest heavyweight fighter of all time, but we will always remember Frank Bruno for being entertaining for who he is. And look at and his name still carries on to this day in the UK. His name still carries on in America. Everybody knew Frank Bruno rocked Mike Tyson a couple times in the fight, we will always remember that.
“So my advice is to you, Joshua, f*** the haters. Enjoy your life. Do you, brother? We hey. Thank you. If you decide to retire, thank you for giving us great memories. If you don’t, keep on, bro. That’s all I’m gonna say.”
The moment AJ made me realise that I made it
Taylor also recounted a personal encounter with AJ that left him starstruck but also raised his confidence. He elaborated on when he met AJ at an event in London and the British boxer revealed he was a fan of his and called him funny.
“Let me give you a story about AJ. Man, I’m at the Show Star in 2022. I’m at the Show Star event in London, Wembley, and I’m walking. Anthony Joshua comes up.
“He goes – ‘Hey, Anthony. I’m a big fan of yours, man. I love your energy. You’re funny, dude.’ I’m thinking to myself, like, woah, Anthony Joshua knows who I am? That is so cool, man. You know, that was a really cool moment for myself. I was like, damn. I really made it.”
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